The messenger2015
the improbable story of a grieving mother and a spirit guide
by Helen Delaney
"Helen Delaney is in a railway book store, inconsolable and suicidal after the death of her son. A book at eye level catches her attention. She touches it, and it falls off the shelf, into her hand. It is a set of instructions on how to connect with a spirit guide. Thus begins The Messenger, the true, intimate story of a grieving mother, a gifted medium, and the spirit guide, Lukhamen, who keeps her alive by recounting the story of his life. It is 214 AD, and the Egyptian city of Luxor is ruled by Rome. The last vestiges of Egypt's glorious past are discernible in the deteriorating temple dedicated to the god Amon, and its high priest, Lukhamen's father. A Roman centurion, hopelessly in love with the wife of the high priest, becomes governor. A sadistic Roman underling seeks to unseat him,...