I went into this book with few expectations, or at least few correct ones. After reading the cover and the introductory chapter, I wasn’t sure what angle or perspective it would take. It presented itself as an immersion into ghosts and the feelings that were experienced in tandem with those interactions. And I found that interesting enough. What I was not expecting, was a complete delve into a subject called ‘felt presence’ while also being an adventure into the stories and experiences that help demonstrate the concept.
To accurately review this book, it is necessary to define what felt presence is. Generally, it means the sense or feeling that someone or something is with us, without receiving any sensory feedback to indicate that. It’s a strange feeling, people sometimes associate with ghosts or spirits, but Day really tries to show that there are a multitude of ways in which this feeling has been brought about.
As someone who really enjoys psychology, I probably could have sat through the entire book even if it was just definitions, explanations, and results of studies being shared and explained; but for the average reader, this isn’t enjoyable. Even if they find the subject interesting, interest is easy to be lost without making the writing more exciting and story-like. The balance that is struck between information and entertainment is incredible, leading to a fascinating experience that unloads a dense amount of information without feeling like too much is being presented.
I didn’t just learn and gain a better understanding of the topics, I also was able to learn much more about a variety of different stories and ideas. The book opens with a quick definition of what they mean by felt presence and a breakdown of what the rest of the book is going to look like. After this it jumps right into a personal story about how the author first found out about felt presence, in his work with voice-hearers, and how their experiences inspired him to further research this topic as well as introducing this topic to those who may not have the most prior information on it.
It goes on to explain many other ways that people may feel these experiences, delving into the adventures of explorers and adventurers in the South Pole and other places, and how pushing ourselves to the extremes can change how we view the world. Additionally, subjects explored that could be a basis or reason for felt presence that were explored included sleep paralysis, tulpamancy (where an individual wills into imagination another individual into their mind), psychosis and schizophrenia, spirituality, and many others.
This book may not be received in the most positive light by those who have strong beliefs in spirits and similar concepts, as it may give them the feeling that those experiences are being downplayed to psychological disorders and more scientific explanations. Personally, I don’t believe it really felt that way, the goal of the book was not to debunk or expose stories that were fraudulent or impossible, but to speak with the people having these experiences and to learn about them, and how they may be helpful in the study of felt presence. I don’t know that there has been a non-fiction book where I was this excited and fascinated in not only the subject as to where the story was going and what information was revealed. If you have an interest in psychology, or want to know more what causes people to feel like there is someone or something with them, this book will give you all the knowledge you need and more, and tell fascinating stories.
