Written by: Cheryl Pierson, Celia Yeary, Karen Michelle Nutt, Cindy Carrier

Publisher: Victory Tales Press

ISBN: 1463501382

Avail in: Print and eBook

4 Stars

Set in the American West, “A Western Saga Anthology” focuses on the McTavish family as they venture to settle and tame the unknown. A rousing set of character driven short stories promises to have the reader turning the page.

“Every Girl’s Dream,” by Cheryl Pierson finds the heroine, Sheena McTavish in dire straights. Abandoned by her parents when they discover she’s pregnant, Sheena travels west to have her baby with a distant aunt and uncle. Sheena’s stagecoach is attacked and Sheena fears for her life. Enter U.S. Army Scout Callen Chandler who saves her by claiming Sheena is his wife. Sheena is grateful, but can she find true happiness in Cal’s arms?

Celia Yeary writes “Along Came Will.” William Montgomery is passing through Trinity Hill, Texas when a bunch of hooligans attack him. Will is hurt and found by the local schoolteacher, Kathryn McTavish. She takes him to the doctor to treats his injuries. Will finds himself lingering, attracted to Kathryn. Soon, he’ll have to make a decision – move on or stay. Will he listen to his heart or follow the call of the west?

Karen Michelle Nutt pens “Storm Riders,” a western story with steampunk elements. Samantha and Denny ride the storms using their talents to keep the timeline secure. Assigned to save Ace McTavish, Samantha finds herself attracted to the handsome man, despite knowing they can never be a couple because they come from two different time periods. Will love find a way to overcome time?

“Safe Hands,” is written by Cindy Carrier. Elisabeth McTavish Franklin is a widow who saves a young man, Lane McBride. Will Lane help Elisabeth learn to trust again or will he be caught in a web of lies?

Pierson’s story, “Every Girl’s Dream,” tugs on the reader’s heartstrings. Sheena and Callen’s sudden, yet powerful attraction forces them to look deep into their hearts to test if what they feel is real. The plot keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. “Every Girl’s Dream” proves dreams do come true in the most unexpected ways. An endearing read.

“Along Came Will” shines with intrigue and is full of sweet romance. Will is a true gentleman, but his attraction to Kathryn forces him to look at his life and make some tough choices. Yeary captures the rich authenticity of the west with ease. “Along Came Will” is a heartwarming story.

Nutt’s story, “Storm Riders” brims with creativity and imagination. Full of action and adventure, Nutt doesn’t run short on the romance either. The chemistry between Ace and Samantha is combustible, but will time keep them apart? “Storm Riders” is a page turner.

“Safe Hands” by Cindy Carrier is a somber, yet character driven tale which focuses not on romantic love, but on a broader love that encompasses respect and trust for humanity. The story’s flow and pacing is a bit disconcerting at times due to the present tense narration, but the suspense builds nicely and the end resolves the story to the reader’s satisfaction.

Overall, if you’re a fan of the western romance genre, “A Western Saga Anthology” offers a nice variety of stories that will leave the reader believing that the power of love was the reason in which men conquered the wild and rich expense of the American West.

Reviewed by: S. Burkhart

When you purchase a block of land, there are technical terms such as easements, angle of repose and area of influence that professionals in the building industry understand well. You may be inclined to leave these complexities to the engineers, conveyancers and your builder, but this is a mistake. When you educate yourself on the basic factors that affect a block, this puts you in a far stronger position with vendors and potential builders, as well as helping you to determine your options. You must know where the easements are on your own block and neighbouring blocks in order to determine where you can build.

What exactly is an Easement? An Easement is an area where services are provided in ground. Everyone needs to have access to storm water and sewage. These are gravity fed, so sewerage and storm water are parallel. Because service lines are large diameter pipes, they are buried deep in the ground.

The Angle of Repose is a term used in Geology. It describes the effect of surface disturbance through soil. Upturned soil will slump to approximately 45 degrees, although this varies for different types of soil.

The Area of Influence is the area that has been effected by disturbing the soil, when placing the services.

Why do you need to know? If a service pipe is buried two metres in the ground, and the centre of the pipe is 1.5 metres in from the boundary, the foundation has to go through the area of influence. It has to go under the angle of repose. Otherwise, the weight of the house or the garage pushing down on the disturbed soil could dislodge the pipe and also jeopardize the structural integrity of the building. Foundations start at the angle of repose. This enormously affects excavation costs and the costs of concrete for foundations and/or retaining walls.

Not every block will have easements, but often there is a rear easement. Blocks generally back onto each other so easements will often run along the back of one property. This usually won’t cause problems with building.

Be careful of Side Boundary easements. Typically blocks are rectangular, narrow and long, so the impact can be far greater with a side easement. A big pipe, buried in a deep hole creates at least a 2 – 3 meter exclusion zone. The exclusion zone can be more than the easement! Even if you have a block of land that doesn’t have easements, but your neighbour does, IT CAN EFFECT YOU!

Establish how deep the services are buried. Buyers often think that when buying in a flat area rather than on a steep or sloping block, that the site costs will be less. However, in flat land the services can be buried 4 ½ to 5 metres deep and may be a metre in diameter. Suddenly, the area of influence is enormous.

When you are looking to buy a block, and preferably before you put any money down, get a copy of the Plan of Subdivision (POS). This will be contained within the Section 32, or Vendor’s Statement of the Land Contract. This document must contain every bit of known information regarding that land. It will include a copy of the Engineering Plan, which will show location of driveways and as much as is known of the location and depth of services (easements). Whether you are considering buying a block of land or have already done so, have it in hand.

Familiarise yourself with the essential information. The convention for describing a block of land is to imagine that you are standing on the front street looking into the block. Draw a diagram of the block: the width of the frontage, the width of the rear boundary, and the length of each side. Draw in the easements, and consider what this means to where you can build.

Does a potential lot suit your needs? Will you be able to negotiate better terms? What will the impact be on your home design? Now that you have a basic understanding of the terms: easement, angle of repose, and area of influence, you will be in a much stronger position to answer these questions.

A lot of people wonder how to use the law of attraction for abundance. The basic idea behind this rule is simple: your thoughts shape the reality of your life. But how do you “attract” abundance? The key to abundance is action – you have to take action and more importantly you need to get things done.

A lot of people have great ideas and a lot of people take a chance to create their own business, develop their idea into a concrete plan. But they never get things done – and that’s why they don’t succeed. When obstacles show up, they start to boycott their own project and say things like “I knew this wouldn’t work!” – only to get back to their old job.

What you really need in order to get things done is a positive attitude. You can’t get things done when you don’t believe that you will. In order to create a positive attitude you need to concern your mind that your goal is attainable. Of course, you can set a very small goal. But this way you will lose motivation real fast.

There is another, much more effective way to get things – even big projects – done. Take a look at these 2 rules developed by the great philosopher René Descartes(1596-1650) in his treatise “Discourse on the Method” (actually there are more than two rules, but in this case these two are crucial):

1) “Divide each of the difficulties under examination into as many parts as possible, and as might be necessary for its adequate solution.”

This simply means that you have to break your big goal down into smaller pieces. This way the big goal won’t be so daunting. You will see a way you have to take, which creates a positive feeling.

2) “Conduct my thoughts in such order that, by commencing with objects the simplest and easiest to know, I might ascend by little and little, and, as it were, step by step, to the knowledge of the more complex; assigning in thought a certain order even to those objects which in their own nature do not stand in a relation of antecedence and sequence.”

In other words: start with the easiest and move on step by step. Every time you complete one step, you will experience a sense of achievement that will keep you motivated to attain your final goal.

Emergencies come in a variety of shapes and sizes; never at the most opportune times. When I think of emergency, I think natural disasters, a fall, a sudden illness, some event that requires quick action. Preparation for inevitable emergencies is important, whether or not you are caring for someone.

You and your family may know all the safe exits in your home. You may have a storm shelter stashed with all the needed items for a short stay should a sudden storm arise. Each member of your household has been told where the important phone numbers are located and who to call in case of an emergency.

If you have need of outsiders coming in to help care for your loved one, you have given this information to the agency and the attendant. Your emergency response plan is in force, you are well prepared. Or, are you?

Let’s say you are caring for your mother in your home. The hired caregiver, Karen, has arrived and you are on your way to a well-earned outing with friends. Karen has been to your home before; she’s very reliable and you are comfortable leaving her in charge.

Let’s suppose an emergency arises while you are gone and Karen has to make a decision quickly concerning her patient’s care. She has contacted her supervisor or nurse and it’s determined she must call 911. Calls to your cell phone have been to no avail.

Your mother is unable to communicate well due to dementia or Alzheimer’s. Does Karen know her physician? Her medicines? Her allergies? Does she know where to find you? Will she know where to have the emergency team take her?

While caring for my Mother, agencies would often send caregivers in who did not know us. Even family and friends who helped may not have automatically known the answers to the above questions.

I made a small card with information on it for anyone (including us) to give to ambulance or emergency room personnel or to any one who may need the information. I taped a copy of this card to the wall in every room in the house including the bathrooms and kitchen, and by the front door. I did not expect emergencies to arise but I did prepare in case they did.

#1. Begin with the basic information: name of person, home address, and birth date. Be sure to list the relationship and names of others living in the home.

#2. Be thorough as you consider the medical information needed: their physician’s name and phone number, hospital of choice, medicines and supplements currently taking, and any known allergies.

#3. List any disabilities, both physical and mental. Be sure to list any problems they may have in communicating truthfully to others.

#4. Be practical in considering what to list. It may be good to list your vehicles and license plates. In a case of extreme emergency, a patrolman may have to search for you. Cell phones are a great tool but not always reliable.

I realize these types of lists depend upon the patient, the circumstances, the area you live in, and other factors. For me, this list gave me great peace of mind and was actually helpful to me on those several occasions when we had to call an ambulance to take Mother to the hospital. I’m sure the emergency team was thankful to have that information readily available.

We all care for others in one way or another. Why not consider your family’s needs and prepare a list like this for each family member? Tuck one in the glove compartment of your car and by your telephone, and be prepared in the event of an emergency.

“We dig a hole in the ground, we call it a well – and we wish water would go into it. We dig another hole in the ground, almost as deep and much wider – we call it a basement, and we wish water wouldn’t go into it.”

April showers bring more than May flowers.

In recent years, springtime conditions often beginning as early as February lead to predictable basement wetting… and sometimes not so predictable. Basements which have not exhibited signs of wetting may suddenly become wet due to changes in terrain (ie: nearby construction) changes in the weather (yes, it’s really happening) and goodness knows what else occurs in, on or under the ground.

Controlling water ingress not only preserves living and storage space, it protects indoor air quality and maintains the value of your property.

Some preventive measures

Before you have to excavate or remove interior insulation and finishes:

• Ensure exterior grades including driveways and walkways are sloped in manner which will drain storm water away from foundations. An exterior grade slope of 3 to 5 degrees is generally recommended.
• Ensure window wells, basement walk-outs and other points of entry are protected from rain and storm run-off.
• Ensure rain gutters are sized properly for the area and pitch of your roof, and you have a sufficient number of down spouts which direct water a minimum of 5 ft away from foundations.
• Check and maintain your sump pump installation, and seriously consider a back-up sump pump system.

The Facts of Life

• 60 percent of Canadian homes have some degree of basement wetting.
• There is a 90 percent chance a block basement will leak within 20 years of construction.
• Almost all poured concrete foundations have some cracks and unsealed form-tie holes.
• Not all new homes have adequate water sealing or drainage membranes.
• Despite your best efforts, the question is not “if” your basement will get wet, but “when.”

If you continue to experience basement wetting, you may need to explore different options such as waterproofing, or a water management system depending on the age, type and location of your home.

Some indoor options

• Floor edging allows moisture to drain from the perimeter to the drain tile
• A drainage membrane separates the basement foundations walls from moisture sensitive materials
• A perimeter drain tile directs moisture entry to a sump
• Urethane, epoxy or other crack-filling

Some outdoor options

• Waterproofing and drainage membranes
• Crack filling
• New exterior drain tile
• Multi-level tile drains

For more information about wet basement solutions visit AquaFix Ontario

More good reads @ All Around The HOUSE

H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. as a child dreamed of a military career.His father, H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Sr., had attended West Point, “served in WWI” and later in WWII rising to the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Army. At the end of WWII, General Schwarzkopf, Sr. was posted in Iran and remained to help “organize and train the national police force”. (achievement.org H Norman Schwarzkopf)

Developing Discipline and Character:

In 1946, Brigadier General Schwarzkopf, Sr.’s family joined him in Iran. Norman, Jr. was 12 years old and attended school in Iran, and later in Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. He became an outstanding student becoming fluent in French and German.

Developing Competence: Attending West Point:

Returning to the United States, like his father, Norman, Jr. attended the United States Military Academy at West Point. At West Point, along with his studies, he “played on the football team, wrestled, sang and conducted the chapel choir”. (achievement.org H Norman Schwarzkopf)

A Teacher’s Lesson Lasts A Lifetime:

While at West Point, Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr’s football team was taught by Assistant Coach Vince Lombardi his ’49’ “Lombardi Sweep”. This play would later become a staple in the Green Bay Packers dominance in the NFL under Lombardi’s leadership.

Lombardi Sweep: His ’49’:

Years later the eager, young Schwarzkopf was now General Schwarzkopf. He was 6’3″, and 240 pounds with a gruff and direct communication style, and he had a fearsome temper.

This temper and a hate for losing helped him lead his troops to victory during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. “He spoke French and German to coalition partners, showed awareness of Arab sensitivities and served as Gen. Colin Powell’s operative man on the ground.” (Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf-ABC News)

General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr would remember and use his own version of the “49 Lombardi Sweep” during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. This football play from his younger years helped play a crucial part in the United States Coalition victory of Desert Storm.

Ron Kramer, a former Green Bay Packer, All-American football player under Coach Vince Lombardi “was watching the news about Operation Desert Storm when he noticed General Norman Schwarzkopf detailing an assault by his forces into Iraq, using arrows and diagrams to illustrate the maneuvers.”

Kramer had played tight end for Green Bay from 1957 to 1964, squinted at his television screen. “He remembered that play. He had seen those arrows before!” Kramer recalls shouting at the television screen.

“I wrote a letter to General Schwarzkopf. I sent ’49’ to him and told him he had plagiarized Vince. He was at Army when Vince was there.”

General Schwarzkopf wrote back to Ron Kramer that “he had played football at West Point” and shared “his memories of the famous coach.” Related: Lombardi Sweep

Taking Action:

Schwarzkopf’s first assignment was “as executive officer of the 2nd Airborne Battle Group of the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment at Fort Campbell, Kentucky”. Then he went to work “with the 101st Airborne, and with the 6th Infantry in West Germany.” In 1960 and 1961, “he was aide-de-camp to the Berlin Command.” It was a critical period “in the history of that divided city.” (achievement.org H Norman Schwarzkopf)

Earning Engineering Master’s:

Returning to the United States, Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. earned his master’s at the University of Southern California in mechanical engineering.

Teaching Engineering at West Point:

Schwarzkopf returned to West Point in 1965 to teach engineering. Many of Norman’s classmates had gone to “Vietnam as advisors to the South Vietnamese army.” In 1965, Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. applied to join them.

Captain Schwarzkopf, Jr. worked as an advisor to the South Vietnamese Airborne Division and was promoted to major.

Returned to Teaching at West Point:

Schwarzkopf after completing “his tour of duty in Vietnam” returned to teaching at West Point.

Lieutenant Colonel & Marriage:

Major Schwarzkopf was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1968 and married Brenda Holsinger. They later had three children.

At Leavenworth, Kansas, Schwarzkopf continued his training at “the Command and General Staff College”.

Colonel Schwarzkopf “as U.S. casualties in Vietnam mounted, became convinced it was his duty to apply his training and experience there, where they might save the most lives.” (achievement.org H Norman Schwarzkopf)

Returning to Vietnam in 1969:

Colonel Schwarzkopf returned as a battalion commander to Vietnam.

Doing the right thing ethically: Courage under fire: Vietnam:

During the Vietnam War on May 28, 1970, when General Schwarzkopf was a Lieutenant Colonel, he “ordered his helicopter down to rescue his troops who had wandered into a minefield.

Some were airlifted out, but he stayed behind with his troops. A soldier tripped a mine, shattering his leg and wounding the colonel, who crawled atop the thrashing victim to stop him from setting off more mines. Three other troopers were killed by an exploding mine, but the colonel led the survivors to safety.

Lieutenant Colonel Schwarzkopf was willing to risk his life for his men.” (Robert McFadden’s New York Times article)

Barbara Walters was interviewing General Norman Schwarzkopf and asked him to define leadership.

General Schwarzkopf said, “It’s competence, more importantly, it’s character. It’s taking action. It’s doing the right (ethical)thing.”

In the business world these are the same four qualities needed for success.

Barbara Walters asked General Schwarzkopf “What do you want on your tombstone?”

General Schwarzkopf said, “I want it to say, ‘He loved his family and he loved his troops-and they loved him.”

If you were asked, “What do you want on your tombstone? What would you say?

Zig Ziglar, motivational expert, says, “Compassion, love, and sympathy are very definitely part of the success formula. Having the ability to walk in the shoes of another is of paramount importance. When you truly know how the other person feels, you can communicate with him or her more easily and lead more effectively.” General Schwarzkopf knew this!

General H. Norman Schwarzkopf said, “There’s nothing wrong with being afraid. And true courage is not not being afraid. True courage is being afraid, and going ahead and doing your job anyhow, that’s what courage is.”

What are the five leadership qualities General Schwarzkopf identified, exemplified, and taught for success?

1) Competence,

2) Character,

3) Taking Action,

4) Doing the right thing at all times (ethically) and having

5) Courage.

By developing these five leadership qualities of General Norman Schwarzkopf you too will become an exemplary leader!

Tree Services include tree removal, stump grinding, pruning, plant health care, root management, storm damage cleanup, emergency service, preservation and evaluations, and more. Some of these jobs can be done by a home owner, but others are best left to trained professionals who can do the job safely. An accident cutting down a tree can cost many times what a tree service professional would charge, let alone your life.

A homeowner can prune trees when they are small. Under 12′ tall is a good example size for a home owner to pursue pruning. Pruning will help develop a good branch structure, with the proper development of limbs and shoots. Dead, broken, and split branches should be removed from the tree. Branches can be thinned as necessary. When pruning a tree, pruning cuts should never exceed more than 25% of the live canopy of the tree.

There are 4 types of tree pruning;

1) crown cleaning includes pruning dead or diseased limbs from a tree canopy.

2) crown raising includes elevating the low hanging branches on a tree, sometimes done for lawn mowers or views.

3) crown reduction includes reducing the height selectively of a overall canopy. And

4) crown thinning which includes lightly thinning some of the live interior branches of the canopy. Topping or cutting back the canopy is never recommended.

As much as the homeowner may wish to save their trees, removal may be necessary at some point. Dead, dying, and hazardous trees will have to be removed. There are many ways a tree can die, most often the reason is urban forestry such as compacted soil, nutrient deficiencies, or extreme environmental changes such as droughts. Sometimes trees get too big for their area, especially if they were planted to close to a house. Improper planting is a common issue among our landscape.

Tree removal can be very dangerous. This is particularly true if a large tree is close to a house, a high tension power line, or a street. Even when a relatively smaller tree can be cut down, it is still dangerous for the homeowner. There are many things that can go wrong. Such as, making an improper notch and improper fell cuts, not estimating the weight or lean of a tree correctly, and improper chainsaw use. There are many factors of tree work that require safety precautions, training, and actions by the professionals who do tree removals each day. The safe use of a chain saw requires safety training, and workers are required by ANSI standards to wear all of their PPE – personal protective equipment. This includes chaps, proper eye-wear, hearing protection, safety gloves, and hard hat. Professional companies that are Accredited by the Tree Care Industry Association are required to have safety meetings each week. Companies that take safety seriously have a safety policy and disciplinary program, a company safety manual, and safety training program.

Professional tree service workers have the proper training, experience, and the equipment to complete removals safely. Their personnel can climb a tree and cut it down piece by piece using proper ropes and equipment taking special care when a tree being removed is too big and too close to house and power lines. The workers have the climbing equipment, the safety lines, and the training to do the job properly. Cranes or bucket trucks are sometimes necessary to remove trees in tricky places, especially when power lines are involved. Tree companies that are not certified to work within close proximity to high tension power lines must abide by OSHA standard and keep over 15′ away from the lines. Unfortunately, there are far to many injuries, and deaths for both extremes – tree professionals and the neighbor kid cutting down trees.

Once a tree is cut down, there is still the stump. It can take many years for a stump to rot. After it rots, there is a hole left where the stump was. A stump can be removed with a stump grinder. The lawn can be restored immediately without waiting for an unsightly stump to decay. Stump grinders can be rented, but the work of stump removal is difficult, noisy, and dangerous. Using a professional, fully insured, licensed, certified, and accredited tree service company is the intelligent way to go.

Visit JL Tree Service Inc’s website for more information about tree removal.

Before I start telling you what and where to farm with the WoW profession combo that I consider to be the best, I have to say that this may not apply to you. I know that not all the World of Warcraft players have these professions on their characters, and they have their own farming methods, but these two have always worked for me. So, what is the profession combination for gold farming in Northrend that works best?

I’m talking about Mining and Engineering. Firstly, if you get both these trade skills from the start, you’re not going to have to pay a lot of money especially for Engineering. The minerals that you can gather due to the Mining profession should be enough to skill up Engineering.

Now, there are two major ways to farm with these two profession. The first one is to follow a certain mining route, gather minerals and on your way also extract Crystallized elements from the Arctic Clouds that you find. An excellent zone for this type of gold farming in Northrend is Sholazar Basin. Plenty of Saronite and Titanium here, and there are several locations where you can find Arctic Clouds. However, since Sholazar is quite a popular area, sometimes the competition for these resources is quite intense. To be a step ahead or to be more effective at gathering, a flying mount is a good tool to have.

The second way to farm with Mining – Engineering is to find yourself a camp with mechanical mobs, grind on them and then salvage their remains to collect various engineering parts. Of course, that involves only your Engineering, but if around that camp are a few mineral nodes, you can collect the ore every few minutes while those nodes respawn. A great spot for this type of farming, based on the Engineering profession is in northwestern Storm Peaks, at Snowdrift Plains. Many of golems there which can be salvaged, the Dark Iron Dwarves there drop Relics of Ulduar and also Frostweave Cloth, and there are quite a few points where Saronite Deposits can spawn in that area.

In the end of this article, I must repeat that these two professions work just fine for me, when it comes to farming gold in Northrend. However, regardless of which profession combination you have, there are always a few excellent methods and spots to farm gold, all you need to do is found them for yourself. After that it’s just a matter of skill and time.

By the name alone, corn in the hole, or cornhole, the official namesake, the game of corn toss has developed into a phenomenon to say the least. This unique and highly popular outdoor game is taking the country by storm and I do mean storm. The sweeping activity that surrounds this game is seen in every imaginable location.

Cornhole, as it is called, is literally a corn filled bag that is tossed at a hole in a flat board, thus the name is the virtual meaning; corn-hole. Now there are those that would raise an eyebrow or two if they heard this name for the first time. We won’t go there but it tends to lean toward a shady thought for sure. Cornhole is probably the most addictive game to come along in a very long time. One would only have to watch for just a few minutes and if you have any competitive bone in your body, you will want to play the Cornhole game yourself.

The similarities Cornhole has to horseshoes is very close in the game’s concept. A player tosses a bag toward a target and accumulates points based on where their tossed object lands in relationship to the target. But the expanded possibilities of the Cornhole game is far more versatile than any horseshoe game.

The ability to set up and play Cornhole in a variety of environments is virtually anywhere there is adequate space available. You could play it in a parking lot during a tailgate party, you could set it up on a driveway, playground or backyard, you can even play indoors if the building is large enough to accommodate the tossing clearances. College campuses across the nation are filled with these game boards.

The fact that the tossed objects are corn filled bean bags makes the use locations very acceptable, since there is little harm that could be done from the flying bean bags.

Cornhole is really a crowd pleaser and can be incorporated into fundraising events and other group activities since you are adding a fun and simple game to attract people to any event. Cornhole Tournaments are being held across the country and probably in a location near you in the coming days. Many avid players are scouring the internet and local sporting clubs to find their next tournament to play their beloved Cornhole Game.

A bean bag toss game by any other name would probably never have taken off quite like this one, and therein lies a tale to be told in itself. The cliché; what’s in a name, is quite fitting here I would say. By all means, if you have never heard of this game, I highly recommend you take a look. Much like the other popular outdoor game of ladder golf, you just have to see it played once to really get your anxious hands on the playing pieces to get hooked, easily and forever in wanting to play these games whenever possible.

Have You Lived Before This Life? is an unusual book. Not because it is reporting past life type phenomena. Past lives have been reported by people for thousands of years all over the world. Many religions are based upon this phenomenon. Where do we go after death, has been the subject for debate at dinner tables, in halls and down column inches of newspaper print. It is unusual in that it contains so many case histories of past lives of ordinary people.

This book by L Ron Hubbard was first published in 1959 after he gave a congress of many lectures in London on the subject. Here the subject of past lives came up time and again. Here students were learning to perfect their counselling techniques, called auditing. For auditing to work effectively it seems one must have the receiver access the memory of earlier lifetimes. It would seem also that one’s troubles in this life do not begin at the beginning of this life, but go earlier and earlier, way back. This concept only differs from the Indian concept of reincarnation in that in Scientology’s experience man does not cross species from man to another species.

Scientologists are aided with the electronic e-meter which measures thought. So the counsellor is able to quantify and measure trauma, be it this life or an earlier one. Plus the meter can find thoughts otherwise hidden from view. Further, as a person being counselled speaks of the experience he is viewing in memory the charge comes off. This is seen as well as measured. The meter finally shows when the charge has exhausted itself and the counselling session over.

The book Have You lived Before This Life? has 42 case histories of people who experienced earlier lifetimes during the auditing. This is what is unique about this book. The counselling sessions were each written up and the problems the person had before the sessions, as well as the session details and what was handled by getting the past memory reviewed, are all in the book. The case histories of what was revealed in the sessions may go back hundreds of years, or even thousands. It is a fascinating read.

The book pulls no punches and the stories in it are as were told by those going through the experience. Scientology counsellors do not tell a person what to think or what to find, so whatever the person being counselled comes up with is exactly what is dealt with in the session. The book reads as a great interesting read as a result of this approach.

The book also has some excellent essays by L. Ron Hubbard on the subject of past lives and is recommended for those who have audited with Dianetics and who contacted past lives.

The dust jacket reads, “Is death an end or a new beginning.”