Author Elizabeth Bodien on the Sunbury Press Books Show

As Alzheimer's Disease robs Elizabeth Bodien's brother Pete of his ability to speak, she finds she can still communicate with him, even after he has passed on. How is this possible?

Elizabeth Bodien appears on the Sunbury Press Books Show to discuss her relationship with her brother, which travels beyond the physical plane in "Bigger Pete: Conversations Between Life and Afterlife," released on the Ars Metaphysica imprint. She talks of how her brother dealt with Down Syndrome and did not allow this to dictate his life. In his later years as his health failed, Elizabeth was able to communicate with Pete while he slept through a process known as "automatic writing." Bigger Pete became his higher self, and these talks continued for another eight years after he passed. Their story resonates with those who have family that suffered from Alzheimer's, and especially caregivers in the final years of life.

Elizabeth grew up in the "burned-over" district of Western New York. Her education and travels took her around the world with the International School of America, and she earned a degree in cultural anthropology from the University of California. Her graduate work brought degrees in consciousness studies from John F. Kennedy University and phenomenology of religion from the Graduate Theological Union. She also taught English in Japan, was a childbirth instructor in West Africa, an organic farmer in Oregon, and a Montessori teacher. Post-retirement, she earned an MFA in poetry from Western Colorado State.

Elizabeth is also the author of two books of poetry, "Blood, Metal, Fiber, Rock" and "Oblique Music: A Book of Hours" plus other works. She lives near Hawk Mountain, Pennsylvania.