The Boy Who Knew Too Much: An Astounding True Story of a Young Boy's Past-Life Memories Kindle Edition

Before the true believers get defensive here are books on reincarnation I have read and actually recommend:Reliving Past Lives by Helen WambachMission to Millboro and Return to Millboro: The Reincarnation Drama Continues both by Marge RiederReincarnation: A New Horizon in Science, Religion and Society by Sylvia Cranston & Carey WilliamsAll of these books actually make an intriguing argument for the case of reincarnation, both in a scholarly, psychological and historically accurate situations and a great deal of their believability is that the subjects of the books were not only "regular" people in one case the subject recalled literally being a mentally retarded shepherd which was more interesting than being a famous person really. There was also a sense of general unease amongst the subjects. The weight of previous life memories on a current life created a certain level of discomfort despite the interest whether they were traumatic or benign.That being said I found Cathy Byrd's book to be impossible to read and a bit infuriating and even insulting to the deceased as it feels more like a fame grab on the coat tails of Lou Gehrig, who conveniently does not have a surviving immediate family to defend him from this bizarre form of tomb raiding. There are just too many things about this book that are questionable and I think what Ms. Byrd has actually uncovered is a new strain of munchausen by proxy syndrome.1.Christian's claims of being a baseball player are predominately witnessed by by his mother and repeated only at her prompting to "witnesses". He never claims to be Lou Gehrig. Cathy makes that claim.2. Cathy had a decade long career in sports marketing and all of the time in the world to research her "project", plot her story and groom her son.3. The glossy videos and photo shoots of her son over the years, posed with players and other celebrities as well as enlisting him in multiple baseball camps is blatant show biz training and red-flags a momager in earnest.4. The whole thing reads like a glossy, carefully planned out tale and it appears that Cathy was courting a movie deal before she even got a book deal.5.That this is all dropped on us now that Christian is eight and Cathy claims that he is "forgetting" his memories is also convenient as this prevents him from having to be interviewed or studied in depth by more than one specialist on reincarnation. We just need to take her word for it.6. Let's face it, Cathy is the real star of the show and blatantly "regresses" herself to prove that she was Lou Gehrig's mother and that they both neatly found each other "through the sky" to be together and get famous together in a brand new life.The books I listed in the beginning made me think, "Yes, this can happen". Books like Cathy's are just too convenient and feel so wrong. As I said earlier, the greatest emphasis this book carries is Cathy's need for attention and that she rigorously does so thru her son is disturbing to me. What will happen as Christian gets older? What excuses does she have in place if/when Christian either tires of baseball or does not live up to his projected talent as he gets older? Lou Gehrig was a talented athlete before the use of enhancement drugs, arguably the players who had beaten his records did so under the influence of these drugs will Cathy be pumping junk into her son to ensure that he reclaims greatness? It just seems like Cathy has worked pretty darn hard to establish this (dare I say - fantasy?) reality and her validity points are just so tidy but I still feel like this is snake oil and a perhaps narcissistic mother's desperate attempt for attention and fame thru her hapless son.I'm just not sold on this. At all.

The story as sold intrigued me but it was a complete bait and switch. It was significantly less about the son and more about the Mom. When she takes him to former childhood homes etc it seems way too overthought. I didn’t care about the whole reincarnation vs Christianity struggle storyline and thought those parts were boring, then skipped them as they droned on. The name dropping was too much as well. The parts I was interested in could have amounted to a nice magazine article.

While the story is very interesting, the voice of the mother drowned out the subject. In several instances the impression left by the presentation of the story was that Mom was really going for publicity more than using this fascinating and believable occurrence as a way to reach people. Reincarnation is such a comforting concept. Believing that our God is merciful, how relieved am I to know I have more than one chance to learn life lessons and improve as a human being over time.So much of this message was lost in the self-aggrandizing throughout this book, although that penchant seemed to escalate toward the end of the book.By the end, the mom/author I initially liked became somewhat repugnant. The content of the story became lost through the grating voice of the story teller.

I made the mistake of reading some of the 1 star reviews before actually reading the book. Although these reviews stirred some skepticism in me, once I got into it, I wasn't able to put this book down. Being a huge baseball fan, and someone who has always believed in past lives, this story solidified my beliefs even further, especially by the time I got to the end. When you realize there are truly to "mistakes" in life and when you learn to trust the synchronicities, everything seems to fall into place, as everything does with Cathy's story. I loved reading about Cathy's past life regressions, and seeing her own beliefs transform before our eyes. I haven't checked out the regressions transcripts yet, but how you can deny the details she was able to confirm? This book is not just Cathy's amazing story and it's not just Christian's...It's the story of the love between a mother and son that transcends lifetimes. I highly recommend this book and cannot wait to see the movie!

The author is a Christian woman that does not believe in reincarnation. She has a son, who at a very tender young age convinces her that he was a famous baseball player in a past life. She wrestles with her beliefs at the same time she is trying to verify the stories her son is telling her.I have read many reincarnation stories, and I have to say that this is quite a compelling tale. I hope the family can go on and have a "normal" life in spite of the sensationalism this kind of story can cause. If you are not a believer in reincarnation, this story might just change your mind. I am glad I read it.

The depth a mother will go for her child defies motherhood. Engaging in a sport she wasn't familiar with, meeting new people within it, traveling across the country, researching, engaging in meditation, being hypnotized for past life regressions and helping others along the way while holding down a full time job....all to ensure the little tyrant she has been blessed with is saturated within his all consuming love... baseball. Oh, and how her son possessed knowledge of and a belief that he was a famous baseball player from the 1920's and 30's. All wrapped up in a book that will have you scratching your head as to whether reincarnation is real. Cathy shares private experiences of her and her families lives with the hope of helping others. She also mentions how thinking in positive ways brought about special experiences in their lives. (A how to book for the would be seeker). I never played nor possessed much interest in baseball; I think those days might be behind me now.

It’s an interesting story of a boy who remembers one of his past lives. It just so happens that it was the life of the most famous baseball player in history. His current mum also used to be his mum when he was Lou Gehrig. Can you believe it? I’m not so sure, it could be just well researched fiction. But it’s an interesting story that will keep you entertained. I just didn’t enjoy the writing style that much, it’s not one of those books that would give pleasure reading them just for the way they are written.

I say interesting, because the concept of reincarnation/ rebirth , the theme behind the story is nothing new to me. I didn’t find it ‘ Astounding’ - because of my religious beliefs on rebirth and also because recently I have read many books by Ian Stevenson , a consultant psychiatrist who did a lot of scientific research on children talking about their past births. But I was fascinated to hear that a colleague of Dr. Stevenson, Dr. Tucker has helped with this research. I take my hat off to Cathy Byrd , who had the courage to defy her religious beliefs , scornful remarks of her friends to find the truth. I finished the book in one day as it was written well and a real page turner.

A young boy starts talking about being a "tall man" and a life as a baseball player and gives the name of somebody that had died many years before he was born. To begin with, his mom just puts it down to his obsession with the game but when facts start coming out that no 4 year old could possibly know - she starts to dig a bit further, only to find she too had lived before with this boy. At some point - it does change more to being about the mom than the boy but still a great read

When I read these books, wish I'd thought to ask my children more about where they've been before this life. I totally believe in many other lives, for every one of us, in many dimensions. So I welcome such a book as this, that may get past people's cynicism and materialistic beliefs.

I bought this book thinking it would be along the same lines as that of the Reincarnation of a world war two fighter pilot. I was disappointed that the story played second fiddle to baseball. A bit too long winded for me. Also it lost credibility when she went for a past life regression and became Lous mother. She already had this in her head before. A dissapointment.