REGRESSION

by Sergiu Urma

He is Alexis, 70, a retired Greek American broker living in New York, the crazy capital of the world. She is Sofia, 34, a Moldovan woman and a school teacher in Chișinău, the drowsy capital of the Republic of Moldova. She reminds him of somebody he had met before, but details are foggy. As Alexis is struck by unexplained love and passion the very moment he sees Sofia's photo on Facebook, he undergoes hypnotic regression to find out who this woman was in his past. He is pulled back in time to nine of his previous lives, and after each of his visits he learns a new lesson and draws a certain conclusion. Why is he feeling an instant and magnetic attraction for Sofia? What makes him be so consumed by love for her? And why does he feel crushed by guilt for killing a woman three hundred years ago, whom he loved like the light of his life? What he finds will strongly impact the reader emotionally.A love affair that extends for half a millennium in various reincarnations and in different places. A gripping love story along with a puzzling mystery and an investigative journey into one's history, where Alexis experiences first-hand that what happened in the past, will also happen in the future. But ultimately, a meditation on life, history, culture wars, traditions, politics, the inevitability of death, and the mysteries of everlasting love.

157 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 29, 2021

About the author

Sergiu Urma was born in Romania, where he earned an M.A. in English Literature. After a two-year stint as a reporter for the state-run Radio Bucharest, he joined the Associated Press as a correspondent. Forced to leave the country by Romania's communist authorities, he worked in Vienna, Austria, as an AP reporter covering Eastern Europe and the anticommunist revolutions occurring there. After arriving in the United States in 1990, he worked on AP's International Desk in New York as a reporter and business news editor until 2014, when he retired after 40 years with the news organization.
His first book, "Screwed: Dancing with the Generals," published by Amazon in 2015, is a memoir that takes the reader inside Ceausescu's Romania and sheds light on Urma's time as an AP reporter there, highlighting just how dangerous the political climate was during this ill-fated chapter of modern history.

Reviews

[Sergiu]

Reviewed By Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite (5 Stars)

Regression by Sergiu Urma is an unusual romance with strong spiritual and paranormal themes. Seventy-year-old Alexis Grivas is a retired Greek American broker living in New York. When he discovers the photo of a thirty-four-year-old woman called Sofia on social media, it reminds him of someone he has known before, but he can't recall when and where. She is a teacher in a school in Chișinău, in Moldova. Alexis feels irresistibly drawn to this woman and as he falls in love with her, he goes on a journey through hypnotic regression, traveling through different lifetimes and reincarnations to discover who she is. Follow him through nine of his previous lives. He has been many things, including an apothecary in Elizabethan London, a woman in the nineteenth-century Wild West, a deacon in a local church in Moldova, and different persons through the ages. In this hypnotic journey, he will uncover why he struggles with the guilt of having killed a woman and why he is irresistibly attracted to Sofia.

There is so much in this book -- history, religion, romance that endures for centuries, slavery and barbarism, murder and mystery, and a lot more. The author does an impeccable job of writing vivid scenes filled with historical elements. The protagonist has been many things through different reincarnations, like a journalist in the time of the French Revolution and a clairvoyant in the medieval era. The writing is detailed, and there are gripping moments of romance and violence that will appeal to readers. It is interesting to read about a love so strong that it remains steadfast through the changing landscapes, historical moments, and cultures. The characters are exceptionally written and the author's sense of setting is equal to none. The first-person narrative voice is so expertly written that it allows the emotions of the protagonist and the plot to flow beautifully. Sergiu Urma's novel grips the reader from the first page and keeps them reading until the last. Regression is a story with a powerful premise, a sophisticated plot, and an utterly satisfying denouement.

[Sergiu]

By Rachel Lange
Five stars on Amazon
Verified purchase

Regression, by Sergiu Urma is a fascinating novel. The detail and imagination the author has is literally incredible. I love how quickly I was pulled into this novel. Once I was started on the journey I was unable to walk away from it. The author allows you to get connected with the characters and the depth of each one is extremely detailed . The book is a pure piece of work and should be read. I absolutely love this novel and all the work the author put into this comes together flawlessly. I qill share a snippet below so you may have the pleasures of getting that taste. “Each of us is composed of memories from so many past lives combined with a variety of ways we have learned to deal with reality in this life. That makes us complex beings,” I replied. “How are you coping with depression?” I asked. “I try to boost my mood and improve the symptoms by doing something that I love, that’s both relaxing and energizing. Two years ago I picked up sewing as a hobby. I have a fashion obsession and I like clothes and costumes. I think it was a good time for me to try and venture into sewing and tailoring clothes. I have a sewing machine at home left from my grandma that can sew a straight stitch in different lengths, sew in reverse and make a zigzag stitch,” Sofia wrote. “This is my gate to mind freedom. This is how I break the shackle.

[Chantelle J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly had to read this book more them once, its was a rare, emotional, bittersweet and enlightening read indeed. Huge thank you to @booktesters this book is truly special.