Midlife Medium - by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Can we really communicate with the dead? Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, a fifty-six-year-old renowned genealogist with no childhood paranormal experiences, intends to find out.

Midlife Medium is an unintentional spiritual memoir as Sharon engrosses herself in the world of mediumship to learn whether it's possible for anyone to become a medium. The journey is not without unexpected, sometimes unsettling, consequences as Sharon grapples with her own mortality and discovers a little-known religion, Spiritualism. She also discovers that all relationships can heal, even after death. But perhaps the biggest challenge is the strain her quest puts on her relationship with her skeptical, science-teacher daughter.

An often humorous yet profound attempt at bridging the gap between life and the afterlife, Midlife Medium: A Genealogist's Quest to Converse with the Dead also includes a short guide and suggestions for readers who want to start their own journey to become a medium.

Review Quotes

"Sharon DeBartolo Carmack's Midlife Medium: A Genealogist's Quest to Converse with the Dead is written with honesty, wisdom, and the awareness that essential questions of life after death still confound so many of us. Carmack is a gifted storyteller, and her engaging, spirited journey comes to us with both humor and serious intent. A clear guide for anyone with questions, and anyone open to unanticipated answers." -Dinty W. Moore, author of To Hell With It

"Carmack's keen writing endearingly portrays her family throughout her journey, from her obliging partner to her grown daughter, Laurie, who's consistently wary of Mom's mediumship. Its depiction of family relationships shines." -Kirkus Reviews

"Midlife Medium is an intriguing and remarkable book. With honesty, insight, and humor, Carmack, one of America's most skilled and respected family historians and authors, takes us along on her fascinating journey..."-Henry Z Jones, author of Psychic Roots: Serendipity and Intuition in Genealogy

"A five-star read! Sharon's journey to become a medium in her fifties is both humorous and profound. Written in a conversational voice, it feels as if Sharon is sitting next to you over a cup of tea and sharing her victories and calamities. Midlife Medium is funny because it's so amazingly honest."-Sandra Champlain, author of We Don't Die: A Skeptic's Discovery of Life After Deathand radio show host of We Don't Die Radio and Shades of the Afterlife

"Sharon's experience makes fascinating reading and is well crafted to provide the reader with a personal insight into a world that may appear strange to some people. But through that world, and the mediumship experience, remarkable things are possible, and lives can and are transformed forever." -Minister David R. Bruton, president of the Spiritualists' National Union, principal of Arthur Findlay College

"Anyone who's ever explored their family history wishes they could communicate with their ancestors, and finally, there's a book for that! In Midlife Medium, renowned genealogist Sharon DeBartolo Carmack-with her trademark humor, grit, and candor on full display-invites us to peek over her shoulder on her fascinating journey into Spiritualism and becoming a credentialed medium."-Megan Smolenyak, author of In Search of Our Ancestors: 101 Inspiring Stories of Serendipity and Connection

"As a professional genealogist, highly skilled at unearthing old documents and piecing together the lives of our ancestors, Carmack takes a meticulous approach, researching the history, science, and philosophy of mediumship and examining the evidence from every scientific and spiritual angle. In Midlife Medium, she has created a must-read guide full of riveting information and facts for anyone interested in learning more about mediumship, all written with her unique satirical sense of humor, which will keep you turning the pages."-Ann Théato, host and founder of the Psychic Matters! Podcast

"Frank, lighthearted, and good fun to read, Midlife Medium demystifies afterlife communication. Sharon Carmack's mediumship quest shows how healing relationships between the living and dead is both possible and enchanting."-Melanie Alberts, host of Psychic Playdate podcast

"Genealogists worth their salt have long used Carmack's helpful guidebooks to find their ancestors and tell their stories. Now, in this flowing and unexpectedly funny memoir, she delivers evidence of how our departed loved ones survive in spirit, keen to communicate and reconnect."-Joseph Ditta, archivist and author of Then & Now: Gravesend, Brooklyn