Old Souls

This article is about the book Old Souls. For the Los Angeles band, see Old Souls (band).

Old Souls: The Scientific Evidence For Past Lives
Author(s)	Tom Shroder
Cover artist	Julie Metz
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Investigative Journalism
Publisher	Simon & Schuster
Publication date	1999
Media type	Print (Hardback)
Pages	256
ISBN	ISBN 0-684-85192-X
OCLC Number	42273755
Dewey Decimal	133.9/01/35 21
LC Classification	BL515 .S46 1999

Old Souls: The Scientific Evidence For Past Lives is a non-fiction book by journalist Tom Shroder. An editor at the Washington Post, Shroder traveled extensively with psychiatrist Ian Stevenson of the University of Virginia, who conducted past life and reincarnation research in Lebanon, India and the American South.^[1]

Stevenson's informants were 3000^[2] children spontaneously remembering recent ordinary lives, as opposed to adults remembering under hypnosis romantic or heroic lives in the distant past.^[3] In addition, birthmarks that occur at the sites of injury in the previous life constitute an important part of Stevenson's evidence.^[4]

Stevenson's methodology involved listening to stories, comparing and contrasting variants of stories, verification or falsification of empirical claims, and constructing long, detailed narratives that attempt to "capture" the complex experience of his informants, who claim to remember incidents from past lives. In this sense Stevenson's work is similar to that of ethnographers and cultural anthropologists.^[4]

While Stevenson wrote extensively on his reincarnation studies, his work earned limited circulation outside academia. At the outset, Shroder sees his role not only as observer, but also as skeptic. But as his journey with Stevenson progresses, Shroder finds it increasingly difficult to reject the possibility of past lives.^[5]

Reception

Jack Coulehan writing for the New York University of Medicine said, "This book provides a good introduction to the work of Ian Stevenson, a man who qualifies for this database because he has devoted his professional life to the study of narrative. Stevenson's methodology involves listening to stories, comparing and contrasting variants of stories, and constructing long, detailed narratives that attempt to "capture" the complex experience of his informants, who claim to remember incidents from past lives. In this sense Stevenson's work is similar to that of ethnographers, cultural anthropologists, and folklorists".^[4]

David Wallis writing for the New York Times has said, "After years of mockery from colleagues, Dr. Ian Stevenson, Director of the Department of Personality Studies at the University of Virginia, is finally getting respect".^[6]

Old Souls received considerable media attention following publication, in the Los Angeles Times,^[7] Chicago Tribune,^[8] and other sources.^{[9][10][11][12]}

See also

• Jim B. Tucker
• Life Before Life
• Reincarnation research
• Children's Past Lives
• Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation
• European Cases of the Reincarnation Type
• Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect

References

1. ^ "Searching out Old Souls", by Karen R. Long, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, August 19, 1999, page 5E. Online at Google News. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
2. ^ Professor Ian Stevenson // The Daily Telegraph, February 12, 2007.
3. ^ "Time and Again", by Claire Douglas, The Washington Post, Oct 17, 1999, page X.06. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Coulehan, Jack (2006-11-30). "Old Souls: The Scientific Evidence for Past Lives". New York University. p. 1. http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=11793. Retrieved 14 June 2010. 
5. ^ Kenny, Thane (January 10, 2000). "Little Johnny Just Isn't Himself Today". Weekly Wire. http://weeklywire.com/ww/01-10-00/alibi_bookreview.html. 
6. ^ Wallis, David (September 26, 1999). "Conversations/Dr. Ian Stevenson; You May Be Reading This In Some Future Past Life". New York Times (The New York Times Company): p. 1. http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/26/weekinreview/conversations-dr-ian-stevenson-you-may-be-reading-this-in-some-future-past-life.html. Retrieved 14 June 2010. 
7. ^ Mary Rourke. Book Review; Connected by Forces Beyond Our Grasp Los Angeles Times, August 10, 1999.
8. ^ Peg Gould. No Quick Answers to Question of Reincarnation Chicago Tribune, September 13, 1999.
9. ^ Soulful: Psychiatrist States Case for Reincarnation Winston-Salem Journal, August 14, 1999.
10. ^ Alan Cabal. How Old Is Your Soul? New York Press, September 1,1999.
11. ^ B. John Tanasychuk. Who Were You? Sun Sentinel, August 19, 1999.
12. ^ Karen R. Long. Old Souls Saratosa Herald Tribune, August 19, 1999.

External links

• Old Souls
• Ian Stevenson; Sought To Document Memories Of Past Lives in Children The Washington Post, 11 February 2007.
• Old Souls, The Scientific Evidence for Past Lives