REVIEW: ‘Life With the Afterlife: 13 Truths I Learned About Ghosts’ by Amy Bruni
Image courtesy of Grand Central Publishing / Provided by official site.
It should come as no surprise that Amy Bruni believes in ghosts. The paranormal investigator who received her TV start on Ghost Hunters is now featured on Travel Channel’s popular series Kindred Spirits, and the fans have followed her on many journeys, joining her in searching for the unknown. Of the many ghost shows on TV, Kindred Spirits has risen to the top, and Bruni believes that’s because she and the team focus not only on the difficulties faced by families in haunted homes, but the “ghosts” themselves. She wants to understand why these “spirits” are reaching out, and she’s after more than mere evidence. She would like closure — whatever that might mean in the afterlife.
Bruni’s thoughts on all things spiritual are part of her new memoir, Life With the Afterlife: 13 Truths I Learned About Ghosts, out now from Grand Central Publishing. The book, which is a quick read, offers a personal history to Bruni’s life and career, in addition to many of her theories about the afterlife. She covers her time on Ghost Hunters, which was the trailblazer in the TV industry, and why she branched out with Kindred Spirits. She also opens up about her childhood living in a haunted house, some of the adventures she has been on when traveling with her fans on ghost-hunting weekends (“Strange Escapes”) and what her thoughts are on what happens when this life ends and another one begins.
Whether one is a believer or skeptic is secondary because Bruni invites both camps in with her carefully chosen words. She’s not judgmental of those people who are still searching for evidence, and she’s also not accepting of those people who seem to find a ghost around every single corner. The author finds a middle ground, one based in historical research and paranormal evidence. In fact, many times the historical anecdotes are more interesting than the big reveal at the end.
Having Bruni detail the technology she uses and the methodology she utilizes when investigating a location are some of the best bits of the book. A few of the visuals she describes are perhaps better presented on television, but the ghost stories themselves do jump off the page with rich detail. There are also some reflections on other investigators, including the world-famous Warrens and her personal friend, Chip Coffey.
The book is likely to attract a readership that already enjoys paranormal investigation and Bruni’s work in the field, and many of the stories seem framed as a behind-the-scenes look at how these tales make it to TV screens in the first place. Although this reviewer doesn’t jump to the same conclusions as Bruni, and a few of the assertions seem like genuine head-scratchers, it was interesting to enter the world of someone who does believe and someone who has attempted to turn the world of paranormal investigation into a kinder, more understanding profession.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Life With the Afterlife: 13 Truths I Learned About Ghosts by Amy Bruni. 272 pages. Grand Central Publishing. Click here for more information.
