Author Interview: Melissa Van Rossum

Thanks the efforts of Paula Krapf of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., I have the opportunity to interview Melissa Van Rossum, author of Their Way Home: My Adventures as a Ghost Guide. If you'd like to read my review of this intriguing book, click here

First, I’d like to say this was a very compelling book and it was very poignant. It touched me in a way I hadn’t expected.

Thank you. I appreciate you sharing that with me. I think it’s important to share with people an accurate, rather than sensational view of what happens after you die. It’s more healing that way. The purpose of the book is to help remove the fear of death and dying, so that we can all get on with life and living.

1. When you first discovered this ability you had, did you confide in one person or did you keep it hidden?

As a child I talked about my “invisible friends” incessantly, but it wasn’t well received. Friends and family members wondered if perhaps there might be something wrong with me, my Mother consulted a doctor about it, and the same doctor told me I was scaring my Mother with my ‘game’ and that I ought to knock it off. So I learned early in life to keep quiet and keep it hidden.

2. At what age did you realize you weren’t like everyone else?

Pretty early on, I would say by age 5 I was pretty good at keeping the more intuitive parts of me well hidden.

3. Did you try and ignore the abilities you possessed?

Definitely. With no way to understand my abilities, no space to express them and no one to talk with about them, I began to pretend they didn’t exist, that it was just my imagination. But as you might imagine, that is crazy-making. So as a result I became depressed and suicidal as a teenager.

4. Do your children have this special gift, too?

Yes, they’re both very intuitive. My eldest has commented on a few ghostly visitors whom he has seen and he often knows things before I tell him about them. When he was little he could communicate with me with his mind.

My youngest is showing much of the same potential. My husband and I work to keep their intuitive experiences perceived as completely normal and positive.

5. How does your family feel about your psychic abilities?

I don’t talk about it with my birth family, they still aren’t comfortable with the topic . That is with the exception of my Father who has since crossed over and has a new understanding and appreciation of my abilities.

My husband is supportive and enthusiastic and appreciative. My kids are young, but since we’re encouraging them to honor their own intuitive experiences, when they’re older, they’ll most likely honor mine as well.

6. What made you decide to put your thoughts into a book?

A friend of mine convinced me to write down my experiences as she shared with me how much my stories had helped her to overcome the grief in her life. She had lost several friends and family members and hearing about my experiences helped her to let go of that grief and sadness. It wasn’t until then that I realized how much a book like Their Way Home could help someone. At that point I felt compelled to do it.

7. You must have so many more stories to share with us, will there be a follow up book?

Yes, I love sharing my experiences and am thrilled beyond expression that they have been so well received. I’ve heard from several readers who have recommended Their Way Home to those who are dying or have friends or family members who are dying or grieving so that they’ll be comforted. I’m so touched by that gesture. I’ve always wanted to be in a position in life where I could help people, but that it has turned out this way is amazing to me. This has really brought my life full circle.

8. Is there any one specific experience that touched you the most?

Almost all of my experiences with lost souls tend to touch me in one way or another. I’m primarily empathic and so I have a great deal of compassion for those who are suffering. But I think the one experience that has touched me the most has to be my experiences with my Father after he died. He was never earthbound, but I was with him when he left his body and he spent some time with me after that, too. He never acknowledged my gifts until he left his body, and then I guess he had no other choice. When he first came to me after he left his body, he was really blown away that I could see him and interact with him. That was a bittersweet moment. I write about those amazing few days in Their Way Home.

In my next book I’ll write about my other encounters with him since he crossed over. His visits and his messages to me have given me hope and healing and they’ve given our relationship a bright new beginning.

9. Can you tell us about the process of TruAwareness and how it came to be?

TruAwareness is a process which I share in my first book, All You’ve Ever Known. It’s a process that helps people to ignite their own internal navigational system, their intuition. We all have a connection to Intuitive Guidance, but many of us aren’t able to turn it on in the times when we need it most. Too often we find ourselves derailed from our life plans and not moving toward what we want or with the speed we’d like. Or perhaps we find ourselves in painful situations or relationships and unable to navigate them with the success we want. TruAwareness opens up your intuition and takes it to new heights. It allows you to tap into Divine Guidance whenever you need it most to see what’s true, to heal painful emotions and to guide you to where you really want to be, in record time!

I developed TruAwareness to help me to achieve those same results. I wanted to take my own intuition to new heights, to navigate my own relationships more successfully, to heal more deeply and to accomplish my goals in record time. When people began asking me how I was generating the success in my life, I knew I needed to share this information with others.

10. Is there anything else you’d like to share with us about this amazing experience you’ve been through?

Though I certainly didn’t start out this way, I’ve become so grateful for my path and my gifts and for opportunities like these to talk with people about my experiences. There was once a time in my life when I wished I could be someone else, now I focus on how I can bring more of my self forward into my every experience. Aside from the profound message that there is no such thing as death, the ghosts who have crossed my path have taught me so much about the value of being yourself and the perils of becoming a ‘ghost’ in one’s life. It’s amazing to me what extraordinary teachers we can all be for one another. Regardless of the form we take.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book and to do this interview.

Thank you. It’s been an honor to talk with you.