TITLE INFORMATION
OUR GRAND JOURNEY OF SELF-EXPLORATION
Two Souls Journeying to the Great Beyond
O’toole-Conn, Tara
BalboaPress (238 pp.)
$17.99 paperback, $33.95 hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-5043-2568-4
BOOK REVIEW
O’Toole-Conn’s debut details her relationship with her late husband in this provocative look at spiritual awakening and
openness to what lies beyond.
O’Toole-Conn’s narrative explores her marriage to her beloved husband before and after his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.
They clearly had a loving relationship and committed partnership, but O’Toole-Conn felt a growing distance between
them when Conn began to lose his powers of speech and physical communication. She experienced a revelation during
her husband’s illness when he asked for his “case” and, by opening her mind to a transcendental communication, she
drew on her deep bond to finally understand what exactly he was trying to communicate. O’Toole-Conn began
consulting with a clairvoyant/medium to communicate with Conn once his powers of speech and movement left him.
These sessions, transcribed verbatim, fill the second half of the book. Also included are transcripts of sessions between
the medium, O’Toole-Conn, and Conn’s deceased mother and father. The collection ends with final thoughts channeled
after Conn died. To call O’Toole-Conn’s book unique isn’t enough. Its strengths lie in its earnest tackling of a subject
many will dismiss outright. Indeed, O’Toole-Conn makes every effort to present the transcripts as unarguable fact. Her
story no doubt has an audience, particularly those who are spiritually open-minded. Regrettably, though, the book might
lose readers given its lack of narrative momentum and editing, a decision that seems intentional, particularly because the
second half is all transcriptions of a transcendental conversation.
In a category of its own; might not convert new devotees to mediumship and clairvoyance, but its unapologetic realism is
unhindered by doubts.
Kirkus Indie, Kirkus Media LLC, 6411 Burleson Rd., Austin, TX 78744
indie@kirkusreviews.com