Customer Reviews

The Priest and the Medium: The Amazing True Story of Psychic Medium B. Anne Gehman and Her Husband, Former Jesuit Priest Wayne Knoll, Ph.D.

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2 star:		(2)
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Suzanne Giesemann has produced a wonderful book, very beautifully written, filled with emotion, inspiration, and joy - I gobbled it up with many different emotions coming to the surface of my being. This was one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time - the life journeys of two talented people that is a real page-turner!

Through the excellent story telling of Suzanne Giesemann, Anne, a Spiritualist Medium, and Wayne, a former Jesuit Priest have opened their lives, their hearts, and their beliefs to the world.

If you believe in a life beyond this earthly existence, you will find this book thrilling. If not, you may find this book will change your entire outlook on life. Suzanne Giesemann's writing talent combines with her love for people to bring us a book that is highly entertaining while holding profound messages for all humanity. Her words flow lovingly and sensitively over the pages, and I found myself lost in the intensity of her storytelling.
This is a book to buy, to read, to re-read, and to pass on to family and friends. Truly, my life has been enriched by reading "The Priest and the Medium." My thanks to this fine author!

Lois Anne Anderson

This book was written about my Uncle Wayne and my Aunt Anne Gehman. Wayne is the oldest son from my father's family of nine. I have been fortunate to be able to spent some time with both of them over the years so I know from experience that the incredible inspiring stories from this book are all fact and not fiction.

Trust me when I say this book is hard to put down since it was written so beautifully and since the characters, Wayne and Anne, are so unique and one of kind. Their life experiences are something movies are made out of and these true stories about them will definitely touch you in a way that will be positive and life changing.

I could go on, but just trust me...get the book, read it and thank me later.


Corbin Knoll

Being a Spiritualist, I was really looking forward to this book coming out. But, it goes well beyond any religious boundaries and is a book for all faiths. The story itself is amazing and the storyteller does a fabulous job of making you feel a part of it. It is a book for everyone and I'm sure it will be a best seller!

"The Priest and The Medium" is a heart-warming love story about two very unique individuals who when they come together later in life create a truly spiritual couple. Individually they have interesting stories told in a parallel fashion in the book. Anne Gehman grows up with a unique ability to connect to the spirit world and Wayne Knoll is driven in his spiritual and teaching quest in an organized religion. In some respects it's a miracle that they even came together. When I finished the book I felt like I knew them and wanted to know more about the spiritual realm they enjoy. Suzanne Gieseman tells their story in a way that shares their love and intrigues your heart. You won't want to put the book down - especially when you're done. I certainly didn't want the book to end.

I think this will make an excellent book club discussion book as it challenges some traditional thoughts and may provoke a new way of believing in spiritual love. There are questions at the end of the book to facilitate the discussion.

I've recommended this book to several friends. You may find yourself making that recommendation too because the book is a wonderful read and satisfying for the soul.

I was captivated by author Suzanne Giesseman's new book that portrays the engaging story of two highly interesting people whose lives strike quite a contrast. Their individual paths before meeting each other are truly fascinating, with a great many synchronicities despite living in vastly different surroundings. In partnership, their outlook on life and the eternal are nothing less than inspiring. Suzanne gets into the hearts and the minds of this man and woman and beautifully illustrates a broadened view of what a truly spiritual life can look like from more than one perspective.

The rich conversation between the two at the end is a charming exchange on comparing the tenets of Spiritualism with those of Catholicism. The conclusion is an exemplary truce, illustrating so beautifully how we can all learn from and appreciate contrasts with love and respect. For me, it was a refreshing journey into a portrayal of religious tolerance - to regard and cherish all of life and all of that which is divinely inspiring and uplifting to humans no matter what label or practice their path has taken them on. Having seen them work together at Rev. Gehman's spiritual center in Northern VA, they are every bit as harmonious and loving as they are in the book. Their joint take on life and the infinite is heartening for me as I plan my own future direction.

The questions at the end of the book for discussion will speak to anyone who is seeking clarity and enlightenment for their own spiritual paths. I am recommending this delightful read to all my friends and family!

The title of this book is rife with possibilities. The union of the intellectual Jesuit with the almost "new age' philosophy of spiritual mediumship opens the door to incredible philosophical melding. Instead of a lively interchange of ideas, the book is simplistic, neatly avoiding depth at all levels. It was for me a simple replay of the journey of life of two sweet people, who eventually met, married and apparently lived happily everafter. It could have been so much more.

I highly recommend the Priest and Medium. It is absolutely one of the best biographies I have ever read. Suzanne's portrayal of Anne Gehmans life is captivating and inspirational. Not only is Anne's life as a "Medium" fascinating but the events that lead her to Wayne Knoll, her "soul mate" is just as incredible.

After I started this book I could not put it down and when finished I just didn't want it to end. From a spiritual standpoint, The Priest and Medium also reaffirmed my belief in "spirit" and the many miracles that are often present in our daily lives.

As an intergenerational psychic/medium and as of late a paranormal investigator,I am drawn to books such as this.Many times I am disappointed.HoweverThe book The Priest and The Medium was a delight to read.It shows that people can have extreme differences of opion and yet respect these differences.As Mrs. Gehman appears to be an excellent psychic and a wonderful person it was ironic that she met a life partner who expresses his spiritual beliefs in a much different manner.I,like he am a Roman Catholic and his views aew similar to mine.Yet ,like him I find no scriptural discrepencies being a psychic medium.I do not claim this gift in and of myself.I feel The Holy Spirit works through me to assist and comfort others by use of the gifts of Spirit named in the Bible.I am merely a vehicle for this.Like Dr. Knoll my husband fully respects me and what I do but he very much has his own opinions and belefs different than mine.At times we are in ageement in our beliefs.We both believe in God or Spirit or whatever name you designate to him.I merely believe he works in one way while my husband believes he works in a different way.Like Mrs. Gehman and Dr. Knoll we share a bond of loe so deeply it lacks for words.I am so very pleased that "The Priest and The Medium" was written as a tool Spirit uses to help us understand each other.I thank them both for sharing their stories with us.

On the surface, Catholicism and Spiritualism are widely divergent belief systems. As a former Catholic and now a Spiritualist (of sorts), I know how difficult it is to explain my beliefs - or rather, my convictions - to my Catholic friends and relatives. They shake their heads at my explanations of the various phenomena involved in Spiritualism, while I struggle to understand why they find them so difficult to accept and wonder how their minds can be so closed to phenomena that is so much part of Church history.

It is this gap between the two schools of thought that make this book especially interesting. One knows before beginning the book that there will be a marriage between a former Jesuit priest and a Spiritualist minister, but the reader is held in suspense as to how they will meet, discover that they are soul mates, and then reconcile their seemingly conflicting religious beliefs.

Author Suzanne Giesemann, a former Navy officer, tells two stories in alternating chapters before the priest and the medium meet and fall in love. She tells how Anne Gehman, raised in the Mennonite tradition, discovered at an early age that she had mediumistic abilities, being able to communicate with the "dead" as well as to sometimes see the future. She takes us through some very interesting paranormal experiences with Gehman, including her near-death experience, the solving of crimes, some intriguing prophecy, and guidance from the Other Side.

In between chapters on Gehman, Giesemann introduces us to Wayne Knoll, a Kansan whose early ambition was to be a Jesuit priest and teach at Georgetown. She takes us through his trials and tribulations en route to earning his Ph.D. at Harvard and then fulfilling his dream by teaching at Georgetown. She details his struggle to overcome his loneliness and find companionship.

Finally, as if governed by fate, the two meet and marry. The final 30 or so pages involve a dialogue between the priest and the medium as to reconciling their views of God and the spirit world. It would seem that their beliefs were not that divergent after all.