Books like How I Died and What I Did Next — picked by fans

I first met Peter when he attended my training in Singapore.

As a surgeon he had become frustrated at the limits of medical solutions and wanted a more holistic approach. Delighted with the results of the past life regression therapy he started a small practice in hospital and gave talks to other hospital staff about his amazing results. One day he was approached by one of the psychiatrists and told to stop as it was his area of expertise. Peter gave him a copy of this book and was never bothered again.

What I like about the book is the description the amazing transformational journey of a young nurse who had depression, insomnia, dissociative amnesia, suicidal thoughts, auditory hallucinations, and flashbacks. It shows when a traditional medical approach does not work how past life regression therapy can help.

What I like about this book is that it is one of the few historical past-life books that weaves together the past-life memories of eight people that corroborate each others accounts. In their current life none knew each other, had no previous knowledge of each other’s accounts beforehand and lived in different parts of the world. 

What unfolds is a tale of family, friends, empowerment, survival, spirituality, connection, sacrifice, and at the core love. It is about what happened before, during, and after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And that past life accounts differs, sometimes drastically from the fundamental beliefs of Christianity as we know it, they are supported by the latest biblical research.

When the book was written very few past books were available so this was the first book on the subject that I read and it took me on a path from being a traditional psychotherapist to being trained by Roger.

He pioneered body therapy for clearing traumatic past lives and through his work I was inspired to become a past life regression therapist, author, and eventually a trainer in this area myself. 

Roger had the gift of communication through his talks and books that has touched so many people over the years. This book is still as relevant and inspirational today as it was when I first read it.

This is Ian’s first past life book and in my view his best of many.

Wanting to have his own experience of a past life before writing the book Ian came to me for a past life regression to discover if past lives were real. He regressed into a past life of being tortured by having his fingernails removed that totally convinced him that the experience was real.

The book has a summary of the work of many pioneers in past life regression and their books and also future life regression. Ian presents information in a rational way and has done amazing research to dismiss much of skeptic’s criticism in early past books.

This is the novel that brought South Africa’s Lauren Beukes international plaudits, and which was serialised for Apple TV. 

But she writes speculative fiction, and this has an especially zany hook–a time-travelling serial killer–so why is this a historical novel? Beukes did deep research into several key periods in US history, bringing the “shining girls” of those eras alive in ways that are breathtakingly imaginative and entertaining.

In particular, her accounts of the black women who worked in shipyards during World War 2–and the middle-class women who operated “underground railways” for abortion in the 1960s–are heartbreakingly relevant in current times. Beukes explicitly states that she wanted women–so often the passive corpses or suffering victims in crime fiction–and their histories to be front and center of this novel.

Frederick Toates has been studying and writing about serial murder for many years. As a biological psychologist, he has authored many works about arousal and motivation. In this book, he and Olga Coschug-Toates, a fellow clinical scholar and noted author, present a biopsychosocial perspective of sexually motivated serial murders. They also highlight important concepts through case studies, making the presentation interesting and applicable. Although my recommended list revolves around elucidating the motives and means of FSKs, understanding how male serial killers commonly operate illustrates the stark differences between FSKs and MSKs.

My personal author coach (David Farland) suggested this read.

The premise of a teenage, self-diagnosed sociopath who works at a morgue but doesn’t want to become a serial killer was far too intriguing to pass by. Well’s background research into sociopath profiling and morgue duties kept me engaged, but never felt intrusive or information-dumpy.

Refreshingly, Wells keeps the teen character intelligent. Instead of the overwritten, arrogant teen who makes stupid decisions, the main character is thoughtful and bright, and recognizes beforehand that his choices driven by curiosity are a tad foolish.

Although I won’t read the sequels because they dive into a subgenre I’m not fond of, I consider I Am Not a Serial Killer one of the most innovative reads of this century.

This book is made for Criminal Minds addicts.

Every breadcrumb is important and kept me trying to solve the clues left by the Unknown Subject (UNSUB) nicknamed the Prophet. The killer’s ciphers and methods echoed those of the Zodiac. And somehow, despite the level of detail in the Prophet’s crime scenes and writings, Gardner’s pacing is a stomp on the gas pedal that doesn’t let up. It’s a tricky balance I aspire to achieve.

The Prophet’s poetic fantasies bleeding into reality while the clock counted down kept me wondering how, and if, Detective Caitlin Hendrix would stop this ruthless killer right up until the surprise-filled final showdown.

Stephen King. I know, I know. I can practically hear people rolling their eyes.

But in 2014, King wrote what he described as his first hard-boiled detective story. It was a complete change of pace. The story of Bill Hodges, a retired cop desperate to crack the unsolved case that haunts him, Mr. Mercedes buzzes with interesting characters.

Most prominent among them is Holly Gibney. She emerges as the hero of this story, someone who overcomes her own obstacles to help Bill Hodges catch a killer. You get the sense in Mr. Mercedes that King cares about all his characters.

Even the killer is portrayed as the victim of a horrific environment. And the crime that begins the story? It haunts me to this very day.

I like crime journalism, especially when it breaks new ground or reveals a shocking story.

It’s hard to believe we aren’t well-versed in this Cape Cod serial killer, Tony Costa, since this 1969 case of multiple murders inspired two major writing talents, Norman Mailer and Kurt Vonnegut, to compete for a scoop. 

Sherman, who happened to stumble upon the story, brings out these authors’ personality quirks and describes the strange things they’d do for a shot at publication. At the same time, we learn about Costa’s predatory maneuvers and the way the investigation was handled.

I found this book to be a terrific addition to the historic true crime genre.