There is a River: The Story of Edgar Cayce

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There is a River: The Story of Edgar Cayce

by Thomas J. Sugrue, Edgar Cayce (Contributor)

4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 · rating details · 585 ratings · 48 reviews

This is the complete, original biography of the best-documented psychic in America. It tells the story of how Edgar Cayce discovered his astounding psychic gifts and what led him to a life dedicated to helping others. Cayce's "readings," given in a trancelike state, ranged from phenomenal medical cures to advice on spiritual growth, psychology, and the prophesy of world ev...more

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Published May 1st 2003 by A.R.E. Press (Association of Research & Enlightenment) (first published 1945)

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Apr 22, 2013 Stein rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biographical, metaphysics, medical-associations

This is a review of the audio CDs. Thomas Sugrue knew Edgar Cayce, his family and associates intimately and wrote There is a River in the 1940s. This is no dreary summary or chronological review of his life. It follows Cayce from childhood to the end of his life with sympathy, feeling and forthrightness. Much of the dialogue has obviously been surmised but makes the book come vividly alive. Cayce's life was inspirational but also tragic in many respects. His life and work has been trivialized, r...more

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Mar 16, 2013 Hal rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was written by a college friend of Cayce's son shortly after Edgar's death in 1945. It was written almost as a narrative more than a biography in a story fashion. I preferred the biography of Cayce more than this book, but it is written my someone who had closer connection possibly.

Two figures in history have always fascinated me Edgar Cayce and Tesla. Both of these men seemed to be tapping into some extrasensorial power that we only have no clues to. Cayce would tell you it was from a...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Cosmic Tree rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoirs-and-auto-biography

I had heard the name Edgar Cayce in relation to psychic powers before I read this book, but I had not known much more than that. I very much enjoyed the novel-like style of writing the author employed in writing this biography, as it made it a quick and easy read.

Edgar Cayce's story is quite fascinating. I am a pretty fluffy new-age type, but clairvoyance always seems a bit, well, too much even for me. I guess I have seen too many people channeling Egyptians who lived 5,000 years ago (for a love...more

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Jul 05, 2010 Bret rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book has helped me through a difficult period. The extent and pace of change in my life has overwhelmed me as I prepare to enter a new career and thus a new way of living. Money and charity have pulled from opposite ends of my soul throughout my life and finally, I think I found the line of work I am meant to do.

Edgar Cayce's story is one of an ordinary man who, through some stroke of predestination, spoke about extraordinary mysteries while in a sleeping trance. In an era where frauds lik...more

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Jul 15, 2009 Thom Foolery rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had heard of Edgar Cayce before, mainly because I shelved so many books by or about him in my years as a bookseller. It was only recently, though, as I was browsing through one of the Stranger than... books by the late Frank Edwards that I came across a brief biography of Edgar Cayce and learned more about his mysterious diagnoses given while unconscious. I remembered that I had this book, one of the Time-Life Collector's Library of the Unknown reprints, on my shelf and so I dug in.

For the mos...more I had heard of Edgar Cayce before, mainly because I shelved so many books by or about him in my years as a bookseller. It was only recently, though, as I was browsing through one of the Stranger than... books by the late Frank Edwards that I came across a brief biography of Edgar Cayce and learned more about his mysterious diagnoses given while unconscious. I remembered that I had this book, one of the Time-Life Collector's Library of the Unknown reprints, on my shelf and so I dug in.

For the most part, the prose was easy to read and written in a straightforward, familiar style, so that I felt like I was seeing the events of Cayce's life as they happened. The book begins like a normal biography, discussing early romances, jobs, family incidents, etc., with very little to indicate how strange Mr. Cayce's life would become. Around 1/3 of the way through the book, we discover, along with young Edgar, that he can memorize written materials just by sleeping on them. He also discovers that he has miraculous powers to diagnose illnesses and prescribe cures for people he has never met, all while unconscious. (In his waking life, Mr. Cayce was very modestly educated, and was as surprised as anyone at the ideas and language that came from his unconscious form.) The way that this section of the book reads, you would imagine that Cayce's cures were always successful and that skeptics were fools.

The book begins to drag after the second half, though, for a variety of reasons. First, Cayce could never actually put his powers to any real end. Every attempt to establish a multidisciplinary hospital to implement and research his unconscious revelations, as was his dream, came to an unsuccessful conclusion. This is fairly anticlimactic and does not make for a very "heroic" story. Second, one of his benefactors, a man quite interested in matters occult, began to ask Cayce more arcane questions, and so the revelations began to drift into, to me, less interesting areas-the typical new age stuff about Atlantis, reincarnation, soul mates, etc. Finally, it became more apparent to me, based on the later, more thoroughly documented cases, that Cayce's "miraculous" cures might not have been as amazing as they seemed in the earlier chapters; the earlier cures seemed more amazing simply because the way in which they were recorded and related was more "oh gosh" and less stringent. (In other words, as he gets older and more jaded, even his cures seem less special and miraculous. Maybe this was the writer's intention.)

The conclusion of the book was, for me, the worst part. It is divided into two appendix-like sections. In the first section, the author tries to systematically describe Cayce's philosophy. Boring. Too much like the Ascended Master stuff that I find hard to swallow. Maybe it is true. Maybe not. Whenever I read this stuff, I just get the feeling that I am listening to some pedantic, New England minister lecturing on matters that were expressed much more interestingly 2,000 years ago by Hindus and Buddhists. The second section in the conclusion recounts six case studies from the Cayce files, and these are interesting only for those who want to see how difficult to understand Cayce's medical diagnoses could be, due to the odd structure of his language and the outdated medical terminology.

It was a quick read, except for those two concluding sections, so if you are at all interested, I highly recommend reading it. As for what it means, though, I really have no clue. And I don't plan on re-reading it to find out, though the pretty Time-Life book will remain on my shelf as decoration.
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Jun 11, 2012 David Seals rated it 5 of 5 stars

When my generation, born in the latter 1940s, somehow blew our minds by the 1960s and challenged some of our parents' ideas about civil rights, war, religion, education, and even medicine, the books and astonishing insights of somebody named Edgar Cayce were just another among many new possibilities for us to discover. The bookstores and the streets were exploding with marches and ideas, music, art, cosmic consciousness for peace and love. It was a wonderful and heady and terrible time of assas...more

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Aug 13, 2011 Judy Vasseur rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fascinating. Edgar Cayce had a gift which he used to alleviate suffering and restore health in thousands of people. A devout Christian, not educated in medicine, he had the ability to make contact, through his subconscious, with an articulate source of healing knowledge. The details, medical terminology, and results were overseen and approved by learned doctors of the day.

“The Readings”, which could be done from any distance as long as the name and address of the person was given, treated the b...more Fascinating. Edgar Cayce had a gift which he used to alleviate suffering and restore health in thousands of people. A devout Christian, not educated in medicine, he had the ability to make contact, through his subconscious, with an articulate source of healing knowledge. The details, medical terminology, and results were overseen and approved by learned doctors of the day.

“The Readings”, which could be done from any distance as long as the name and address of the person was given, treated the body as a linked system and the detailed therapies involved medicines, massage, and diet. The diagnoses were astoundingly accurate. People were cured. “Yes, we have the body.....”

Established medicine then and now can in itself cause harm and will ignore the entire bodily system as it offers a pill or injection from a profiteering industry for an isolated symptom or sick organ. The Readings would often catch doctors in their mistakes, preventing harmful surgeries, or demanding surgery when none was thought necessary. All chillingly accurate. It’s important to note that these Readings made use of advanced anatomical and medical terminology and that Edgar Cayce himself had no medical training. How he could, in a trance, know these things is mind boggling.

Now is a good time to again spout out my favorite statistic: Total number of medical errors and deaths equals six jumbo jets crashing every day. And yet somehow that medical establishment had/has credibility and a clairvoyant was/is viewed as a stunt or trick.

As I read many case histories that are recorded in this book, they are all sensible and detailed, making use of complicated medical knowledge, and were given with the sole intent of helping the individual examined and NOT INTENDED FOR PROFIT.

These were the days before fast food and the obesity epidemic in America, yet directives included: eat no hog meat or white bread. Fish is good, red meats not so good. Add to the diet olive oil, grape juice, vegetables, fruits. Get exercise and fresh air.

Every day I see in the newspapers the results of stupid tests and trials still trying to debate the harmful/helpful effects of diet and exercise upon health. I suspect they are organized and paid for by the highly profitable drug industries. People, behold the humble grape. The humble carrot. Spinach leaf. Human touch. Faith in God.(less)

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Jul 07, 2012 Marsha rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked this book except I found at times it was confusing or in some areas it was too vague, or too dry. Perhaps because the book was originally published in 1942, that was the style of the day. Today, perhaps in our expectations, we request a faster, smoother read.

However, I did learn a lot about Edgar Cayce, who was born March 18, 1877. As a little boy in a small town in Kentucky, Cayce requested a copy of the Bible so he could read it. His fascination of the Bible at such a young age, made h...more I liked this book except I found at times it was confusing or in some areas it was too vague, or too dry. Perhaps because the book was originally published in 1942, that was the style of the day. Today, perhaps in our expectations, we request a faster, smoother read.

However, I did learn a lot about Edgar Cayce, who was born March 18, 1877. As a little boy in a small town in Kentucky, Cayce requested a copy of the Bible so he could read it. His fascination of the Bible at such a young age, made him stand out and people would charmingly nickname him “Old Man.”

Cayce was a terrible student. Yet, he figured out that if he slept with his text books under his head, only then could he recall what he needed to know for school. This was quite bizarre and no one could understand it. But, it also contributed to his uniqueness.

Neighbors and friends who were ill would ask Cayce to come to them as Cayce could come up with a cure while he was sleeping. He would go to sleep and when he woke up, he would tell these folks what to do to cure the illnesses. Desperate for help, his listeners would try his solutions and more often than not, there would be successful results

As a young man, Cayce worked at various retail stores, including in a bookstore. He asked the owner if he could work there because he felt it was the best bookstore around. Cayce was hard working at his jobs and responsible.

At one point in his young life, he lost the ability to speak. He was therefore not able to work and this discouraged him a great deal. However, he decided to take up the trade of photography, which he could do without a voice.

A local hypnotist, Al Lance, offered to help Cayce restore his voice. He did help Cayce, but there were relapses wherein Cayce would lose his voice again. After his voice did return, Lance helped Cayce to offer his sleep trances to the general public, which made Cayce popular. He was wavering whether his special talent was the work of God or the work of the Devil.

Cayce married and had sons. His wife helped him in his photography business. He helped his own son at one time. His son had experienced an eye injury during an explosion and the doctors wanted to remove the eye. Cayce offered to do his trance to see if there was some cure as he did not want the doctors to remove his son’s eye. After his sleep, he awoke and offered a compound solution to be placed on the eye area and to continue this for a few days. After a few days, his son’s eye started getting better and thus it was not removed.

He moved to Texas for a short time. While in Texas, his fame exceeded. People paid him to give them readings.

Cayce also believed in reincarnation and this too left him conflicted as it is not accepted in Christianity. In this book there was discussion about this subject and I found it very interesting. It is an argument to ponder

By 1925, Cayce felt instructed while in a trance that he to move with his family to Virginia Beach, Virginia, and that was what he did. While in Virginia Beach, he inquired funding and sponsorship, and founded the Cayce Hospital. He also established a nonprofit organization entitled the Association for Research and Enlightenment.

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Jul 27, 2010 Lietric rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biorgraphy

Not Completely sure if this is the book I read or not. The one I read is a biorgraphy of Edgar Casey his life and his experience as a clairavoyant plus some case studies of his readings at the end. I thought this book would be hokey and mostly about the "cures" and miracles Edgar Performed but it was actually a good little biography. I enjoyed the characters of his life and it gave me a insight into life in the united states between 1919 and 1945. I was delighted with the matter of fact not prea...more

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Feb 21, 2011 Mike Moskos rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: book

This is an engaging and beautifully told story of Edgar Cayce who had an unusual gift: once he put him self to sleep, he could diagnose patients' ailments and instruct others on what methods to use to cure them. Never educated in any form of medicine, when he awoke he had no knowledge of what he had said. But, as hard as it is to imagine, if the patient followed his instructions, the ailments were healed.

I learned about this book via a lecture given by Sally Fallon at the E F Schumacker society...more

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Feb 18, 2011 Jim George rated it 3 of 5 stars

The book is a bit dated. It's a pretty slow read, and there's not much substance. Still it is a great story about an ordinary Christian man with incredible psychic powers, how his powers developed, his long struggle to gain creadance and acceptance in the scientific community.

The story tells how he was able to use his claravoyance to help his fellow man, and to establish The Association for Research and Enlightenment.

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Jun 13, 2010 Greg rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I first heard about this in Somerset Kentucky from a lady named Andrea who made a great spaghetti casserole. The question is: does anyone actually believe this story? I would really like to. Supposedly it contains all the secrets to the universe. Written well enough and besides some of the more boring exerpts of readings, very engaging.

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Oct 26, 2012 H0 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Simple compelling story. Gives more of his life and evolution of his craft, rather than being a comprehensive theory of his readings. People and places are described in detail with a minimum of /some sentimentality. Would love to see the co-responding notes from folks like Dr Munsterberg.

Would like to have met him.

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Jan 02, 2010 Kimberly Cain rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, non-fiction, spirituality, science-of-mind, metaphysical

Edgar Cayce was an amazing person, & most especially because he didn't put himself on a pedestal. Based on Sugrue's account, Cayce was truly a servant to others (in the most beautiful sense of the word).

A very interesting read about the power of the still unleashed human potential for healing.

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May 11, 2012 Barbara rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was interesting but I don't believe his powers came from God. I believe he was deceived. I am convinced that he thought he was doing the right thing and I believe he did much good for people concerning their health but I do not believe God works that way.

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Jan 13, 2013 Josh Eha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Fantastic intro to one of the pioneers of "the other side of medicine" in America. Inspiring on multiple levels. Especially relevent to anyone that calls themselves a healer. Dont be turned off by the word psychic. This guys legit.

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May 22, 2012 Belinda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Read this book in 1997 when it was first published. Since then I've re-read it many times. For anyone who is interested in the life of the "Sleeping Prophet" it's beautifully written.

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Apr 28, 2012 Kathleen Baker rated it 4 of 5 stars

I bought this as an audio book to listen to as I did my cleaning duties. I knew quite a bit about Edgar Cayce to begin with but even so; the book was quite good.

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Nov 18, 2009 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: metaphysical, non-fiction

I loved this book, what a good biography. It explains how Edgar first realized how he was different and the differences he made in so many peoples lives.

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Apr 11, 2013 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am not sure if this is the same edition I read. I loved this book. Edgar Cayce's story confirmed so much of what I already believed.

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May 27, 2012 Sherry rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

This book is one of just a few in my lifetime that has had an immeasurable impact on me. My copy is worn and full of highlighting.

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Apr 09, 2009 Jake Maguire rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fascinating.
I'm seeing parallels in the writings of transpersonal psychologists like Brian Weiss.

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Jan 28, 2012 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am not a religious person.That being said,this is a beautiful biography of a spiritual man.

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Jan 24, 2010 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I never heard of Edgar Cayce until someone I know recommended this book to me. It's an absolutely amazing story and has me questioning some basic assumptions about life, death, medicine...Worth reading if you have an open mind.

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Dec 06, 2012 Steve Shilstone rated it 4 of 5 stars

Edgar was quite the fellow there with the healing and the reincarnation and stuff.

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Aug 04, 2010 Sherry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: inspiration, non-fiction

A great biography of one of the special people of our time.

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May 29, 2010 Laura Ellis rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

Edgar Cayce was an amazing man... this book chronicles his life.

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Jul 09, 2009 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Great book tells the story of Edgar's life.Easy read.

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Jan 01, 2009 Diane rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-favorites

Read years and years ago. Fascinating!

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Oct 12, 2012 Mike Zoleski added it · review of another edition

EDGAR'S BOOKS ARE GREAT

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