Walking in the Garden of Souls: George Anderson's Advice from the Hereafter for Living in he Here and Now

Someday we will return to a place of unfathomable beauty, where we live amongst all the beings we have ever loved, promises George Anderson author of Walking in the Garden of Souls. "It is a place we will see again only after our lifetime of struggle, hardship and hurt has earned us the reward of true and final peace." Our task is not to simply muddle through, waiting for our ticket to Eden, cautions Anderson. Rather, we must set out to create "a Garden on earth while we are here," meaning we must cultivate the same life we yearn for in the hereafter. As he did with Lessons from the Light, Anderson conveys messages from the departed to help us tend our garden. The advice ranges from how to plant hope in times of despair to how to water the seeds of compassion (it may start with placing money in a panhandler's palm). Sometimes the garden metaphor seems forced or clich d. But overall, this is a book with honorable intentions, helping us understand the purpose of life on Earth. --Gail Hudson