The Therapeutic Afterlife Spirituality and the New Sacred

Introduction. The Therapeutic Afterlife: Self-Help from the Other Side  1. Sacred Subjects in Self-Help: Mapping the Therapeutic Afterlife  2. One Life is Not Enough: Energy, Karma, and Reincarnation  3. The Therapeutics of Spirit Contact  4. Paranormal Therapy  5. Otherworldly Narratives: Afterlife Memoirs as Therapeutic Texts  6. Suicide and the Afterlife  Conclusion. Towards a Sociology of the New Sacred

Biography

Heidi Marie Rimke is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Winnipeg in Canada.

'Rimke’s fascinating study offers a significant and original contribution to the sociology of religion and spirituality. At its core, Rimke introduces the concept of a “therapeutic afterlife” to elucidate ways that contemporary self-help and therapeutic discourses reframe ideas of God, the soul, and the afterlife. With impressive breadth and insight, the book reveals how traditional metaphysical themes are being rearticulated within modern wellness culture, offering scholars of religion, sociology, and afterlife studies a useful new framework for analysis.'

Christopher M. Moreman, Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy & Religious Studies, California State University, USA.

'Anomalous experiences and the beliefs they give rise to have tangible consequences for health and wellbeing. In this comprehensive and scholarly work, Heidi Rimke synthesizes an eclectic range of material to draw out their implications for therapeutic praxis. By taking a sociological approach to the study of spirituality and the afterlife within contemporary therapeutic culture, she offers a clear framework for understanding and working with otherwise deviant or marginalized phenomena.' 

Professor Chris Roe, Centre for Psychology & Social Sciences, University of Northampton, UK.

'The Therapeutic Afterlife introduces an innovative sacred paradigm that offers profound insights into the integration of afterlife beliefs and therapeutic ideas in contemporary society—essential reading for anyone interested in the intersection of spirituality and therapy.' 

James McClenon, Author of 'Deviant Science: The Case of Parapsychology', 'Wondrous Healing: Shamanism, Human Evolution and the Origin of Religion' and 'The Entity Letters: A Sociologist on the Trail of a Supernatural Mystery'.

'In this refreshingly perceptive and overdue book, Heidi Rimke explores the multifaceted ways in which concepts of the afterlife can be woven into the fabric of therapy, one that is not merely symptom relief but a sacred arena for the spiritual exploration of grief, suffering, hope, and other existential issues.'

Stanley Krippner, Research Professor, California Institute for Human Science and Author of 'A Chaotic Life'.

'The Therapeutic Afterlife is a bold study of spiritual self-help that’s destined to spark lively debate.'

Professor Valérie De Courville Nicol, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Concordia University, Canada.