At long last - the book is finished!

In the Fall of 2020 during the height of the pandemic, I ventured to a medium reading wearing my mask in the hopes of getting a message from my beloved fiancé, Dr. Peter Taylor, who had died in October of 2019. The medium was Kevin V. Coan. I had been to him four times in the past decade and was always impressed with his ability. And he came through again with the evidence during that reading.

At the end of our session, I casually commented that he really should write a book. He told me he hears that recommendation so often he couldn’t even guess how many times he’s received it. But he had neither the time not inclination to do so. I had just retired from my academic career, I was going to be stuck at home alone for quite some time in the pandemic with my dog as my companion, I was grieving my fiancé and I can write…..and so somehow I heard myself offering to write a book about his life and ability.

He was hesitant at first and took a month or so to think it over. He is not one to want fame or to be showcased in the spotlight. But he called back one day and said he had decided he’d like to move forward and collaborate with me on this project. My plan for retirement was to write….non-academic fiction and non-fiction. This project seemed as good a place to start as any.

I ended up interviewing not only Kevin in depth during several formal and later informal interviews over the past several years but also met via zoom or phone with 25 people whose lives he has impacted as well. In addition, once the pandemic eased and he started doing medium shows in large groups, I observed six such sessions that included brief public readings of 96 people. The interviews were conducted throughout 2021, 2022 and 2023. The analyses and draft write ups were ongoing through 2022 - 2024.

Now my focus is on learning to publicize the book which appears more daunting than writing it at the moment. If you do happen to read it, I would ask that you consider writing a review on Amazon if you are so inclined to help me get the word out there! His body of work is quite incredible and I think many people could be helped during their own times of sorrow and loss by reading about his ability. He is not the only evidential medium out there for sure but this book differs from others in that it has the perspective of those who have been impacted by his ability. It provides the evidence from a wide variety of people from all walks of life who graciously shared their stories.

I appreciate your interest in the book and would love to hear your opinions, - positive, negative or in between!

A Day Out of Time

July 25 th is referred to as a Day Out of Time according to the ancient Mayan calendar. Their last day of the year was July 24 and the first day of the new year was July 26 and so today, July 25th, was considered literally a day out of time. The Mayans ascribed all sorts of mystical qualities to this day. it was a day to forgive past debts, move beyond past emotional wounds, and move forward into the future with gratitude. I hope dear reader you have felt some sort of renewal today as have I, with gratitude.

A Day of Celebration

As a “recovering” academic, there are days when I am wistful and nostalgic. Attending my final University graduation yesterday was one of those days. This is not in keeping with the paranormal theme of this blog I realize. I am still trying to find a publisher in that regard.

There were four students who were hooded by their mentor and dissertation chairperson. I hooded one of them, - now Dr. M., after working together through all sorts of obstacles that came her way. The result was an outstanding research study on hypertension control in younger adults. I also taught the other graduates in courses and served as academic advisor to several of them as well. One of them was from Thailand, Dr. S. - a remarkable student who mastered the language as well as the scientific material in the program. He chose to wear traditional Thai dress for men under his graduation gown.

The Green Matchbook

Thoughts on Ted Lasso’s latest episode….

Having read the twitter feeds on the meaning of the green matchbook in this week’s Ted Lasso episode, I was curious that no one made a comment about how the medium/psychic was portrayed. Most people tweeted about… was the green matchbook that was given to her at the restaurant actually related to the medium’s reading? Was it a coincidence? Was she indeed going to be a mother?….which would be a bad move by the writers several noted, to be so obvious.

I was struck with how seemingly normal it was to go to a medium, that the medium was portrayed as a reasonable “non-witchy” person and we were shown how she was hearing multiple voices at once which has been commonly reported by mediums. Rebecca went to the reading for a lark at the insistence of her mother. She appeared to not take it seriously…which is common and yet she went. When she didn’t understand what the medium was referring to when she mentioned a green matchbook, she appeared skeptical of the medium/psychic’s ability. When she was told she would be a mother, she was furious and left before the reading was over. And yet we saw her later searching her drawers for a green matchbook - before it actually materialized in the restaurant scene. It seemed that she was uncertain and questioning and yet somewhat hopeful that the medium was legit. It reflected the ambivalence that many people feel about mediums and psychics….until what they say in the reading comes to pass. I think the writers were respectful about mediums and that the predictions will eventually turn out to be true but not in the straightforward way that was suggested. But we will have to wait and see if my prediction comes true.

AWP Conference

Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference - Seattle Washington

My first time attending this conference. Very exciting to be in the company of over 10k writers! Had the great pleasure of listening to keynote speaker, Min Jin Lee, author of Pachinko. Also met several other authors of distinction, including: Jade Shyback, Carlos Allende, Corry Venema-Weiss and Anca L. Szilagyi.

Why would a social scientist write a book about mediums?

Because she can.

Because she is curious.

When I first went for a reading with medium Kevin V. Coan, it was for a lark. One of my sisters had heard about him at work from a fellow admin in the police station. I had been to a few fortune tellers in the past and although some of them came up with some pretty intriguing insights….it was just fun and nonsense - explained away by coincidence and luck.

My first reading with Kevin Coan was in 2008. I was a very busy single mom raising three kids, working two jobs, as a professor by day and an ER nurse on the weekends. Taking the time to drive an hour for this 30-minute reading was a bit stressful in itself but I was curious. He asked me what city I worked in and I told him Lowell (the main job) . He told me he could see a hospital and a school so he could not tell what I did for a living. I told him yes, I was indeed a teacher and a nurse.

He “ brought in” many people who had passed in the next 30 minutes, including my mother, my father’s second wife Melva, my Uncle Dan, Aunt Mary, my brother-in-law Roger and my best friend’s mother Patricia. He didn’t always tell me who was speaking about the things he was saying but he did mention that someone with a funny sense of humor kept interrupting initially saying “Go BC, Go BC!” holding a Boston College flag in his hand. Yup, that was Roger for sure.

When I told Kevin what I did for a living, he said he was being told I should be a Director. He said he wasn’t sure of what - was I thinking of moving out of academia to be a Director of Nursing in a Hospital? he asked. Absolutely not, I answered. Just remember I said that, he replied.

He also brought in comments from the netherland about my current boyfriend. We had been dating for almost 4 years. We were wildly mismatched in terms of education and outlook on life but nonetheless it was easy for the most part, he was a fabulous skier and we had some fun together. But neither of us talked about a future together which was just fine for me. I was raising three teenagers, working two, sometimes three jobs, and was not even considering adding a new man to their lives. They had already been through a lot. Enough said about that.

But Kevin persisted…on one hand my mother thought this boyfriend was good for me - better than past relationships but that bar was pretty low. On the other hand, Kevin could see our interests were very different. My mother also mentioned that I seemed blocked from past trauma to be able to move on. The suggestion was - I needed therapy to figure out what I want. Not to worry, everything will be ok though I was told.

Kevin also described the differences between my mother and my father’s second wife to a tee. After nearly 54 years of marriage and several years living on his own, after my mother died my father eventually found a second love of his life at a high school reunion meeting. They married at age 82 and had three fantastic years together before she died unexpectedly. Kevin nailed their personality traits that they were sharing with him. Turns out they were both now looking out for me and I seemed to be keeping them quite busy with my chaotic life.

A few odd specific things that were true came up - I needed to fix the porch light that was broken, at my work there was someone blocking new initiatives and ideas and that I was often embroiled in controversy there, I felt stuck at work but I was free to go and must remember that.

The next day it dawned on me - I’d been Interim Director of the PhD program at my university for a year. I hadn’t applied for the actual position as I really didn’t want added responsibility to complicate my already complicated life. But I was doing the job anyways…why not get the credit? So that was what my mother meant! Ha! She was always right on with her advice in my hindsight. But fiercely independent me, I never listened to her when she was alive. So I applied and got the job.

Living with a Gecko in Thailand

I am currently living in a faculty dorm at Naresuan University in Phitsanulok, Thailand which is a one hour flight north of Bangkok. I was invited back for my third stint as a visiting professor. The faculty are lovely and it is always an adventure. A fascinating country.

When I arrived I noticed to my horror a gecko in my apartment. When I asked what could be done to “take care of”  this situation (that is, how to catch or murder a gecko), I received blank looks. It was suggested politely that I would have to learn to live with him.

And so I am trying. He hid for a few days but I was told – Nope he is not gone. He is just hiding. I learned that was true the other evening when I went to pull the cord to open the curtain. I nearly caught him with my hand to the surprise of both of us. He was resting along the cord, hidden by the curtain.

The scream I let out would have been the same if attempted murder had occurred in my apartment. No one came to my door to check on me in this 9-story apartment building. I did manage to survive.

The majority of people living in Thailand are Buddhists. Reincarnation is a pervasive belief here and it does not necessarily mean you come back as a person. So I am alone with this gecko for the next several weeks. I’ve named him Harold.