Book Review - Annie's Ghosts by Steve Luxenberg

I'd love to give credit to the person who introduced this book to me but I'm sorry to say I don't remember who it was!  These days if I don't write something down it will most likely slip my mind.  Darn it, I'm too young for this to be happening!  .

Back to the book......

Annie's Ghosts is a true story of how Steve Luxenberg discovers, after his mothers death, that she had a disabled sister Annie who was hidden away.  The book is about how Steve used the skills he had as a twenty-two year senior editor of the Washington Post to research the story about Annie and eventually write this book about the journey.

I found it to be a fascinating read regarding the institutional settings of the 1930's and the methodical way Steve conducts his research.  It is also a sometimes sad human interest story as Steve tries to discover why Annie's existence had been concealed for decades.  Annie's Ghosts is a true life mystery.

Book Review - Psychic Roots by Henry Z. Jones, Jr.

Last weekend when I  traveled to Kokomo to meet my relatives, DeeDee suggested a book to me.  Psychic Roots by Henry Z. Jones, Jr.  The book is about coincidence and serendity in genealogical research.  Those moments when chance events guide us to our discoveries. How many times do our hunches, intutition or just dumb luck lead us to discover information we may not have found any other way?

I've experienced several moments just like that and I'm relieved to hear that I'm not the only one!  Until now I've only shared those experiences with my mother who understands what I'm talking about.  Can you imagine me having coffee with my girlfriends and saying, "Hey I went to the cemetery this weekend to take a photo of a stone but was having trouble finding it.  So I stopped, closed my eyes and asked the ancestor to please guide me to them.  When I opened my eyes I felt led to go in a certain direction and lo and behold I walked right up to the grave!"  They would look at me like I lost my mind.........

But this book confirms what I truly believe.  Some of our deceased ancestors are actively involved in our research. 

How about you?  What do you believe?