book cover

Someone Else's Yesterday- The Confederate General & Connecticut Yankee: A Past Life Revealed- Jeffrey J. Keene, Blue Dolphin Publishing.

This book is not what I expected! Few months ago the author, Jeffrey, who is a present-day decorated fire fighter and an Assistant Fire Chief in affluent Westport, Connecticut; contacted me and sent me a copy of his book to review. Although I am a fast reader, and the subject of past lives always intrigues me; it took me several months to finish the book!

I was not prepared for the overwhelming honesty, painstaking detail, and the evidence which took the author a great deal of research, travel, and time to amass. It also propelled me into what is foreign territory to me- the American Civil War.

Suddenly, I was plunged into living that reality just as the author was discovering it for himself, and started my own research on the subject. While reading the book, i contacted Jeffrey several times, enquiring further about how's and what to do's of remembering past lives. I also apologised for taking so long. His reassuring answer still rings in my mind: "all in God's time. God's time is always right!"

This book is about a journey, told through the eyes of two people. Similarities between the two go far beyond coincidence. They think alike, look alike, and even share facial scars. Half of this equation, Jeffrey J. Keene, The other half, John B. Gordon, Confederate General, Army of Northern Virginia, died January 9, 1904.

Jeff begins his book saying: “Like most people, I was stumbling through life minding my own business when all at once the world started having its way with me. Suddenly, the extraordinary became ordinary and strange occurrences throughout my life started to make sense”.

"Keen is convinced that he is the reincarnation of Confederate Major General John B. Gordon”.

Keene's fascination began as he had a very strange experience while visiting a battlefield at Antietam, coincidently, the very same battlefield on which General Gordon was wounded. Shortly thereafter, other elements came together at a Halloween party in 1992, when a chance meeting with a psychic at a party, led him to further delve into the Civil War past and his connection with General Gordon, leading to a 10-year odyssey including the battlefields of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Georgia as well as the library of the University of Georgia and the Library of Congress.

Gathering information from official records, wartime reports and even love letters, Jeff Keene uncovered many parallels between his own life and that of General Gordon. Even the trip to the emergency room on his thirtieth birthday with facial pain had mimicked the wound General Gordon received at the battle of Antietam when he was thirty years of age.

He writes: “While in the sunken road called "Bloody Lane", a wave of grief, sadness and anger came over me. Burning tears ran down my cheeks. It was difficult to even breathe." On September 17, 1862, General John Gordon was seriously wounded at the battle of Antietam, on the "Bloody Lane".

“Not only are the pictures of both Keene and Gordon incredibly and uncannily striking, but the fact that they both share the same six placement of scars on their bodies just adds that much more credibility to the entire story. Keene presents such compelling evidence, that one comes away with wonderment. Even parallels with their writing styles are pretty incredible!”

Dr. Brian Weiss, in his books on past lives, also stated as does Jeffrey Keene stated, that soul groups tend to reincarnate in groups, and that it is not uncommon to find members of the same family as well as close friends, together over multiple life times.

Ironically, or maybe not - several of the men in Keene's department, also share incredible striking resemblances to other confederate men who were with General Gordon during the Civil War. Jeff has identified several fire fighters in his department who appear to be reincarnated colleagues of General John B. Gordon.

Jeff has obtained glimpses of his past lives through spontaneous experiences, through meditation (not hypnosis), and through a few psychic readings. He describes the entire process in his book.

The Author

The author has done a thorough job researching General John B. Gordon, tracing his lineage as a boy growing up in Georgia, all the way through his death in 1904. Keene, not being content with the obvious, delved as deeply as possible into as much of General Gordon's entire life history as he was able. Visiting as many places and battlefields as he could, the parallels between both lives are pretty remarkable and the evidence seems so overwhelming.

Walter Semkiw, M.D. M.P.H., author of Return of the Revolutionaries: The Case for Reincarnation and Soul Groups Reunited says: "Learn how one of America's greatest battlefield heroes has returned to life as a warrior for peace."

Whether you believe in past lives, parallel lives, or not, and even if you choose to put the evidence the author presents aside, the historical writings were a fascinating read- much to my surprise; his cheer dedication and courage in bearing out his personal journey - an inspiration.

Someone Else's Yesterday- The Confederate General & Connecticut Yankee: A Past Life Revealed- Jeffrey J. Keene, Blue Dolphin Publishing.

See author’s web site: www.ConfederateYankee.net for more information on his journey of discovery, and links to what other critics have said about his book, a video taped psychic reading that gave him more information; and more.

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