Have you ever wondered what the origin story of a medium looks like? For most, the ability to communicate and interpret messages from the dead began in childhood. For others, it takes major life milestones or traumatic events for gifts to begin taking shape. There's no one size fits all way to become a medium, but there are ways to cultivate your sensitivity and skills. Psychic abilities can be honed, learned, and practiced--by anyone--though some people are born with more sensitivity than others. While this list isn't specifically about how to become a medium, it's good to start with the life stories of those who've been at it for a while. Memoirs by practicing psychics and mediums give a rare inside look at how to understand, live with, and refine psychic abilities. Below is a curated list of the highest-rated memoirs by psychic mediums.
Once a Navy commander and skeptic, Giesemann was propelled into mediumship after personal tragedy. She shares how she found evidence of life after death and her calling to help others heal. In this compelling memoir, a once skeptic Suzanne Giesemann chronicles her transformation from a by-the-book U.S. Navy commander into a practicing medium. Propelled by family tragedy and 9/11 trauma, Giesemann began exploring the nature of consciousness and material reality in an attempt to reach loved ones, ultimately offering comfort, meaning, and healing to grieving families. Giesemann weaves together narrative, poetry, and case studies to deliver a message of hope: that life continues beyond the physical, and our connections matter deeply. Her account invites readers into a broader understanding of what it means to live with purpose and to believe in a reality larger than the one we perceive.
A certified evidential medium, Jackson recounts her journey from schoolteacher to world-renowned psychic, showing how connections with the departed offer guidance, meaning, and healing. In this bestselling memoir, Jackson describes her journey from childhood awareness of unusual psychic gifts, such as sensing emotions, seeing auras, and communicating with the departed, to embracing her role as a medium whose mission is to help others heal from loss. She reflects on the ways our souls are entangled, how consciousness doesn’t end with death, and how the “cords of light” she perceives link us to those who have passed and the meaning we can draw from those bonds. Jackson invites readers to reconsider assumptions about life and death, challenging the notion of separation by showing vivid examples of ongoing connection, and she encourages us to live more boldly, intuitively, and compassionately as a result of that understanding.
Sonia Choquette is a world-renowned intuitive guide and spiritual teacher. In her 2003 memoir, she reveals her journey from an intuitive youngster to a sought-after professional with a Ph.D. in metaphysics from the American Institute of Holistic Theology. Choquette recalls a childhood spent struggling to understand emerging psychic abilities. Unlike many other psychic memoirists, Choquette's says her gifts were not a source of ridicule among family members because her standing as a generational intuitive allowed her to navigate life within a supportive, nurturing context. However, she doesn't shy away from exploring the difficulty of developing these gifts with humor and honesty.
In this 2003 memoir, Holland chronicles his journey of accepting his rare gift as a spirit messenger. Boston-born Holland recalls his difficult childhood filled with ridicule from family and friends. While the beginning of the memoir feels bleak, Holland shares how he was able to break free by traveling to England to study spiritualism at Arthur Findlay College. Like any memoir from someone who has honed their craft, this one gives readers a glimpse into the journey from suppressing a gift to spending time learning to control what you've once rejected.
Far more than a personal memoir, this 2022 book bridges the gap between the supernatural and the author's Colombian lineage to weave together an intergenerational experience of myth, grief identity, and the power of family stories. In addition to intimately inviting readers into her own supernatural experiences, Contreras dives into her long lineage of healers—including a grandfather capable of moving clouds to create rain. A finalist for both the National Book Award for Nonfiction and the Pulitzer Prize for Memoir or Autobiography, The Man Who Could Move Clouds is a deep, soulful read told through the eyes of an intuitive living a real-life experience of magical realism.
First published in 1996, Second Sight is written by an intuitive psychiatrist sharing her incredible life story as someone guided by psychic experiences and clairvoyance in everyday life who decided to pursue a profession in medicine. While the best-selling book was published 30 years ago, it is as relevant as ever. In her memoir, Dr. Orloff shares her perspectives on how intuition has helped her to develop therapeutic tools for improving the physical health and emotional well-being of her patients in her work as a board-certified psychiatrist. Along the way, we learn about Dr. Orloff's complex journey of accepting her gift of intuition as something she could use professionally.
In Life Among the Dead, Lisa Williams invites readers into a deeply personal and candid account of her journey from childhood clairvoyance in England to becoming a high-profile medium in Los Angeles. Throughout the memoir she reflects on the early signs of her gift and chronicles how she learned to trust and refine her ability, navigated public exposure, and balanced ordinary life. This book is not simply a catalogue of psychic readings or spiritual “proofs,” but a memoir of transformation and authenticity, giving the reader a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what it means to live surrounded by spirits, grappling with doubt and fear.
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