For all my life, books about reincarnation have intrigued me. My mother was shocked by the interest of her young child in the subject. My grandmother was not. A couple of months ago, my daughter Allison noticed Soul Survivor on the Amazon page with my reincarnation novel, Hearts Across Forever, listed as bought along with it. She ordered a copy for me.
Because Bruce Leininger, like my mother, was not a believer in reincarnation, I found this story compelling. Imagine a two-year-old, just learning to talk, with screaming nightmares saying, "Plane on fire! Little man can't get out!" James' mother was terrified for her child, yet captivated as she discovered more unusual things her child "knew" that he couldn't know. His parents were surprised by James' fascination with World War II aircraft, especially the Corsair.
Using the Internet, Bruce started investigating the word James mentioned, Natoma, and eventually found a World War II aircraft carrier by that name. When he discovered a group of World War II veterans from the ship who held annual reunions, Bruce wound up attending some of them under the guise that he was writing a book about the Natoma Bay. In his at first skeptical investigations, he discovered many things that James actually knew including the name of the pilot whose life James remembers that was killed at Chichi-Jima.
There are photographs of drawings James created of airplane battles as a three-year-old that he signed "James 3." Bruce tracked down the family of James Huston, Jr., the pilot who died the day he was expected to return home, including his sister Anne who was still alive. What little James remembered and told Anne amazed her--things no one else could possibly know.
I've read about cases suggestive of reincarnation before, but these children lived in India and other countries in that part of the world where the belief is prevalent. This is the first book I've encountered in the United States about a case of a child recalling a past life.
If you've ever wondered about the possibility of reincarnation, you'll want to read this book. I would love to see the ABC Primetime show that aired in April 2004. Perhaps the TV show will run a repeat or even follow up on what James is doing now.
