A LIBRARIAN’S ORIENTATION
What this book explores
Psychiatrist Brian Weiss recounts hypnotic sessions in which a patient reported previous lives and messages from spiritual ‘Masters.’ The experiences changed his interpretation of her symptoms, death, and consciousness and became a widely influential narrative in past-life regression and contemporary afterlife spirituality.
EDITORIAL NOTE
Why it’s in the Library
It helps travelers understand why regression accounts can feel emotionally persuasive and spiritually consoling, especially when they appear inside a clinical relationship. The book is culturally consequential and may name experiences readers already encounter. Its placement carefully separates influence, testimony, therapeutic interpretation, and evidence for literal reincarnation.
Good starting place if…
You want to understand a landmark past-life regression narrative and can hold its consoling possibilities beside serious questions about hypnosis and memory.
Know before you begin…
The central claims come from hypnosis and the author's interpretation of one clinical case. Hypnosis can increase suggestibility and confidence without establishing historical accuracy, and memory researchers do not treat regression as reliable evidence of past lives. The book must not support recovered-memory accusations, replace mental-health care, or be represented as scientific verification of reincarnation.