Are You There, Spirit? It’s Me, Travis: Life Lessons from the Other Side

Holp debuts with an upbeat compendium of wisdom drawn from his work as a spiritual medium and his own path to self-acceptance. The author recounts growing up gay in a rigidly conservative Ohio town, and how coming out in his early teens allowed him to live more authentically (“When we show up as ourselves, right where we are, exactly as we are, without trying to fix, change, or run away from ourselves, the Universe meets us where we stand”). Other chapters use client readings to draw out such key lessons as the link between grief and a sense of purpose: Holp recalls watching a client realize she should pour her love for her late son into nursing, and notes “the struggles you’ve overcome [can] become the road map that helps others find their ways.” The author’s experience as a medium lends the advice a gentle spirituality, though the book’s strength lies in its perceptive takes on human nature, as when Holp discusses what it means to surrender or advises readers not to chase after their desires, but instead become the kind of person “who naturally attracts what we desire,” after which “everything has a way of unfolding effortlessly.” This should please the author’s fans and win him some new ones. (Nov.)