Samantha Clark is fast approaching a crossroads in her life, she just doesn't know it yet. In her late thirties, single, and caught up in the hustle of everyday life, she is disenchanted with her predictable lifestyle as a psychotherapist on the west coast of Florida. "Sammi" begins to experience troubling physical symptoms and turns to alternative medicine in her quest for answers. Through experimentation and curiosity, startling events begin to unfold, revealing a dream world where she becomes transfixed by an overpowering spiritual connection. This unlikely teacher shows Sammi how to move beyond her physical self, to be open to other levels of existence, to break free from the emotional bonds that hold her back.
I was raised in the northeastern United States, in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and resided in a half-dozen homes or towns throughout my growing up years. My father was a reverend with a flourishing career, moving the family to various parishes as his calling dictated, which I view in a positive light as I was exposed to different communities and lifestyles. After graduating from high school at the age of seventeen, I shook off my less worldly roots when I moved with my father to Massachusetts, a seemingly more sophisticated and progressive state. It was there that I embarked on a learning journey, thrilled at living so close to the sea in the artsy and historic fishing village of Gloucester, the hex signs and covered bridges soon a fond memory.
Thrilled to begin college in New England, I jumped in with both feet and managed to excel in biological and psychological studies, despite majoring in dating. Throughout my school years, I dabbled in poetry and short stories, purely for personal self-expression. I experimented with a couple of creative writing classes, but never pursued my secret desire of a writing career, feeling the vocation was too self-indulgent, not sensible enough for my German blood. I remained focused on psychology and received a Bachelor of Arts degree, upon which I secured my very first “real” job as a Senior Psychiatric Counselor at a group home for adults with mental illness. Wanting to further my learning, I attended Suffolk University in Beacon Hill in Boston, and graduated two years later, obtaining a Masters degree in Counseling and Human Relations.
Soon afterward, feeling weighed down by too many sunless days and frigid winters, I decided to move to a much lighter state, and settled in bustling Pinellas County in southwestern Florida. Over the next twenty years I concentrated further on my work in counseling and social services and became a licensed practitioner. During these years, my career included being a social services director for a nursing center, program manager for a rehabilitation agency, social services consultant for nursing centers, program director of an Alzheimer’s unit, and a hospice counselor.
Several years ago, due to a deep longing to express my feelings in an alternative manner, I literally sat down one day and began writing my first novel. The resultant book, The Resurrection of Hannah, (published in 2011) had been born out of a series of powerful dreams, along with compelling and coexisting experiences that inspired me to create a story that would capture the strength of my emotions. I had a yearning to shape a tale based around individuals in my life that I believed would make engaging characters. I had a strong desire to experience a higher level of creativity, to literally produce something out of nothing– a fascinating and challenging endeavor I could not ignore. It was during this time that I moved to Houston for three years, where I started a private practice as a psychotherapist and became a certified clinical hypnotherapist.
But I grew “antsy” as my father used to say and decided to move back to friends and family in Florida and worked again at the local Hospice, then more recently in community and private mental health. Once bitten by the writing bug, I could not help but pen my second work of fiction, The Fear of Things to Come, published in the summer of 2012. I am now in the process of writing another novel in what I consider a unique collection of adventure stories, the third in the Samantha Clark Mystery Series.
The story begins with the building up of the main character, Samantha Clark, her friends, her loves and her emotions at almost reaching 40 and being a private Psychotherapist for so long she now wants more from her life. Samantha also attends monthly group meetings which delve into spirituality, dreams, outer body experiences, meditations and the like which end up helping her more than she could think.
One night Samantha has a dream, not just any dream, but a dream that is so overwhelmingly physically and mentally vivid, reuniting her spiritually to a male presence that she knows isn't a stranger yet cannot recall him. The dreams continue, yet become stronger, more intense and full of pure love for this man as he starts to send her messages and she finds out the full tragic story of how their lives are entwined and starts her journey in the real world to find the dreadful truth to unlock their spiritual bond so they can be both freed. This for me is when the book became alive and I found myself wanting to read more and more as the mystery and suspense continued.
For someone who is fascinated with the dream world and the 'other side' I thoroughly enjoyed the read. There were parts of the book that I was actually imagining myself in Samatha's place, how eerie it must have felt for her at times and would I have had the strength to continue as Samantha did to find out the truth. The story is easy to follow and as the book progresses the author does a great job getting you hooked. A great suspenseful read that I'm sure you will enjoy.
The Resurrection of Hannah starts with a death and a birth. Sammi then recounts the events of the past year when her past life caught up with her present one. Sammi slowly remembers her past life as Hannah and with the help of Jonathan Hannah's intended she learns how to learn from the past and move on in the present. This was the most amazing read. I found myself carrying on reading long after I should have put my Kindle down to do something else. After reading this book you will never look at life the same again. If you only read one book this year, make sure it is this one.
Serendipity was in play when I met Kathryne Arnold on a cruise ship in the Caribbean a few years ago. Afterward, she sent me a manuscript copy of The Resurrection of Hannah, and I soon realized this was the work of a dedicated, talented new writer, one who would go far in her career and offer many hours of enjoyable reading to the fans she would surely garner.
The Resurrection of Hannah has the perfect blend of detail and plot, moving right along as we get to know Samantha Clark, her discomfort and ambition. Arnold has created an endearing main character and as surreal events take place, it all seems to fit quite naturally within the story.
This book carries the reader along and is difficult to put down. The suspense continues to the very end and this debut novelist has set the tone for a series readers will love.
Note: I wrote the words above for Kathryne when her novel was about to be published. I meant every word. It was a pleasure to be involved in the early editing process of her manuscript and now when I look at her website, I feel so happy seeing the manifestation of the potential I felt was there when we met in 2006. Give Kathryne's book a chance and I think you will be a fan as well.
I won the book, The Resurrection of Hannah by Kathryne Arnold. I was pleasantly surprised on how much i enjoyed this book. It's a sweet story. Kathryne brings her characters to life so vividly. If you believe or had doubts about reincarnation, this story is just up your alley. The tale centers around the main character, Samantha (Sammi) Clark and her circle of friends and family. Sammi is highly spiritual, into meditation and monthly meetings to discuss their progression. The manager/owner of a local health food store, Todd acquaint hi mself to Sammi and there is a mutual attraction. Thomas,at the group meeting, hyptonizes Sammi and she regresses to another life where she is Hannah in the late 1700's. In this state she is reunited with her fiance and soulmate, Jonathon Sterling. He gives Sammi clues to look for in Massachusetts.Sammi changes her Christmas plans and travel north to stay with her dad and stepmother, Jane. Dad and Sammi follow the clues to free her heart. Read the book to discover the clues and learn more about Hannah and Jonathon. The author gifted me a copy of this book and I have given my Horst review.
I received this book for free from the Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This story combines so many aspects that there is no way a person could not find it interesting. In the beginning we get teased with a story of reincarnation. Whether you know that’s what you’re reading at the time or not, it becomes much clearer later on in the book. The main character goes on a very personal journey. Which leads her to her own murder in her previous life 200 years ago. With this mystery comes some very spiritual experiences. Her spiritual soul mate from 200 years ago gives her the knowledge in today’s life to break free from the personal habits that she feels has held her back from reaching her life long goals.
The story took a turn at the end that I didn't expect and I’m pleased to find out there is a 2nd book (The Fear of Things to Come).
I was left with a few unanswered questions! Which I can’t wait to find the answers to.
As I started this book, my first thought was that it reminded me of the Celestine Prophecy, which is one of my favorite books. I had that same feeling that I was going to learn and experience something important and I think I did. Most of the true exposition about the metaphysical happens in the first half of the book. It's intelligent and respectful, while still having the story start to gather behind it. Then the mystery takes the front and the story takes off. I found myself just picking up speed turning pages as I went along. I am looking forward to reading the next book and knowing these characters better. The author did a great job with character development in my opinion.
Some of the events seem a little disjointed, but I'm pretty sure that will be resolved in future tales.
This was one of those books that left me wondering if the other reviewers and I had read the same book. This one was just not good at all in my opinion. I found the writing to be amateurish, the dialogue to be stiff and awkward and the characters to be pretentious and self-righteous. The story line about reincarnation just left me wishing the thing was done and I could quit reading. Others have obviously seen something in this book that I didn’t see but I can quite honestly say that I won't be coming back for more of this series.
I received this from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. I really enjoyed reading this book. The way it is written you get to experience everything though the main character in detail and makes the whole story believable. Thank you, Kathryne Arnold for allowing your book to be given away on Goodreads and thank you for the personal autograph.
This first time writer has inspired me to write my own novel. Her heart is as big as this amazing story. I really enjoyed the metaphysical content, such an amazing spin on the modern day love/mystery story.
What a totally cool book, which I would recommend to readers that enjoy mysteries, historical fiction and metaphysical subjects. It was both a fun read, yet serious in its content, which I found very hard to put down and loved it to the end.
Resurrection of Hannah was a pretty good book, for someone to read that is not very much into the Christian faith. I am not Atheist or anything like that, I just don’t religiously read the Bible. I don’t know any verses to be quite honest! The one thing that I do kind of believe in, however, is reincarnation, this book ended up being one that I enjoyed. This novel was an easy read. It was never too heavy into the religion or anything as to where you would want to put the book down and call it quits. The character, Sammi, is a Christian. I will put that out there first and foremost. She prays to God. So if something like this makes you feel uncomfortable this may not be the book for you. There was another thing about the book that I was a huge fan of, and that was that it was inspired by true events. I love movies that say that at the beginning because it makes it seem all that more relatable. The same case is true when it comes to novels. You can go right into it knowing that some part of the novel that you are delving into was originated from someone’s real experiences. There are mystical elements to the story that you pretty much believe will never happen in real life. but to each their own…believe whatever makes you happy! It made the novel even that much more enjoyable. Jonathan and Hannah were characters that kept me intrigued the whole time. I was always curious about them and their connections to everything throughout the story, and of course, Sammi’s life. There were other secondary characters that also played a vital role in the development of the story. Their names are Todd, Melissa, and Julie. Although they play key roles, the author does not put a major emphasis on them. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was full of mystery and just the fact that true events were networked in there somewhere was the icing on the cake. Not to mention it was an easy and quick read, so it was perfect for summer. I would give it four stars just because I would have liked to have seen more from the secondary characters. Overall, great book!
I was so excited that I got to review this book. I reviewed The Fear of Things To Come By Kathryn Arnold in December, and loved it. What I didn't realize was that The Fear of Things To Come was actually the sequel to The Resurrection of Hannah.
This book reminded me of my mom. My mom is a psychologist and would probably love to open a Wellness Center like Samantha Clark. I'm sure she will love this book, too.
I've always wondered about past lives. I'm not sure if I believe in past lives or not, but I think it would be cool. If I did have past lives, I would love to know what those lives were like. My mom actually had someone tell her about her past lives several years ago. I don't remember anything about it, just that she had someone do a reading on her.
Kathryn Arnold does a great job of pulling you in to this book and keeping your attention. It is a great story. I'd really love to know what the true events were. Can you imagine what it would be like to find out you had past lives and found proof of those past lives? It would be cool, but a little spooky.
Also, I love that these past lives explain some of Samantha's personality traits. This is just one of the reasons where I identify with the main character, Samantha Clark. Here is one excerpt that struck me: "All of this surely explains why I have always had a fear of failure, or of pushing the envelope too much, or worrying about confronting others and pissing them off. It seemed like I hadn't actually learned those things, but had been born feeling that way." It seems like I have been working on some of these same aspects of my life for a very long time.
This is a wonderful book that will have you dreaming of what if, and questioning what you are suppose to be learning in this lifetime. Live the life you want, now! Don't wait for the perfect time to do things. If you have the chance to follow your dreams, do it. You never know what tomorrow has in store for you.
I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.
The concept of synchronicity has an effect on every aspect of our lives, and Samantha’s story and characterization are an example of this. Introducing this concept, and setting the stage for other spiritual and metaphysical ruminations, Arnold prefaces the first chapter with a quote from Wordsworth: “Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting.” This sets the stage for multiple plot points to weave through the story as it progresses.
Samantha is a solid and very likable character, easy to bond with and presents a solid center for the story. Through describing dreams about an old mystery from 1800’s New England, as she learns to let go of her more ‘western’ sensibilities and be open to experiences, a murder is uncovered and needs solving. The mixing of past and present, reaffirming personal growth and offering several different avenues of exploration, Arnold manages to present a gripping story that becomes both a page turner and a journey of self-discovery.
I did truly enjoy this debut offering, and found Ms. Arnold’s style to be very descriptive and detailed. I did wish for more showing to draw the reader into the center of the action, I believe the tension and immediacy to solve the mystery would have had a stronger emotional impact with that small change. All in all, however, this was a cleverly told, well-paced and characterized debut novel from a new writer to watch in the mystery / thriller / suspense genre.
I received a paper copy from the author for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
I really liked this book. I loved that it was about something different, then magic and romance. The idea of reincarnation is not new, but I have not read about it in a book. I believe in fate and everything happening for a reason. This is the author's first book. and the only negative I saw was inexperience in editing, stretching the plot, etc. However her future books will not have this problem. What I liked most about this book was that the author got those two messages across very nicely. Through characters and past lives. It was interesting to read the different lives of Hannah, and how she coped with this new knowledge. I also like that the author included alternative medicine to deal with physical pain. This may sound like a paranormal story, and it is, but it inspired by true events. This is a keeper for me, and I will be reading future books by this author. I am giving this book a 4/5. I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.
The book starts at the end. In a strange way, this made perfect sense. At first I really didn't like Samantha. She seemed so shallow and juvenile, despite her professional aura as a psychotherapist. Even in her interactions with friends, she demonstrated judgmental behavior. So much of the book revolved around what she ate or drank, what she wore, and her observations of her friends. This was unappealing to me. However, I couldn't let go of the story! In the end, Samantha grew on me. She changed as a person, becoming stronger and more sure of herself. In return, she learned to be more gracious toward those in her life. I was sad to see the last page of the book because I wanted to feel more of the story.
One thing I appreciated about The Resurrection of Hannah was the fact that it's a clean book. There are several instances of swearing, but the f-word never made an appearance. Sexual intimacy is implied but not descriptive. Overall, this is a book that caused me to think about the bigger picture of life! I received a copy of this book. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.
Samantha "Sammi" Clark already has a complex life dealing with a busy job as a psychotherapist, being a steady ear to her friends' problems and facing forty still as a single woman, when she begins to have episodes and dreams intimately connecting her with an 18th century spiritual entity, Jonathan. However, clues from these spiritual connections that lead to actual discoveries begin to convince her and her friends and family that these spiritual interactions are not imaginary reveries. Is Sammi actually Jonathan's reincarnated betrothed, Hannah, who died mysteriously in 1786, and how can Jonathan help his love find balance in her current life for her, her family and her friends? The story is related by Sammi and gave me the feel of hearing this from a psychiatrists' couch, punctuated with stream of consciousness moments and indecisive ruminations. Paranormal elements aside, this is a well-written journey of personal discovery.
Samantha had become discontented with her career as a Psychotherapist. On top of that, she began having weird dreams, which didn't help matters. Then add a dream man obsession, a former lover, and a new possible love interest, and you have an intriguing read, especially since it was inspired by true events.
The idea of reincarnation is fascinating to me. However, I liked the parts of Samantha and her friends more than the actual historical/past life parts. I enjoyed relating to Samantha and her being out of balance with her Libra scales. That is so like me. And oyster dressing is my favorite dish, especially made by my mama.
Samantha’s dad sounded like a cool preacher that I could relate to, along with each of her friends. Their camaraderie during Christmastime had me longing to be a part of their group. But I my favorite part of the book was the incident in the City Hall basement with the spider. That was hilarious.
Do you believe in reincarnation and/or that your dreams are telling you something? Have you ever been somewhere and could swear you have been there before but know you have not? Perhaps you met someone that you feel so close to but they are total strangers. Well I for one will NEVER SAY NEVER! In this novel Samantha Clark, a psychotherapist, is being haunted by dreams. She enlists the aid of her friends and her father to get to the bottom of it. Relationships have never been Samantha's strong suit-but she really does not know why. This is really a heartwarming story of two lovers who reach across the ages to help and to finally be with who they were destined to be with.
I was drawn in by Sammi's monthly group, and their discussion of re-entering dreams and taking control of your dreams. The more I read of her dreams, the more invested I became in the story, and the more I wanted to know about what was happening and why.
As someone who is very into researching my family tree, I could identify with her searching for information from the past to make sense of her dream experiences.
Her relationships with her friends and family in the present were very realistically depicted, and I look forward to reading more about them in future books.
The way the past and present come together at the very end was a big surprise, but one that I loved.
This book gets a very enthusiastic FIVE STARS from me!
**I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.**
I was intrigued by the fact that this novel was inspired by true events since there are quite a few paranormal occurrences.
Kathryne Arnold's writing flows well. It has a little more detail than I like but that's just my personal taste. I did like that there was a lot of dialogue because that helps to learn the personality of each character.
The characters are well developed. It was easy to empathize with Sammi for the most part but once in a while all I could think was, "What was she thinking?" Todd is a good guy and almost too good to be true. The rest of the characters are messed up just enough to be believable.
The Resurrection of Hannah is a unique and captivating story and I look forward to reading the second Samantha Clark book.
I really enjoyed the story of Sammi and all her friends and loved ones. Kathryne meshed their lives together well and made an extremely interesting story out of what could be typical life. While I knew this book dealt with the supernatural, I was definitely not prepared for how much of the storyline was about past lives and the metaphysical. It was a bit over the top for me, which is my only real complaint about the book.
Overall it was a quick and fun read, and I definitely was interested in continuing their story in the next book.
*I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.
The first installment in the Samantha Clark Mysteries series makes you think. Past lives are not widely accepted as truth, but I found my self wondering if there really is merit in the theory as I was reading this novel. Arnold drew me in, made me want to be one of Sammi's friends.
I used to get that deja vu feeling every once in a while. I could easily put myself in Sammi's place urging people to take an active control of their dreams.
I received this book as a First Read. The story was creative, interesting and different. The book however needs better editing as there were several errors and parts of the story were incomplete. Was Sammi's dream about her sister a memory? Did she die? Not clear. Did she have any other siblings? Seems like this book could use more work.
So this book is out of my normal read types of books. I normally stick to romance, autobiographies, or realistic fiction-type books. This book called, The Resurrection of Hannah, is a book inspired by a true story which intrigued me. I am so glad I took the chance to read it because I was hooked after the first few pages.
The story is inspirational and thought-provoking. It really makes you question things. There was suspense, laughs, happiness and tears but it was Her strength that made me admire her so much by the end of the book. I definitely recommend reading this book. You will be glad you did!
I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.
This book was pretty good! At first I didn’t think I was going to like it. Even though I love sci-fi and Vampire/magic/mystical type stories, the Christian side of me doesn't really get into things regarding past lives and reincarnation. I just never could put being a Christian who believes in Heaven and a former life being resurrected, together. BUT this novel was written in a way that made it so easy to read. Sammi IS a Christian. She believes in God and prays for guidance in her life. Kathryne Arnold wrote this story with both points of view merged into one story. It is so cool how she combined it in a way that seems plausible even to me. And it is inspired by true events. So even I can’t dispute how “mystical” things can happen. No matter what we personally believe in, the truth of the matter is that there are things that cannot be explained and parts of our faith and our lives that we don’t fully understand. Like in this novel.
I found myself not able to put the book down. I couldn’t wait to find out what Sammi was going through and who Jonathan and Hannah were to her. Being that this novel is inspired on true events, I was really curious to read what Sammi was experiencing and how it would affect her life and those around her. Sammi’s life certainly went on a roller coaster ride of emotions with a love story like no other.
I would have liked the story to include more of Todd, Melissa and Julie, though. We were introduced to them as what I thought would be main characters but their stories were sort of left out and we had more of Jonathan and Hannah. I wish that we could have seen Sammi interacting with Todd, Julie and Melissa a little bit more and perhaps see them play more of a role in helping Sammi solve her mystery. I also felt like the mystery of Hannah should have been dealt with a little more. I would have liked to have seen Sammi actually experience more flashbacks of Hannah’s life so we could have more of a connection of the two together. It was mainly focused on Sammi and Jonathan and him helping her find herself. So I felt like some things were missing from the story.
Overall, I think The Resurrection Of Hannah was a very good story. I am glad I was able to see from Sammi’s perspective what it would be like to learn about a past life with a soul mate and a HUGE mystery to solve.
I received this book free in exchange for my opinion, all views and opinions are my own.
"The Resurrection of Hannah" is an amazing , heart pounding story of discovery. Samantha Clark, our main character, is faced with some crazy dreams. Being a physiotherapist, Samantha knows that most all dreams have a meaning. She even attends a dream interpretation group each month. When she began to have some very active nightly encounters in her dreams, she felt there was a little more involved in her dream filled sleep, than just the normal nights sleep.
This book covers paranormal themes, as well as touches on the possibilities of reincarnation. There is something magical to this tale told by Kathryne Arnold. She has done a marvelous job wording this story, and keeping you on the edge og your seat. From the start, you stay captivated, and that captivation, only escalades through each chapter.
Samantha believes in a more pure way of taking care of the sick, and because of that, she has love and compassion for people and their circumstances. Because of this, when Hannah shows up, it changes Samantha's life. In this tale of an unsolved murder from years before Samantha was even born, she will be forced to find out who did it. Can Samantha actually do anything about it?
This is Kathryne Arnold's first novel, and i would have to admit that she has done a beautiful job. I look forward to reading more of her work, and am currently working on the second book in (The Samantha Clark Mystery Series) "The Fear of Things to Come" is the second book.
Because I write for a family friendly site, I feel i should mention that there are some scenes in this book that are a little graphic in explanation. This however does not change my opinion of this book, I would tell anyone looking for a paranormal thriller, to read this wonderful book by Kathryne Arnold, and to just read with your own discretion.
I was completely drawn into The Resurrection of Hannah. The very beginning of the book sucked me right in. (Julie & Sarah…. OMG! chills) I’m not someone who’s at all into anything “new age” (Note, it’s pointed out that everything “new age” really is hundreds of years old). I wouldn’t be found in Sammi’s monthly group meeting, doing meditation, dream work or hypnosis. But, I was completely unable to put down this book. The idea of Sammi being contacted through dreams and finding herself in old mysteries… it was fascinating.
As I was reading I found myself speeding up my reading to try to make the connections that Sammi was making. I wanted to fly off with her to visit her father and research with her in the basement of city records. Sammi’s excitement, anxiety, thoughts, and revelations were all so truly well written. She was so real.
Sammi’s relationships with her friends and family were all so loving and supportive. And on top of it all… I was completely in love with the idea of her making a relationship with Todd. Oh! And the end of the book??? Chills people. I had goosebumps. This book started and ended with chills.
I wish I would have read this book prior to reading The Fear of Things to Come. While I do not think you would necessarily have to read them together (or in order) The Resurrection of Hannah is definitely the precursor to some relationships and situations in The Fear of Things to Come.
I will admit, the beginning was a little slow with a lot of detail. I wasn’t sure which direction the book would go, but once it all finally clicked, I couldn’t read it fast enough.
I loved, loved, loved the subject matter. It definitely aligned with my personal belief system and I was super intrigued. I know about past life regression and believe in the spirit world, but have never read anything that really surrounded the topic. I have only read about it.
It was a great joy to share Sammi’s journey with her in a world of my own belief system (something you don’t find often!)
This was a great book. I wouldn’t really classify this as a mystery – more paranormal or metaphysical.
It was a fabulous read, one that I am glad I got the opportunity to read!
I have been intrigued by past lives, dream dictionaries and the paranormal since I was little combine all of that with a love story that transcends time and you're on to a winner in my eyes. What first struck me about this book was the fact that it is based on true events a big plus for this paranormal fan. The book flows really well, it's a gentle read that draws you in to the lives of the characters, especially Julie who my heart just aches for. I never reveal any spoilers in my personal reviews as I am conscious of ruining the reading experience for you. If you are looking for something different to the conventional boy meets girl love story then this is for you. After reading this wonderful novel I am left with an overwhelming feeling that everyone in my life right now is there for a reason.