Spirits Walk Among Us

By Benita Glickman and Margaret Reyes Dempsey

In her latest memoir, Spirits Walk Among Us, Benita Glickman paints an open and honest account of love, loss, grief, and healing through insightful poetry and emotive vignettes.
After thirty-eight loving years together, Benita’s beloved Joseph passed, leaving her to grapple with his death, look back at her life, and try to make sense of it all.
“In life, Joseph had been my dream come true. Since his death, in dreams guided by him, I’m reminded of my chilling loss, and cling to our connection of eternal love.”
This memoir is an affirmation of love and the instrumental role it plays in Benita’s ability to accept change, heal, and ultimately walk down a spiritual path. Joseph provides strength, hope, and guidance through dreams, visions, and signs from the Other Side.
I’m leaving you in the sense of the dream must end, and I must go back home, but I’m not leaving you. The love we share is eternal. Nobody can take that from you. …You’ll always carry me with you, right here, in your heart.
Spirits Walk Among Us encourages you to reflect on your own life. You’ll smile, have goose bumps, and perhaps shed a few tears as you walk alongside Benita in her quest for healing and spiritual enlightenment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Mar 31, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665716611

Benita Glickman

Benita Glickman, a retired language teacher, mentor, and consultant to Brown University is an award-winning poet, short story writer, and grief and spiritual memoirist. Her memoirs Greetings from the Other Side: A Story of Love, Loss, and the Afterlife; Then and Now: Snapshots of My Life; Living Between Two Worlds; On a Path to Spiritual Enlightenment; Spirits Walk Among Us; For the Love of Joseph; and It’s a Sign! are affirmations of love through loss, grief, growth, and healing.

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Copyright © 2022 Benita Glickman

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Archway Publishing

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

844-669-3957

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6657-1662-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-1660-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-1661-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021925448

Archway Publishing rev. date:  03/28/2022

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CONTENTS

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Loss

Introduction

Part I – Changes, Welcome and Unwelcome

Chapter 1 A Visit, Short and Sweet

Chapter 2 I Want to Make Sure You’ll Be OK

Chapter 3 Adapting to Change

Chapter 4 You Have to Merit a Visit

Chapter 5 Joseph Is Worried

Part II – Spiritual Intervention

Chapter 6 The Birds

Chapter 7 The Rules

Chapter 8 Elijah and the Cloud

Chapter 9 Spirits Walk Among Us

Chapter 10 Spirits Can Be High-spirited

Chapter 11 Spirit in Hospitals, Cemeteries, and Such

Part III – Reviving Positive Energy

Chapter 12 The Photograph

Chapter 13 Restoring Balance

Chapter 14 Psychic Energy Protection

Chapter 15 Saging the Apartment

Part IV – It Was Written in the Stars

Chapter 16 An Independence Day Celebration

Chapter 17 Destiny’s Twists and Turns

Chapter 18 A Fairy-tale Life

Chapter 19 Hello?

Chapter 20 A Wake-up Call

Chapter 21 I Made a Friend

Part V – Comforting Assurances

Chapter 22 Spirit at the Fest

Chapter 23 Joseph’s Messages

Chapter 24 Marie’s Call

Chapter 25 A Message on Main Street

Chapter 26 Lost in Long Island

Part VI – Promising Dreams

Chapter 27 Three Perfect Red Roses

Chapter 28 You’ll Always Carry Me with You

Chapter 29 From Despair to Joy

Chapter 30 A Trip to Wonderland

Chapter 31 Sweeping Away Evil Spirits

Chapter 32 A Trip Around the World

Part VII – Past Lives and Reincarnation

Chapter 33 I’m Answering Your Call

Chapter 34 Familiarity

Chapter 35 Intuition

Chapter 36 Déjà vu

Chapter 37 Past Life Experiences

Chapter 38 News of Joseph’s Reincarnation

Truth Exposed

Joseph’s Ponderable Thoughts

A Brief Note to Joseph

By Way of Explanation

Conclusion

FOREWORD

Early Christmas morning, many years ago, I sat looking at a photo of my deceased grandparents, missing them and remembering the good times we had enjoyed. Later that day, I would travel to my parents’ home for Christmas dinner, and I wished my grandparents could join us and get to know my young son. I actually spoke that wish aloud before replacing the frame on the table and heading to the laundry room to carry up clean clothes. On my way upstairs, something caught my eye on the hardwood steps. I bent to pick it up and gasped. It was a hair pin. But not the kind I knew as a bobby pin. This was open-ended and u-shaped—the exact kind of pin my grandmother had used to secure her hair under her stylish, blonde wig. I stared at it in disbelief. I had never used bobby pins, let alone that type of pin. It felt like an answer to my wish, as if my grandmother had replied we are there with you.

We all have our ways of trying to understand the complex world in which we live. Some people do not believe in anything that is not tangible and that is perfectly fine. I, perhaps, should be among them, having been steeped in science in my education. Despite that, I accept these things as completely normal though I can’t explain them—my family and I have had far too many occurrences to not believe. There is much that science can’t explain…yet. I enjoy and am comforted by these signs that seem to come from the other side. If you, too, have experienced spiritual shout-outs—the appearance of a favorite bird of a deceased relative that isn’t typical in your area, significant numbers that continually pop up, a dream that encourages you to take some action—then you will enjoy reading Spirits Walk Among Us, Benita Glickman’s memoir of her life with her great love, Joseph, and their continued connection after his death.

Back in 2009, my first suspense novel, The Benefactor, was published and I began the exhausting process of marketing a book. Readers may not be aware of the incredible amount of work that goes into putting out a book and how much authors rely on their ratings, reviews, and recommendations. People think the writing is the hard part, but getting your book in front of readers is a time-consuming process that is not always successful, especially in these days of increased competition in the online marketplace. Every once in a while, a generous reader comes along and goes the extra mile for you. Benita Glickman was that person for me.

Benita had won a copy of my book on a reading blog. Her name kept popping up on sites where she was recommending my book. Her generous act meant the world to me. She was my own personal angel of the publishing world. At some point, we exchanged notes and she mentioned she wrote poetry. I told her about my experience writing and getting my book published and encouraged her to continue writing. I even mailed her one of my favorite, four-color-ink pens as a gesture of support and confidence for her journey.

Many years passed. I raised my son and sent him off to college. Benita cared for her beloved husband in his illness. We had lost touch, but as the publishing date of my second novel approached, I thought of her fondly. Remembering her kindness inspired me to stay positive and trust. No sooner had she popped into my mind when an email popped into my inbox…from Benita! Her husband had passed away, and she had taken my advice from all those years ago and continued writing. Her first book was at the publisher, her second was almost finished, and she asked if I would provide a testimonial for it. I was honored to do it. As I read about her life with Joseph and the experiences she had after his passing, I felt we were kindred spirits. When she mailed me a copy of her recent book, I laughed when I saw the amount of the postage. $3.33. Those happened to be the lucky numbers of my other grandparents. Perhaps Benita’s dear Joseph had acted as spiritual carrier pigeon to bring me some love from the other side.

We are living in challenging times. Each generation has had its defining moment of hardship. It’s human to wonder if this is all there is. These signs from the other side give us hope that there is much more. At the very least, they bring to mind those we have loved and carry in our hearts, and when we remember our loved ones, they are never far away. As Fox Mulder of the X-Files used to say, I want to believe. Benita and Joseph’s love story will make you believe that spirits indeed do walk among us.

Margaret Reyes Dempsey

Author of Mind Games

2021

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

with tender prayers of gratitude

expressly intended for you

I hadn’t written a memoir before my spiritual awakening. I had no reason to write one. There wouldn’t have been anything to write about. Because Joseph came to me in dreams and visions, and presented me with a new world, I had lots to say. And I’ve said it in five memoirs.

But I didn’t craft these memoirs alone. I had help from spirits across the veil as well as confidants and professionals in this realm.

First and foremost, there was God, in charge of and orchestrating everything, sending angels, spirit guides, spirit animals and insects, and probably other entities, I may not have been aware of. But they were part of His plan.

Thank you, God, I bow my head in acknowledgment, awe, and respect.

I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the encouragement and guidance I received from my loving lifelong partner of thirty-eight years, Joseph Anthony Larizza.

Thank you, Joseph, for your collaboration and for coauthoring all my memoirs. Things flowed more easily when we worked together; less so, when I worked alone. Very reminiscent of how it was when we lived together on this side of the veil, you kept me calm, focused, and on track.

I’d like to thank Joseph’s invited spirit guests for visiting and providing the material for several vignettes. A picture is worth a thousand words. Seeing you in my dreams strengthened my belief in the afterlife and the interconnectedness of Earth and the spirit world.

I’m forever indebted to Joseph’s parents for bringing such a remarkable man into the world and sending him my way, and to my own for bringing me into the world and raising me. I also want to thank my grandma, my sister, and my puppy for the major roles they carried out in my life, and for the watchfulness and concern they provide from the Other Side.

Knowing each of you has provided me with love, knowledge, and wisdom for which I am grateful.

I appreciate my good friends who, when they weren’t too burdened, praised my work, and encouraged me to write more.

Thank you, Cecile and Marie Hall, Neil and Jerry Josephberg, Pat Rogoff, Eva and Ray, Marla Toscano, and Tanya Rosado-Barringer for standing by and supporting my writing endeavors.

And I mustn’t forget to recognize my professional advocates—Thank you, Susan Cohn, for listening to me talk about my work excessively and tirelessly. Thank you, Tanja Pajevic and Margaret Reyes Dempsey for your