Official Review: The Dead Can Speak by Leah Hill

[Vscholz]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Dead Can Speak" by Leah Hill.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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Leah Hill's The Dead Can Speak is a short memoir about the paranormal experiences she and her husband have had throughout their lives. Her husband Dylan is Heaven's gatekeeper, and she is God's translator. She has several instances in which she believes God speaks through her. This book recounts some of her encounters with ghosts, spirits, and demons, and she explains her role in communicating with them.

I read this book because I consider myself a Christian but I am also liberal in my beliefs, and I believe in the paranormal. I was curious to see how Hill reconciles her religious beliefs with her supernatural experiences. Unfortunately, Hill's beliefs are more far-fetched than I anticipated; even though I think she believes everything she is saying, she does not use the Bible to support her statements, which is what I would expect from someone claiming to be God's translator.

This short memoir reads as though the author sat down and wrote what came to her mind; she drafted the entire book on her phone, perhaps explaining the excessive errors. While that makes it easy to read because it is conversational, the multitude of spelling and punctuation errors paired with the lack of clear path makes it difficult to enjoy. I can tell that Hill believes in what she is saying, but her overall tone comes off as manic—she shares that she has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, thus explaining the tone. Hill is enthusiastic throughout, but the use of exclamation points seems to be more than periods, making it difficult for me to take her story seriously.

Mental health is an important and serious issue addressed in this book, whether it is a result of drug abuse or physical abuse. One of my close relatives has bipolar disorder, and many of her stories are similar to Hill's, although with different details. Because of my experiences with people with mental health issues, I continued reading because I wanted to read a first-hand account of something going through these experiences.

Overall, I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. There were too many errors throughout the book to be able to give it a higher rating; it was almost as though Hill did not proofread it. I would recommend this book to people interested in psychology and the supernatural, but I would advise them that it is poorly edited and not cohesive. Otherwise, I would not recommend this book at all until it has been thoroughly edited and revised.

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The Dead Can Speak
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Like Vscholz's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Book Lover 35]

I do like paranormal books. It's a shame about the grammar errors. Great review!

[Anon_Reviewer]

As soon as you said that the author did not back up her claims with scripture, I knew this was not the book for me. You give sound reasons for the low rating you have given. I also have a family member with Bipolar Disorder. so I hope the author gets the help she needs. I like that your review, although critical, was also sensitive to the issues the author is facing. Thank you!

[kandscreeley]

I'm sorry, but this one is too out there for me. The author's beliefs would probably have me incredulous and possibly laughing out loud. And if you, being liberal, didn't enjoy it? I will definitely pass. Thanks, though.

[T_stone]

I would have loved to give this book a try but the number of errors present in it is very discouraging. Hence, ill take a pass on this one

[Nhien Vu]

This seems to be a bizarre and disturbing story. Even though I'm a little bit curious, the careless writing and editing really turn me off so I will not consider reading this book. Thank you for this detailed review.

[Vscholz]

Thank you all for the responses. I truly appreciate them.