Out of the Psychic Closet: The Quest to Trust My True Nature

by Toby Heathcotte

A self-help handbook in two parts that will show the reader how to step out of the psychic closet, to rise above anxiety and distrust, and to incorporate psychic abilities into a more honest model of personal reality. The first part narrates the author's psychic experiences. The second part details scientific research, historical background, and previously unpublished anecdotes of the paranormal. The second part also includes print and web resources.

262 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

At the age of seven, Toby lost her best friend in a car accident. Three months later, Marcia peeked over a cloud and said she liked her new world. Toby’s family dismissed the episode as mere imagination, and she grew up distrusting her own perceptions.

Unable to reconcile this and other psychic experiences, such as precognitive dreams and seeing astral forms of living people, she became a lifelong student of the paranormal. Her personal library contains over four decades of volumes from Bridey Murphy and J. B. Rhine in the Sixties to current studies by the Institute of Noetic Sciences and the American Society for Psychical Research. Her dream journals span the same time period and serve as resources for her life and work.

Repeated psychic experiences forced Toby to learn some coping strategies. She sat in development groups and experimented with techniques like psychometry, automatic writing, and dream analysis. As she came to a peace about her nature, she wanted to share what she’d learned to help others end mistakes, self-doubt, and concerns about their sanity.

Toby taught high school speech and drama and college English. Now her primary interests rest in understanding her psychic abilities and writing projects that incorporate that learning. A mother of two and grandmother of three, Toby lives in Arizona where she serves as president of Arizona Authors Association.

Reviews

[Shellie (Layers of Thought)]

This is a short book that I read in two sittings. What is really nice about this book is that the author has included her own story about her "paranormal experiences" in the first part of the book, which is very brave (just think about the title - "out of the closet"). Kudos to Toby!

In the second part of the book she includes an organized list of different kinds of experiences which she defines, as well as a list of books the reader can further use to find out more about these phenomena. What is very respectable is that in a section about hearing voices she gives the recommendation to find a qualified medical professional, in case the experience may be a mental illness.

I could tell that she's more comfortable giving readers information than telling her own story, which is understandable as she is a trained and experienced educator. It is also comforting to read about her experiences knowing that they have happened to someone who is logical, educated, and professionally established.

There is some interesting stuff included in this book. I would recommend it for anyone experiencing a paranormal event and wanting to find out more; also for writers/authors who may want to expand their own creative repertoire within the genres of paranormal or the speculative.

[Rita]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Toby writes about her life-long experiences with psychic abilities and how she finally learned to accept them. The second section describes the various types of abilities in an easy to read and understand format. She adds scientific studies and stories from others she has met over the years.

A great book for anybody with abilities or who want to develop their abilities.

[Toby Heathcotte]

This book has received a 2011 EPIC eBook finalist award!