Motherless Soul, by Steve Lindahl is the story of Emily Vinson, a woman whose entire life was impacted by the loss of her mother when she was 2 years old. At 82 Emily contacts a hypnotist hoping to draw out hidden memories and to discover as much as possible about the short time she spent with the woman who gave her life. Glen Wiley, the hypnotist, teaches her more about herself than she had expected. He helps her bring out memories of many past lives, including an experience that took place on a smoke filled battlefield. All of Emily's lives have had the same tragic outcome, the loss of her mother at a young age. Her soul is caught in what Glen calls circularity, meaning that the tragedy will occur again and again unless she can break the pattern. She and Glen must revisit her past lives and use what they learn to find the other souls who are part of the circle. They must use the past to change the future. Emily's stubborn desire to know her mother is realized in intricate and unsettling ways no one could have imagined possible.
Excerpt (from Chapter Four)Glen asked her to count backwards from one hundred. When she passed fifty-nine he started to guide her saying, “Go back, back further to a time before you were Emily Vinson. Keep going back.” His words seemed to run right through her body, like a shot of whiskey. Glen seemed to be growing distant, although she knew he was right next to her. She kept counting toward zero, even as he spoke.
Emily lost track of the counting. She was certain she’d repeated some numbers, but she tried to keep them coming. She knew she had to do what Glen told her to do. She closed her eyes. Shortly after that the dim light she could make out through her lids faded into absolute darkness.
“You’re slipping through time and space into a place that’s been buried in your heart for ages upon ages. Something important happened to you in this place. You’re starting to remember what it was like: the smells, the sounds, the texture of the world around you.”
Her eyes started to burn. Memories were flowing into her head after a period of nothingness and those sensations were different from what she’d experienced the day before. This time it was as if she were two people. The person she had been before the session began, the old woman nearing the end of her life, was now watching someone else from inside that other person’s body. The other person was very young, but in trouble.
“Talk to me, Emily. Let me know what you’re feeling.”
Emily started to cry. She wasn’t able to hold back. Her cry was the loud wail of a hungry baby. But Emily knew what she felt wasn’t only hunger. Something was very wrong.
Review: Jen Knox (Author of Musical Chairs)This is a profound work about the cyclic nature of pain and one woman's desire to confront it and move on. The story begins with Emily's search to demystify the mother she never knew, the figure whom she believes to hold the secret that will break a cycle of discontent. Where this leads her is on a journey of self-discovery that begins with a trip to a hypnotist and introduces Emily to generations past. Emily's journey is filled with realizations that grow exponentially, and ultimately lead to a philosophical and spiritual awakening. This book is phenomenal. The chapters are short and engaging, and the writing is fantastic.
For a video reading of an excerpt go to - Motherless Soul
For more information about Steve Lindahl go to -
http://www.stevelindahl.blogspot.com/ or
http://www.stevelindahl.com/ To purchase Motherless Soul go to - Amazon, All Things That Matter Press, or Barnes and Noble
ON AMAZON AT:
http://www.amazon.com/Motherless-Soul-Steve-Lindahl/dp/0984098496/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268954921&sr=1-1
OTHER REVIEWS ON AMAZON:By Steven C. Harrison Jr. "Steven H" (Greensboro, NC)
Being that I have always been fascinated with reincarnation, I am constantly on the look out for good fiction that captures this concept. I struck gold when I purchased this novel by Steve Lindahl. He incorporates the hypnotist's power to open doors to the past with several knowledgeable and well written accounts of the events that took place. The novel carries us as far back as the Civil War where one page turning event after another lead this circle of characters towards their goal of a profound self awareness. I highly recommend this novel to anyone with an interest in the realm of mystical possibilities.
Steve Lindahl writes with a rare mix of compassion, imagination, intelligence and maturity. Publication of his first novel is cause for celebration, and anticipation of more to come.
-- Bob Shar
"Lindahl has a remarkable way of exploring many different ideas within the context of his story, layering his work with rich texture that pulls the reader in and keeps the pages turning."
Joni Carter, freelance columnist for the News and Record
--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.
Emily Vinson's entire life was impacted by the loss of her mother when she was 2years old. At 82 Emily contacts a hypnotist hoping to draw out hidden memories and discover as much as possible about the short time she spent with the woman who gave her life. Glen Wiley, the hypnotist, teaches her more about herself than she had expected. He helps her bring out memories of many past lives, including an experience that took place on a smoke filled battlefield. All of Emily's lives have had the same tragic outcome, the loss of her mother at a young age. Her soul is caught in what Glen calls circularity, meaning that the tragedy will occur again and again unless she can break the pattern. She and Glen must revisit her past lives and use what they learn to find the other souls who are part of the circle. They must use the past to change the future. Emily's stubborn desire to know her mother is realized in intricate and unsettling ways no one could have imagined possible.
Being that I have always been fascinated with reincarnation, I am constantly on the look out for good fiction that captures this concept. I struck gold when I purchased this novel by Steve Lindahl. He incorporates the hypnotist's power to open doors to the past with several knowledgeable and well written accounts of the events that took place. The novel carries us as far back as the Civil War where one page turning event after another lead this circle of characters towards their goal of a profound self awareness. I highly recommend this novel to anyone with an interest in the realm of mystical possibilities.
By Dennis McKay (Chevy Chase, Maryland United States)
This is a story about reincarnation with an evolving mystery. Emily Vinson lost her mother at age two and was raised by a disinterested father, leaving a gnawing void in her life. The story begins with 82-year-old Emily with an overwhelming desire to learn about her mother who she has only imagined memories through old photographs. She contacts a hypnotist, Glen Wiley, and with his assistance she begins her journey into the past.
Steve Lindahl takes the reader on a fascinating and mystical exploration not only into Emily's past with her mother, but other past lives she led as far back as the 19th century. Motherless Soul keeps the readers interest as the plot has twists and turns and interesting characters along the way.
A good read that leaves you wondering about the many levels of time, especially the possibility of the time's circularity. Dennis McKay author of Fallow's Field and Once Upon Wisconsin.
By Kenneth A. Weene (Scottsdale, AZ)
Motherless Soul by Steve Lindahl is a mystery of a very unusual kind. Based on Lindahl's excellent knowledge of hypnotic past-lives regression and of history, particularly the Civil War Era, the author draws us into the characters' lives as they intertwine both in modern times and in those past.
The interesting premise of Motherless Soul is that souls can exist across time bound together in a recurring nexus in which certain central relationships and events repeat over and over again. In this book, the event is the death of a mother at the very beginning of her daughter's life. In the present time that death is attributed to accident. However, the daughter, Emily, now an older woman, tries to learn more about her mother. Through hypnosis, it is revealed that the death had actually been a murder.
Emily and Glen, the hypnotherapist, begin a journey to identify the interconnected souls as they exist in the here and now and to prevent the next murder. Their search brings the reader into contact with a variety of characters as they are living in the present and as they have lived in the past. Most particularly, we meet them in their Civil War Era existences.
The resulting story is one of love and jealousy, madness and determination, and ultimately of mystery. Not only does Lindahl tell a gripping tale but also he makes the reader give serious thought to the nature of past lives. (Kenneth Weene, author of Widow's Walk)
