Book Review: Soul Sessions

Let me start this book review by saying that when it comes to spirituality, I don't have a strict belief system that I follow or subscribe to. I'm open to many spiritual concepts and paths, and although reincarnation is not something I've spent much time thinking about, I find the idea really fascinating. 

Soul Sessions, by Carson Gage, is a book that explores reincarnation and the subject of soul mates in a way that is very different from anything else that I've ever come across (granted, when it comes to reincarnation, I haven't come across much!). Within the context of this book, Gage's definition of a soul mate emerges as a soul that you are continually reincarnated with and meant to connect with again and again in each lifetime.

As I read this book in bed each night (on my Kindle, the way I do all my reading these days), it definitely got my mind churning before drifting off to sleep. Here's a little synopsis of the book:  

An engaging journey of love and spiritual awakening, Soul Sessions starts in current day Chicago, where Nick Dalton is a troubled yet highly successful Investment Banker with a gorgeous girlfriend and an extravagant lifestyle. Despite all his success, Nick falls into a deep depression after a life altering event. Just as it looks as though Nick’s life might end in suicide, enter Katrina DuMont, a gifted psychologist who is expert in both traditional and new age methods of treatment for depression. Together, using past-life regression techniques, they explore several of Nick’s prior incarnations, where he unwittingly discovers a beautiful woman who repeatedly appears as his lover and soul mate. To potentially reawaken his epic love affair, Nick is compelled to search for her in this lifetime. Thus begins an astonishing story of love and intrigue, where Nick stumbles across inconceivable answers to some of life's greatest mysteries ... and once again finds the course of his life altered.

Although Soul Sessions was very different from the types of books that I usually read, it did get me thinking a lot about our life journeys: Do we have soul mates? Are the events in our life designed or dictated by a larger plan, or are they all happenstance? Do things happen for a reason? Do we get lots of chances to learn the same life lessons? 

I know many people who have had what they would call "spiritual awakenings" or enlightened experiences, and I myself have had one experience that felt quite transcendent (that's a story for another time and place), but this book introduces the concept of a spiritual awakening as a very real life occurrence for the main character, Nick. 

Although Nick's spiritual awakening is quite dramatic, I think we're all on spiritual journeys in one way or another, and that a big part of life is waking up to our experience and being present and aware of who we are in the moment. 

Here's a quote from the book that speaks to this idea: 

"Waking up is a process. For many people on the spiritual path, they spend the first half of their lives trying to form a healthy ego and then spend the second half trying to overcome the ego they’ve built up…sort of like a caterpillar trying to overcome itself and morph into a butterfly."

Pretty spot on, wouldn't you say? 

Overall, I think Soul Sessions is an interesting read for anyone wanting a fictional take on reincarnation, soulmates, and the bigger questions in life. When it comes to  such a huge subject, starting with a novel that explores spirituality through a bite-sized story of just one man's experience is a very non-threatening way to get a taste (although again, I must emphasize that this is just a fictional story, and may differ a lot from religious views on the subject).  

Happy reading!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.