Halloween Review: Forevermore: Guided in Spirit by Edgar Allan Poe

Title: Forevermore: Guided in Spirit by Edgar Allan Poe
Author: Kristy Robinett
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: October 8th 2014
Source: Netgalley & Llewellyn Publications

Description via Goodreads:

Kristy Robinett has always had helpers in spirit, but when she was thirteen, she met the most fascinating spirit guide of all-- Edgar Allan Poe. Forevermore tells the true story of how Edgar Allan Poe helps Kristy fulfill her destiny as a writer and a psychic medium.

Far from being a madman (as he's often portrayed in the media), Poe is an insightful guide and a sleuth with a passion for justice. Working with law enforcement, Kristy and Poe uncover truths of the past--murders, suicides, missing persons--and shed light on the wrongs that have found their way into the present day.

Join Kristy as she shows how personal growth can come from the unlikeliest places and affirms the comforting fact that we are all given the chance to learn and evolve on the other side.

★★★★

It is no secret that from a very young age (perhaps too young, admittedly) I have always had an obsession with the works of Edgar Allan Poe. When I was still in grade school, at some point, my mom had given me a copy of his collection that she'd picked up at a garage sale. I read it and at first was creeped out, then mesmerized. This is a feeling that has continued with me into adulthood, and he is still one of my favorite authors. That's what led to me picking out this book to read.

I have read books on spirit guides before, but never one on a specific guide, let alone a famous one. I found Kristy's story utterly fascinating. It was well written, in an almost fantasy-like prose despite the fact that this is a book of firsthand accounts. It was very easy to read and understand, even if one has never read anything on the topic before. It's clear from this book that she has a great gift for story telling, something that no doubt Mr. Poe contributed to. This book follows Kristy from childhood into adult hood, and charts her journey and growth both with her spirit guide(s) and as a medium as a whole. She shares how she's used these gifts and how she's learned to use them by telling stories about her life, and specifically, how it helped her in the career of law enforcement.

I was also really happy with how much fact was presented in this book. Whether you are a spiritually inclined person or not, you will at the very least learn quite a bit about Edgar Allan Poe himself. I found this useful, because any information that I knew about him previously was only through my own interested Googling. I don't know how schooling is in other places, but in my district (and college, if we're being honest) never really focus on the authors themselves, just their texts. This gives an intimate look into his life in a way that not many can narrate.

This book is a little bit of a lot of things that make it somehow work together as a whole book. It is a little bit self-help/instructional guide, a little bit of excellent writing, a bit of historical fact, a bit fantastical, and a bit of memoir/nonfiction all rolled into one handy little book. This is one that I would recommend to anyone who considers themselves spiritual, a medium, or who just loves Edgar Allan Poe in general. I'll definitely be taking along a few lessons from this book and integrating them into my own life.

Thank you so much to Netgalley & Llewellyn Publications who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.