Notes From the Manufacturer
& Editorial Review
Product Description
Blair Underwood, known to millions as a star of television and film, has delivered brilliant performances as a lawyer in L.A. Law and as a love interest in Sex and the City; currently, he is the voice of the title character in Nick at Nite's Fatherhood. But his proudest accomplishment is being a loving husband and father of three children who keep him in touch with the true meaning of life -- not fame, but family. When Blair Underwood's young son told him the dream he had about "the last night before there are no more mornings and no more nights," Underwood asked him, "Who told you that?" His son replied, "God told me when he made me, but I only had one ear at the time, so I could only hear a little." Through conversations with family and friends, Underwood discovered how very often people have children who say things that have "left them with their jaws on the floor." As a consequence, he and Donyell Kennedy-McCullough created a Website as a destination for others to share their profound moments with children. The response from people all over the world was tremendous and led to the creation of Before I Got Here, a collection of the best of the conversations and stories from people's responses to the Website, revealing just how brilliant and spiritually in tune our children can be. Before I Got Here makes you smile in the tradition of Art Linkletter's and Bill Cosby's Kids Say the Darndest Things, and inspires -- with the wonderful photographs of children taken by coauthor Donyell Kennedy-McCullough. This book is a wonderful gift for ourselves and others, showing the inherent wisdom that children possess, with the power to astound us and change our lives.
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Before I Got Here: The Wondrous Things We Hear When We Listen to the Souls of Our Children
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Customer
Reviews
Sweet but Disappointing
Like other reviewers I wanted to like this book, but found it too religious (sentimental) and not spiritual enough to hold my interest.
I heard Underwood talk about it in a charming NPR interview, and for $.01 couldn't pass it up, but even at this price this very small volume of parent's stories of their young children's insights and comments is disappointing. The book is carefully and beautifully published, but seems all too brief, and limited in it's scope. Many of these stories are touching, some profound, and some just sentimental. The children show great insight into remembering bits of past lives or sensitivity to emotional situations in this one, which is not very remarkable from a spiritual perspective, and probably unbelievable from a materialistic one. Their comments show how natural intuition is, while their parent's often incredulous responses tend to show how much is lost as we grow up and become "educated".
I got this book hoping to hear many detailed stories of children's recollections of past lives (as this age group is the most likely to be able and willing to communicate their memories). What I heard were only a few brief past-life memories, and mostly the gentle and simple (if naive) wisdom of caring childen. Perhaps because the book comes from a Western/Christian perspective which tends to be materialistic and narrow in it's acceptance of the continuity of mind and life, this book is more ground breaking and introductory than educational (may be a fine intro for an American family unfamiliar with such stories).
I get the feeling Underwood appreciates children and is truely open to their memories, insights and presence. I'd love to see him follow this volume up with a more comprehensive collection (including different cultures and religions from around the world). Maybe there are already books like that (I'll keep looking... any suggestions?). I'm not interested in dry academic studies, but this little book while sweet and nice is too light to make a real addition to my library. I think I'll give it to a Christian friend for some light inspirational reading. It may even challenge her.
Fun read
This was a really fun book to read. It was nice to see the innocence and wisdom of children compiled in one book.
Robin Caldwell Review/Gospelcity.com
[...]
Jesus chided religious leaders who were appalled by children shouting, "Hosanna to David's Son." The Savior asked them, "And haven't you read in God's Word, `From the mouths of babes I'll furnish a place of praise'?"
Actor Blair Underwood has compiled a host of stories contributed by parents, grandparents and other caregivers who have marveled over the things spoken from that place of praise - a child's mouth. Before I Got Here (Atria Books) beautifully intimates and illustrates the depth of spiritual knowledge children possess.
Underwood posits: "The occasional nonchalant `utterings' of those youngsters can now and then leave a parent speechless ... if we truly listen to what our children are telling us." His own son, Paris, tried to explain the Rapture though he was only four and had no earthly exposure to the concept. Paris informed his dad, "God told me, when he made me, but I only had one ear at the time, so I could only hear a little."
The little bit Paris heard inspired the book. Blair Underwood discovered that other parents and caregivers shared similar stories. One friend, photographer Donyell Kennedy-McCullough urged him to put the stories in a book. And it is Kennedy-McCullough's poignant and incredible images of children that grace Before I Got Here's pages.
Each story is intriguing at the very least and astounding at best. What would you say about a three-year-old who admonishes his grandmother to, "Trust and believe in the Lord your God and He shall comfort you?" He'd never been to church or read the King James Version of the Bible.
There are countless stories of children who handpicked their parents in heaven. There are other stories of children who offer often amazingly wise counsel, beyond their years and scope of experience, to adults in peril.
Before I Got Here is not a Christian book and does not endorse religion of any type. Still, it is spiritually challenging as it confirms the very special place children hold in God's heart.
Before I Got Here is a great book to stick in a gift basket to a new and older mother. And the aesthetic quality of the cover and photographs make it an excellent coffee table book.
[...]
More religious than spiritual I believe...
It definitely seems to be more religious than I expected. Although I only browsed though it, I thought there were going to be more recurring themes regarding reincarnation, children relating stories of having been here before,or knowing things beyond their circumstances. It does have some sweet stories and is nicely laid out for the reader. I got a bit choked up reading a couple of the stories.
Not impressed
I was excited to receive this book, but was not impressed with the contents. There was too much written by adults in the beginning, so I guess by the time you got to the stories of the children, it was a let down. I also thought there could have been a lot more to it. It just wasn't all it was built up to be.
Get the
Before I Got Here: The Wondrous Things We Hear When We Listen to the Souls of Our Children
at Amazon!
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