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The core of the book is a journal of messages and "insights" into the after-life as told to the author by her deceased brother. There are also many other events that happen to the author and others that are instigated or related to what her brother is telling her. As someone who is anti-religion (as opposed to atheist), I found the story very interesting and very appealing. Some endings are happier, some not so happy, but it's not just the happiness percentage that matters. It's the music of it. Most people's lives don't have enough music. I was” I read The Afterlife of Billy Fingers in 90 Minutes… I could not put it down… what a great book, really one of the best in this genre. Arielle Ford Maybe the real question to ask yourself is, do you forgive me? And really, darling, there is no one to forgive, because we signed up to do this dance together before we were born. We weren't acting out some type of I-did-somethingwrong-to-you-in-another-life-and-I'm-paying-for-itnow kind of thing. It doesn't really work like that. That concept of an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth karmic equalizing of the score isn't the real deal, at least not where I am. It's more a kind of experiment chosen for soul-type reasons that humans have an almost impossible time understanding. And not understanding is an important part of the experiment. If people knew the workings of the experiment, it would lose some of its punch, and that losing of punch, well, that's a little bit of what enlightenment is all about.”
The Afterlife of Billy Fingers by Annie Kagan | Hachette UK The Afterlife of Billy Fingers by Annie Kagan | Hachette UK
As I was reading I started to receive signs of my own. I too lost someone close to me who struggled with addiction. Like Annie I fought so hard to save him when he couldn't be saved. At first I thought the book was too over the top for me, even though I have gotten visits before, these entire and persistent conversations seemed too good to be true. After reading the first several chapters I said out loud, "This book is bullshit. Zach (my friend that passed) if this is for real give me a sign right now". For whatever reason I decided to continue reading even though I was skeptical and wasn't yet connecting with the book. The very next words I read were about how Billy couldn't be saved and that Annie shouldn't worry about what everyone thought about her, being an enabler, stupid, etc. when it came to her trying to save him. These were the exact thoughts/emotions I had struggled with since my own loss. It was the sign I needed to continue reading and start believing. When Billy wants to communicate how important something is, he describes it as physically large. For example one afterlife entity is important because it is bigger than the sun. Size is a child's way of understanding importance. Billy's visions are earthbound. He describes his own afterlife as floating around in space past stars and planets, "I'm drifting weightlessly through space with these gorgeous stars and moons and galaxies twinkling all around me." In heaven, people wear robes, and they are better looking "than the best looking actor." While reading this book, I always try to put myself in the authors shoes and try to feel what they are feeling (only for non-fiction stories). Whatever your religion is, you are raised believing one way because that is what was taught to you. Everyone has their own beliefs, and if they chose to believe that something like this can really happen, then they will. As a believer in the afterlife and also believing that people that have passed can communicate with us, many things in this book, I have read some of the same things and have had those same thoughts. In the book, Annie's brother communicated with her after a tragic death. They were never close as brother and sister and didn't always keep in touch. She had helped him several times to try and get him to beat his addiction to drugs. Maybe she had some guilt after his death because she had failed at helping him. But, from my experience of knowing people with addictions and working with them as well, they have to want to help themselves before anyone else can help them. Not everyone wants the help for whatever reasons. Anyways, after his death, she wakes one morning to his voice, talking to her and telling her to write down what he is telling her. She does so, not knowing entirely if it is real or not. As she does so, she keeps it to herself at first then shares with her writer's group about it and gives them proof that this is for real when he gives little messages for her to give to certain people. One of the things that Billy told her was that before we are born, we choose the kind of life we want to live. I have read this many times before. This also factors in the belief of reincarnation. Because we may chose one life-an easy one, no struggles, everything we want and then our next life, we may chose a hard one where everything is a struggle, we get by with the basic things we need in life but always wishing we had more so we didn't have to pinch pennies so much. I have always felt like that. He also mentioned about this "person" he referred to as Joseph and how he felt he had always known him and come to find out they were part of the same tribe from long ago. Many people could read into that a lot of things or just say it adds to the flare of the story. But when you stop and think about all the people you meet in your lifetime, some you feel a strong connection to, like you have known them all your life or if you believe in past lives, then maybe you knew that person in another lifetime. That by living many lives, we are learning things to put us on a higher plane when we die. When we feel that have learned all we need, then we are no longer reincarnated but remain on what level we decided to stop at. In 2004, bad boy Billy Fingers Cohen, a homeless small-time drug dealer and addict in a state of drug induced euphoria ran into a busy intersection and was killed instantly by a speeding automobile. He left behind a grieving sister. For weeks she struggled with grief and tried to make sense of Billy's seemingly wasted life and tragic death.This... I am sorry for the author, but this was just not good. I do know the feeling of loosing a family member and I do understand that each one of us has a different way of dealing with all that enormous pain. Writing about it is a great idea, I think. It helps. On that part, it is easy to understand this mess of a book. Sadly, understanding where it came from doesn't make it any better. Humans don't usually get to experience the full magnificence of their lives while they're living it. They get caught up in lots of ideas and lose sight of the miracle that is their life.” The reader is left asking whether Kagan simply imagined Billy's monologues, or if Kagan is a manipulator exploiting human grief and fear to make money and achieve guru status. Have you ever heard a story that purports to be true, yet you have a nagging hesitation to believe it, despite recognising your deep desire that it be true? I have read a LOT of books about the afterlife and the between life states, but this one was a bit more personal and simply verified all that I already knew once again. Annie was fortunate to have the auditory experience to hear her brother after his demise and to learn and be able to get evidence of his presence through messages she could relate to others that could prove the material was coming from the source.
The Afterlife of Billy Fingers - Google Books The Afterlife of Billy Fingers - Google Books
Your eyes can't see the light directly, only the things it shines upon, so the light remains invisible, just like the soul does.”I believe many people may consider this e fictional, rather than a real, description. There is a Spanish saying: "Yo no creo en brujas, pero que las hay, las hay!" ("I do not believe in Witches, but that they exist, they do!")a funny saying that I always interpreted as meaning: often, we ignore what is the truth, but there is so much under our noses which reveals itself to our astonishment, why not keep an open mind? Annie Kagan began writing songs at the age of fourteen. At fifteen she was signed by a producer from Columbia Records. At sixteen she was performing in New York City cafes and clubs. I received this book from the Goodreads giveaway books. I just finished reading it and usually after reading a book, I automatically write a review while it is still fresh in my mind. I took a little bit after finishing this book to think about what I had read. First I must say, it was a very easy read as I read it in one sitting. Second, I enjoy reading books like this because as humans, we are always curious about the afterlife and question if there is one, where do we go when we die, do we go directly to heaven, remain on a plane before going to heaven, etc., etc., etc. Our servers are getting hit pretty hard right now. To continue shopping, enter the characters as they are shown While I find the subject very interesting, this particular elaboration of it makes me angry. I usually like reading and hearing different theories about the existance of afterlife and various interpretations of it, just to test or even expand my own beliefs and contemplate the possibilities. Most of all, I'm curious about other opinions, and not only on this subject, but so many more. That's why I read these kind of books from time to time.
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