Customer Reviews

Before I Got Here: The Wondrous Things We Hear When We Listen to the Souls of Our Children

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a wonderful book. It illustrates
what I have always believed, that children
come to us to be our teachers, if we will
only listen to them.

The stories and examples are wonderful and
the children are blessed for having parents
who hear their message.

My only quibble is that sometimes the pages
are printed with colors that make it difficult
to read; red on red, blue on blue, etc.
That said, I still give the book 5 stars.
It deserves it.

By all accounts, Blair Underwood's "Before I Got Here: The Wonderous Things We Hear When We Listen to the Souls of Our Children" is a well-written, easy-to-read prose. It harbours a collection of captivating stories (including online converstations) on how the young but logical thoughts of minors flow. It is indeed, a return of innocence.
Embellished with fine narratives, this book exerted accurate perceptions into its subject. Its outlook is direct; and, it maintained proportionate disposition towards moral instructions, cultural heritage, and evolutionary anthropology. A rare peer at youthful thoughts, this book is as dynamic as one will ever wish it to be. Its seemingly few 192 pages spared no efforts in explaining various concepts, beliefs, and practices, which shall be of great interest to both parents and juvenile psychologists. Movie-star Blair Underwood has succeeded in relocating. He has carried his screen brilliance to the pages of this book. And, he excelled!

It's a really interesting book full of stories about kid's sensitivity to spiritual things, but it is so much smaller then I expected, it's a little book and then the font is pretty big so you are not getting much reading for the price you pay in my opinion.

I found this book to be lacking in substance and humor. And I really wanted it to be great, I did. I heard about it from the Oprah show, and had already heard the best stories before I read it. If you have heard anything about this book, anything at all, I would save yourself the 20 bucks. I was disappointed by this book, and found that it did NOT support all the hype. I got this book from the library for free, and STILL FOUND IT to FALL SHORT of the great reviews. It is a sad day for me.

[...]

Jesus chided religious leaders who were appalled by children shouting, "Hosanna to David's Son." The Savior asked them, "And haven't you read in God's Word, `From the mouths of babes I'll furnish a place of praise'?"

Actor Blair Underwood has compiled a host of stories contributed by parents, grandparents and other caregivers who have marveled over the things spoken from that place of praise - a child's mouth. Before I Got Here (Atria Books) beautifully intimates and illustrates the depth of spiritual knowledge children possess.

Underwood posits: "The occasional nonchalant `utterings' of those youngsters can now and then leave a parent speechless ... if we truly listen to what our children are telling us." His own son, Paris, tried to explain the Rapture though he was only four and had no earthly exposure to the concept. Paris informed his dad, "God told me, when he made me, but I only had one ear at the time, so I could only hear a little."

The little bit Paris heard inspired the book. Blair Underwood discovered that other parents and caregivers shared similar stories. One friend, photographer Donyell Kennedy-McCullough urged him to put the stories in a book. And it is Kennedy-McCullough's poignant and incredible images of children that grace Before I Got Here's pages.

Each story is intriguing at the very least and astounding at best. What would you say about a three-year-old who admonishes his grandmother to, "Trust and believe in the Lord your God and He shall comfort you?" He'd never been to church or read the King James Version of the Bible.

There are countless stories of children who handpicked their parents in heaven. There are other stories of children who offer often amazingly wise counsel, beyond their years and scope of experience, to adults in peril.

Before I Got Here is not a Christian book and does not endorse religion of any type. Still, it is spiritually challenging as it confirms the very special place children hold in God's heart.

Before I Got Here is a great book to stick in a gift basket to a new and older mother. And the aesthetic quality of the cover and photographs make it an excellent coffee table book.

[...]

I was excited to receive this book, but was not impressed with the contents. There was too much written by adults in the beginning, so I guess by the time you got to the stories of the children, it was a let down. I also thought there could have been a lot more to it. It just wasn't all it was built up to be.

I bought two of these books...one for myself and one as a gift. The recipient of the gift loved the book and shared it with her kids. Great as a sentimental, small gift for people with children.

Like other reviewers I wanted to like this book, but found it too religious (sentimental) and not spiritual enough to hold my interest.

I heard Underwood talk about it in a charming NPR interview, and for $.01 couldn't pass it up, but even at this price this very small volume of parent's stories of their young children's insights and comments is disappointing. The book is carefully and beautifully published, but seems all too brief, and limited in it's scope. Many of these stories are touching, some profound, and some just sentimental. The children show great insight into remembering bits of past lives or sensitivity to emotional situations in this one, which is not very remarkable from a spiritual perspective, and probably unbelievable from a materialistic one. Their comments show how natural intuition is, while their parent's often incredulous responses tend to show how much is lost as we grow up and become "educated".

I got this book hoping to hear many detailed stories of children's recollections of past lives (as this age group is the most likely to be able and willing to communicate their memories). What I heard were only a few brief past-life memories, and mostly the gentle and simple (if naive) wisdom of caring childen. Perhaps because the book comes from a Western/Christian perspective which tends to be materialistic and narrow in it's acceptance of the continuity of mind and life, this book is more ground breaking and introductory than educational (may be a fine intro for an American family unfamiliar with such stories).

I get the feeling Underwood appreciates children and is truely open to their memories, insights and presence. I'd love to see him follow this volume up with a more comprehensive collection (including different cultures and religions from around the world). Maybe there are already books like that (I'll keep looking... any suggestions?). I'm not interested in dry academic studies, but this little book while sweet and nice is too light to make a real addition to my library. I think I'll give it to a Christian friend for some light inspirational reading. It may even challenge her.

PS I later find the book LIFE BEFORE LIFE by Jim Tucker which is a bit dry compared to this one, but much more detailed of world wide scientific studies by the U of Virginia of children recounting past lives . It's quite interesting and thought provoking, as well as open minded.

This was a really fun book to read. It was nice to see the innocence and wisdom of children compiled in one book.

I thought it was a great little book. Basically childeren say
the darndest things!!