I did not read this book. Unfortunately I always read the one star reviews on Amazon.com first which usually reveals whether the author of the review is coherent or a raving maniac. A bad review reveals whether the author of the review, who does not like the book gives reasons for not liking it beyond simply not liking it or not understanding it.
Review by 'I, too, was so very disappointed': I was in hopes I would love the book, but it was quite the contrary. I had an open mind while reading this book and I had anxiously awaited its arrival. I heard about the book and saw all of the 4 star ratings and thought it must be a good read. I have finished the book today and honestly, it was hard to get through. I am a Buddhist and I study Buddhism every day of my life. It seemed to me that Annie desperately longs for her dead brother and there were issues unresolved before his death and I think, (my own opinion, here) that she has created this way of thinking for her self preservation. I think it is possible he has spoken to her on some level, but not in such eloquent ways of speaking. It was hard for me to believe. Also, she said she takes Valium pills to help her sleep. Valium can cause delusional thinking, and all sorts of sporadic thinking, how do I know, I once used to take them but I had dreams of my dead father and my dead cousin and it was really kind of creepy, I figured it was the drugs doing that to my mind. I took myself off of any kind of man made drug and I am so grateful. When I got off the pill, I delved into Buddhism and that changed my life for the positive in every aspect of my life. I agree with the Little Rooster, who gave her review. I feel like I wasted my money on this book, but it gave me some Enlightenment, I suppose, that no one can tell us what to expect in the here after, I am with Tolle Eckhart on that one...........It will be a Surprise and to leave it at that. Namaste' Portion of a review by 'A paradoxical mess of conflicting ideas revealing the author's delusional state': If there is no judgement, no right and wrong, and the life we live on Earth is our own personal execution of inner lessons that must be learned (as is repeatedly claimed by Annie Kagan through her connection with 'Billy'), why did 'Billy' see fit to save Annie's best friend Tex from her drinking habit? Isn't a drinking habit part of a person's life? If a person chooses to drink to drown their sorrows, isn't that free will? Isn't that part of the lesson they're on Earth to learn? Why would Billy stage what you deemed to be an intervention and which I interpret as *interference* if, as Billy claimed, there is no right and wrong. This is a glaring problem because Billy - particularly toward the end of the book - presumably has access to sources of information beyond comprehension, and yet he makes a fundamental logical error here. He claims again and again that nothing we do on Earth is bad, and then identifies a drinking habit as bad, worthy of saving Tex from herself, over-arching the supposed free will message. Moreover, if death is merely a transition, why is it so vitally important that Billy prevent the death not only of Tex (from her worsening drinking habit) but also for Annie Kagan's ex-husband who would surely have died without Billy's intervention. How can human behaviour be neutral in all forms but still be wrong in some forms. Who is Billy - a self professed drug addict and alcoholic - to pass judgement on the habits of a living human being in any case? There are many such paradoxes in the book, all of which, I'm afraid, reveal the author to be either deluded, insane or extremely imaginative. I wish I could say that Annie Kagan at least *believed* she was in touch with her dead brother's spirit, but grief can do incredible things to the human brain, and by Annie's own admittance she has been involved in certain aspects of esoteria for a long time (she was already an expert on meditation prior to her contact with Billy)... ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <awoelflebater@...> wrote : Has anyone here read "The Afterlife of Billy Fingers: How my bad-boy brother proved to me there is life after death"? I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'd be interested to see what anyone else thought.
