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Finding Peter: A True Story of the Hand of Providence and Evidence of Life after Death
"For those who have lost a loved one to that liar and fraud named Death."
So reads the dedication of William Peter Blatty's Finding Peter, a deeply moving memoir that tests the bounds of grief, love, and the soul. Blatty, the bestselling author and Oscar Award–winning screenwriter of The Exorcist, lived a charmed life among the elite stars of Hollywood.
His son Peter, born over a decade after The Exorcist, grew from an apple-cheeked boy into an "imposing young man with a quick, warm smile." But when Peter died very suddenly from a rare disorder, Blatty's world turned upside down.
As he and his wife struggled through their unrelenting grief, a series of strange and supernatural events began occurring—and Blatty became convinced that Peter was sending messages from the afterlife.
A true and unabashedly personal story, Finding Peter will shake the most cynical of readers—and it will remind those in grief that our loved ones do truly live on.
So reads the dedication of William Peter Blatty's Finding Peter, a deeply moving memoir that tests the bounds of grief, love, and the soul. Blatty, the bestselling author and Oscar Award–winning screenwriter of The Exorcist, lived a charmed life among the elite stars of Hollywood.
His son Peter, born over a decade after The Exorcist, grew from an apple-cheeked boy into an "imposing young man with a quick, warm smile." But when Peter died very suddenly from a rare disorder, Blatty's world turned upside down.
As he and his wife struggled through their unrelenting grief, a series of strange and supernatural events began occurring—and Blatty became convinced that Peter was sending messages from the afterlife.
A true and unabashedly personal story, Finding Peter will shake the most cynical of readers—and it will remind those in grief that our loved ones do truly live on.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published March 30, 2015
31 people are currently reading
298 people want to read
About the author
William Peter Blatty
45Ìýbooks1,275ÌýfollowersWilliam Peter Blatty was an American writer and filmmaker. He wrote the novel The Exorcist (1971) and the subsequent screenplay version for which he won an Academy Award. Born and raised in New York City, Blatty received his bachelor's degree in English from the Georgetown University in 1950, and his master's degree in English literature from the George Washington University in 1954. He also wrote and directed the sequel "The Exorcist III". Some of his other notable works are the novels Elsewhere (2009), Dimiter (2010) and Crazy (2010).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
July 5, 2015
I was disappointed in this one. I think Blatty was reaching for sincere and charming but he easily blew right past that into meandering, over blown, stream-of-consciousness confessional. It would have been alright if he had been going on about his son contacting him from the other side, but the majority of this was about providing his bona fides as a storyteller and Hollywood insider. To be fair, maybe I'm too young to be really impressed about all of the names he was dropping, but after awhile the stories just started to blend together about this starlet and that director, blah blah blah. The personal part about his son felt tacked on to the end of a self indulgent rant about how trustworthy he is and some behind the scenes information about how he wrote the Exorcist. I guess if he had marketed this as a tell-all memoir I may have embraced it more fully but the title is: Finding Peter- A True Story of the Hand of Providence and Evidence of Life After Death. I feel that this was false advertising.
February 16, 2023
2.5 stars. Half memoir/half Blatty describing scenarios that he thinks prove there’s life after death. I loved how funny he is in it and his memories of his late mother, but some parts really did drag for me.
July 5, 2015
Though I've been a loyal fan of William Peter Blatty for nearly 20 years since first reading The Exorcist, and despite having been blown away several times by his more extreme declarations, I was kind of dreading this. The title, the emotive cover of a deceased child� it appeared as if he had joined the likes of which James Randi and Derren Brown frequently denounce, they who prey on the emotionally needy with "evidence" only the neediest will accept, entirely leapfrogging the process he put his characters through in his classic novel before finally suggesting, "possession?"
Given my hesitance, then, he begins by comfortingly (if weakly) embracing the likes of me, telling the first of many namedropping anecdotes about how he almost called the book "I Used to not Believe All This Shit". He points to his use of the word "Providence" in the title instead of "God" as if this somehow lets him off the skeptic's hook too.
This book is a lot funnier than the title and cover suggest, I'll give it that. It reminded me of a quote I see often on twitter, "If you're going to tell the truth, be funny, or they'll kill you," Billy Wilder I think (a quick Google also says Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw�) and Blatty sure wants us to believe it's the truth.
If you're a fan of Blatty, as I am, however, the book may also seem a mite familiar. Instead of the doctors and psychiatrists Blatty sends Regan to first before her mother turns to religion in The Exorcist, Blatty's shaky technique here is to have us "get to know him," which involves huge chunks taken almost directly from his earlier books "I'll Tell Them I Remember You" and "Which Way to Mecca, Jack?" It reminded me of Stephen Fry's recent book which spent a good third of its time retelling his first two volumes of autobiography.
Like Stephen Fry's latest book, too, once this repetition is over the rest of the book really consists of namedropping and lists - lists of what frankly amount to coincidences. Before finally getting to the Peter of the title, Blatty gives up on the "Evidence" part of his title and tells basically anyone who hasn't recently lost a child, and therefore emotionally prepared to accept his truth, to stop reading. I read on despite myself.
I read on because this writer has succeeded with this kind of thing with me before. "I'll Tell Them I Remember You" is a wonderful story about his mother with a minor miracle at the end that I kind of believed because it was so minor. He used this story, of a religious medal seemingly (re-)appearing out of nowhere to even more moving effect at the end of "The Ninth Configuration", the film of which I rate higher than "The Exorcist". And the end of "Legion", the sequel to "The Exorcist", where Kinderman explains his (Blatty's) theory that we, human beings, are all fragments of the fallen angel Lucifer simply trying to come back together and go back to God, kind of changed the core of my being - that's a metaphysical truth you don't need faith to accept. I wanted another revelation that powerful from this guy, believe me. But all I got was a list of coincidences.
It's a fun read, which was nice, and necessary. His stories about Peter are as touching as those about his mother, and please don't take my skepticism as a sign that I didn't feel his pain as I read - I just don't take pain as "evidence". Because it's presented that way, it only makes it sadder for me, because I can understand how such a loss could lead a person to write something like this, to want to believe it, to want others to believe it. But it's really, potentially, very damaging. If you haven't read his earlier books mentioned here I would highly recommend you read those first (they're all available in e-book form now, I've recently noticed� good thing, too�) because they're everything that's good here with none of the bad - unless you are a person who has lost a child recently and, even after reading this review, still want to accept this kind of "truth" (and, despite myself, I wouldn't blame you if you did).
Given my hesitance, then, he begins by comfortingly (if weakly) embracing the likes of me, telling the first of many namedropping anecdotes about how he almost called the book "I Used to not Believe All This Shit". He points to his use of the word "Providence" in the title instead of "God" as if this somehow lets him off the skeptic's hook too.
This book is a lot funnier than the title and cover suggest, I'll give it that. It reminded me of a quote I see often on twitter, "If you're going to tell the truth, be funny, or they'll kill you," Billy Wilder I think (a quick Google also says Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw�) and Blatty sure wants us to believe it's the truth.
If you're a fan of Blatty, as I am, however, the book may also seem a mite familiar. Instead of the doctors and psychiatrists Blatty sends Regan to first before her mother turns to religion in The Exorcist, Blatty's shaky technique here is to have us "get to know him," which involves huge chunks taken almost directly from his earlier books "I'll Tell Them I Remember You" and "Which Way to Mecca, Jack?" It reminded me of Stephen Fry's recent book which spent a good third of its time retelling his first two volumes of autobiography.
Like Stephen Fry's latest book, too, once this repetition is over the rest of the book really consists of namedropping and lists - lists of what frankly amount to coincidences. Before finally getting to the Peter of the title, Blatty gives up on the "Evidence" part of his title and tells basically anyone who hasn't recently lost a child, and therefore emotionally prepared to accept his truth, to stop reading. I read on despite myself.
I read on because this writer has succeeded with this kind of thing with me before. "I'll Tell Them I Remember You" is a wonderful story about his mother with a minor miracle at the end that I kind of believed because it was so minor. He used this story, of a religious medal seemingly (re-)appearing out of nowhere to even more moving effect at the end of "The Ninth Configuration", the film of which I rate higher than "The Exorcist". And the end of "Legion", the sequel to "The Exorcist", where Kinderman explains his (Blatty's) theory that we, human beings, are all fragments of the fallen angel Lucifer simply trying to come back together and go back to God, kind of changed the core of my being - that's a metaphysical truth you don't need faith to accept. I wanted another revelation that powerful from this guy, believe me. But all I got was a list of coincidences.
It's a fun read, which was nice, and necessary. His stories about Peter are as touching as those about his mother, and please don't take my skepticism as a sign that I didn't feel his pain as I read - I just don't take pain as "evidence". Because it's presented that way, it only makes it sadder for me, because I can understand how such a loss could lead a person to write something like this, to want to believe it, to want others to believe it. But it's really, potentially, very damaging. If you haven't read his earlier books mentioned here I would highly recommend you read those first (they're all available in e-book form now, I've recently noticed� good thing, too�) because they're everything that's good here with none of the bad - unless you are a person who has lost a child recently and, even after reading this review, still want to accept this kind of "truth" (and, despite myself, I wouldn't blame you if you did).
November 19, 2019
To say that you "enjoyed" this book really takes a little work. Peter Blatty puts his heart and soul into making the reader meet, and love his son, Peter. He tells us little things about his child...much like any proud parent would do...however because of the huge impact that his movie The Exorcist has had Peter Blatty Has already had the aura of otherworldly occurrences...scary and divine things attached to him...so getting the reader to see and understand that what he believes about his son has noting to do with the movie...and is to him, real. I found the book both hilariously funny and profoundly moving... a rare combination in any book...and Blatty pulled it off in spades. It didn't matter if I or you believe that he communicated with Peter...he believed it and it helped to bring him comfort after the death of his child.
October 10, 2024
eponymous-ey sentence:
p9: All right, let me say it plainly: ever since his passing in 2006, our beloved son Peter has been giving me his mother almost unremitting evidence of his continuing, active, and unbounded existence and I intend to pass this evidence along to you, for the task of this book, its sole and entire purpose, is to win your belief that human death is a lie and give ease to the hearts of those reading this work who have lost a loved one, most especially a child.
wtf:
p49: "It would take us a year to complete a security check!" the examiner rorfled.
spelling:
p184: I said, "Chazz, I have read the runes and for numerous reasons that are far too innumerable to enumerate, they are telling me Miss Harnedy feels about dignity in men the way Frank Lloyd Wright must have felt about Euclid," I fnished, omitting mention of how St. Simeon Stylites felt about him, and with this I looked back down at my shoes and my woes.
Because I have just read I'll Tell Them I Remember You, I immediately noticed the reused material--even thinking that it was verbatim (it was not--at least Blatty wasn't that lazy).
I initially thought that this is going to be somewhat a rehash of Morrell's Fireflies. Thankfully, I was wrong.
p9: All right, let me say it plainly: ever since his passing in 2006, our beloved son Peter has been giving me his mother almost unremitting evidence of his continuing, active, and unbounded existence and I intend to pass this evidence along to you, for the task of this book, its sole and entire purpose, is to win your belief that human death is a lie and give ease to the hearts of those reading this work who have lost a loved one, most especially a child.
wtf:
p49: "It would take us a year to complete a security check!" the examiner rorfled.
spelling:
p184: I said, "Chazz, I have read the runes and for numerous reasons that are far too innumerable to enumerate, they are telling me Miss Harnedy feels about dignity in men the way Frank Lloyd Wright must have felt about Euclid," I fnished, omitting mention of how St. Simeon Stylites felt about him, and with this I looked back down at my shoes and my woes.
Because I have just read I'll Tell Them I Remember You, I immediately noticed the reused material--even thinking that it was verbatim (it was not--at least Blatty wasn't that lazy).
I initially thought that this is going to be somewhat a rehash of Morrell's Fireflies. Thankfully, I was wrong.
October 2, 2015
Following the drift of the book I believe it was sheer providence of coming across it and having the pleasure of reading. Yes, this book follows a non to common drive..the first few chapters acquaint us with the writers early life. Hopefully many of you recognize this is the same writer as the same who wrote the exorcist novel which as you all know is a classic major motion picture that broke ground.However, the author does make an effort as well as a mention to avoid that subject and move across the real topic of his novel..which is the unusual way he dealt with the loss of his son..which even though its mentioned in the last chapters its truly hearrbreaking and endearing. Its a slow read the writer emphasizes details of his life that can be read briefly but still worth it. . Following the drift of the book I believe it was sheer providence of coming across it and having the pleasure of reading. Yes, this book follows a non to common drive..the first few chapters acquaint us with the writers early life. Hopefully many of you recognize this is the same writer as the same who wrote the exorcist novel which as you all know is a classic major motion picture that broke ground.However, the author does make an effort as well as a mention to avoid that subject and move across the real topic of his novel..which is the unusual way he dealt with the loss of his son..which even though its mentioned in the last chapters its truly hearrbreaking and endearing. Its a slow read the writer emphasizes details of his life that can be read briefly but still worth it.
January 25, 2020
William Peter Blatty lost his son to a rare disease. Blatty believed he had proof of the afterlife through "communications with his son Peter" after his passing. Unfortunately, of the 242 pages in this book, there are approximately only 30 pages about Peter and these "communications."
This book is a legitimate autobiography, with the author discussing his childhood, his fascination with his mother, his time in Hollywood with a lot of name-dropping, and pages about The Exorcist (although he didn't really want to dive into the subject). If you enjoy Blatty and want to know more about his life, this is a great, short read. He says that he writes about his life to further allow the audience to trust him before going into some of the more supposed, unbelievable events later in the book.
If you came to "Find Peter" and hear about proof of the afterlife, which the title suggests, you will be disappointed. Very disappointed, which is why it got one star from me.
One final note. You know that one guy in The Princess Bride who always says "inconceivable?" Well Blatty writes the word "incredulous" and all its variations more than any human being ever. That is all.
This book is a legitimate autobiography, with the author discussing his childhood, his fascination with his mother, his time in Hollywood with a lot of name-dropping, and pages about The Exorcist (although he didn't really want to dive into the subject). If you enjoy Blatty and want to know more about his life, this is a great, short read. He says that he writes about his life to further allow the audience to trust him before going into some of the more supposed, unbelievable events later in the book.
If you came to "Find Peter" and hear about proof of the afterlife, which the title suggests, you will be disappointed. Very disappointed, which is why it got one star from me.
One final note. You know that one guy in The Princess Bride who always says "inconceivable?" Well Blatty writes the word "incredulous" and all its variations more than any human being ever. That is all.
October 29, 2024
I found this really interesting and a great approach to his subject. I didn't know much about Blatty and found him wonderful company. He is a born storyteller, and very funny with it. I loved the account of his childhood and his larger-than-life mother who would not be cowered by misfortune or frustrated landlords. And I revelled in his description of his meandering path to Hollywood. On his - number one for seventeen weeks - novel's initial release, he tells us that 'The Exorcist' did not sell one little bit and then shows us what happened, inviting us to believe in providence, when over two months later when the sales quite literally exploded. And I loved his reassurance about there being a life after death but I don't think you'd have to be a believer to enjoy his storytelling.
April 11, 2018
Overall, this is a quality book. My one reservation would be that Blatty spends quite a few chapters on his own autobiography to "build trust" in the reader and reveal the workings of Providence. These stories are interesting and fun, but I found myself wanting go know more about his son. I was in luck, however, as the final two chapters were incredible, and exactly what I had expected to read! I found myself flying through the pages as I got lost in the stories of his son's supernatural messages.
August 31, 2023
So the title and description of the book are slightly misleading. I was a few chapters in when I thought the download had messed up because I was listening to an autobiography of Blatty’s childhood. Peter, the son, doesn’t appear until after the half way point. While Blatty’s life was interesting that was not what I expected or needed. I wanted to know more about these signs from Peter or what coincidences were occurring that made him and his wife suspect that Peter was still around them.
August 4, 2018
I enjoyed reading this, although sometime he went off tangent and I found it difficult to comprehend his ramblings. But the gist was compelling and I was inspired by his faith in God and of the afterlife.
January 2, 2019
I enjoyed this book with the exception of the second 25%. Like others have noted, Blatty spends a lot of time name dropping the countless celebrities he worked with prior to writing The Exorcist. Aside from that, I found it funny and endearing. You can easily tell his forte is humor writing.
January 1, 2021
This book was sad mostly. Whether he distinctly proves there's life after death or not remains to be seen but anyone who has lost a loved one will recognise the need to sense the presence of them after they are gone.
May 3, 2024
Not my typical read but considering the type of book it is I think it was very well written. My first book by this Author was The Exorcist and this book was very different. I don’t know that I would have read this book had the author not have also written The Exorcist.
November 6, 2017
Terrible book
I thoroughly disliked this book..poorly written. It was recommended to me by a friend and I looked forward to reading it.I was very disappointed.
I thoroughly disliked this book..poorly written. It was recommended to me by a friend and I looked forward to reading it.I was very disappointed.
March 10, 2020
A fascinating look into life after death.
August 1, 2021
Very good biography from the writer of "The Exorcist". It also nicely details the pain he went through with the death of his teenage son.
September 6, 2021
I never would have guessed that the author of The Exorcist could possibly be so funny!
March 16, 2017
This is the first time I've read any of Blatty's works since his death and so I think it was more special to me (especially considering the subject) than it might have been otherwise.
May 25, 2016
Finding Peter: A True Story Of The Hand Of Providence And Evidence Of Life After Death by William Peter Blatty
The Devil and Conversations in the Afterlife
William Peter Blatty authored The Exorcist, a 1971 novel about the demonic possession of a girl. His son, Peter, died November 7, 2006 aged nineteen of a rare heart disorder and he wrote this book to win our belief loved ones can communicate from the afterlife and a force called “providence� operates in the world. (Note: the dictionary defines “providence� as an event or circumstance ascribable to divine interpretation or care exercised by God over the universe.)
Blatty was born January 7, 1928 in New York City. His parents emigrated from Lebanon in 1921 and separated when he was three. Part One explores his childhood, Jesuit education, study at Georgetown University and highlights the antics of his eccentric Roman Catholic mother.
Part Two focuses on his career including a recount as an editor in Beirut with the United States Information Agency plus his work as an actor, comic author and musical screenplay writer. It also describes his writing process with respect to The Exorcist and details the presence of providence in the novel becoming a best-seller. The merging of seven coincidences he cites certainly caused me to reflect on the play of luck in anyone’s success.
Part Three outlines fourteen incidents of providence. Examples of a levitating telephone receiver when negotiating film rights for The Exorcist, the crashing of a wall clock in his beach house and the receipt of a 50th birthday greeting from a deceased brother are amongst those witnessed.
Part Four profiles Blatty’s wife, Julie but its center is Peter. An index is included at the end of the book.
I have mixed feelings with regards Finding Peter. Parts One to Three introduced us to Blatty but the material needed editing and I sensed much of it “filler� intended to produce sufficient page count before beginning Part Four. I found his tendency to ramble and use run-on sentences impeded the flow of his writing. Blatty’s examples in Part Three evoked deliberation but fewer would have adequately showcased his experiences with providence.
In Part Four, Blatty presents his son, Peter, as a child with spiritual insight manifesting at age three. His mother maintained a “contemporaneous diary of statements� speaking to this quality. Peter suffered from bipolar disorder, which led to addiction issues he seems to have conquered. An athletic amiable young man, Blatty’s family photographs assist the reader gain familiarity; nevertheless, more anecdotal information would have painted a clearer picture of Peter. In contrast with earlier parts of the book, I deemed this section abbreviated and rushed. Blatty’s love for his family and Peter, however, was evident as was his egregious grief from his son’s sudden passing.
The book builds towards pages 178 to 204 where Blatty illustrates messages from Peter he and Julie received over a period of eight years. The episodes specific to the retrieval of Peter’s medal and the greenery spouting on Noah’s tree in Maryland on Blatty’s January birthday are remarkable. As an aside, Blatty has donated “every penny of royalties earned by this book to scholarships established in Peter’s name at his former Maryland high school.�
Blatty is convinced there is life after death and whether or not he proves loved ones can communicate with us should be the prerogative of the reader. I am uncomfortable passing such judgement. For those keen to weigh this issue as well as the possibility of providence, I would recommend Finding Peter.
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
The Devil and Conversations in the Afterlife
William Peter Blatty authored The Exorcist, a 1971 novel about the demonic possession of a girl. His son, Peter, died November 7, 2006 aged nineteen of a rare heart disorder and he wrote this book to win our belief loved ones can communicate from the afterlife and a force called “providence� operates in the world. (Note: the dictionary defines “providence� as an event or circumstance ascribable to divine interpretation or care exercised by God over the universe.)
Blatty was born January 7, 1928 in New York City. His parents emigrated from Lebanon in 1921 and separated when he was three. Part One explores his childhood, Jesuit education, study at Georgetown University and highlights the antics of his eccentric Roman Catholic mother.
Part Two focuses on his career including a recount as an editor in Beirut with the United States Information Agency plus his work as an actor, comic author and musical screenplay writer. It also describes his writing process with respect to The Exorcist and details the presence of providence in the novel becoming a best-seller. The merging of seven coincidences he cites certainly caused me to reflect on the play of luck in anyone’s success.
Part Three outlines fourteen incidents of providence. Examples of a levitating telephone receiver when negotiating film rights for The Exorcist, the crashing of a wall clock in his beach house and the receipt of a 50th birthday greeting from a deceased brother are amongst those witnessed.
Part Four profiles Blatty’s wife, Julie but its center is Peter. An index is included at the end of the book.
I have mixed feelings with regards Finding Peter. Parts One to Three introduced us to Blatty but the material needed editing and I sensed much of it “filler� intended to produce sufficient page count before beginning Part Four. I found his tendency to ramble and use run-on sentences impeded the flow of his writing. Blatty’s examples in Part Three evoked deliberation but fewer would have adequately showcased his experiences with providence.
In Part Four, Blatty presents his son, Peter, as a child with spiritual insight manifesting at age three. His mother maintained a “contemporaneous diary of statements� speaking to this quality. Peter suffered from bipolar disorder, which led to addiction issues he seems to have conquered. An athletic amiable young man, Blatty’s family photographs assist the reader gain familiarity; nevertheless, more anecdotal information would have painted a clearer picture of Peter. In contrast with earlier parts of the book, I deemed this section abbreviated and rushed. Blatty’s love for his family and Peter, however, was evident as was his egregious grief from his son’s sudden passing.
The book builds towards pages 178 to 204 where Blatty illustrates messages from Peter he and Julie received over a period of eight years. The episodes specific to the retrieval of Peter’s medal and the greenery spouting on Noah’s tree in Maryland on Blatty’s January birthday are remarkable. As an aside, Blatty has donated “every penny of royalties earned by this book to scholarships established in Peter’s name at his former Maryland high school.�
Blatty is convinced there is life after death and whether or not he proves loved ones can communicate with us should be the prerogative of the reader. I am uncomfortable passing such judgement. For those keen to weigh this issue as well as the possibility of providence, I would recommend Finding Peter.
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
October 26, 2015
More autobiographical than I expected, but it was worth reading just to find the greatest-quote-ever on death from Cardinal John Henry Newman:
So many people imagine that death cruelly separates us from our loved ones. Even pious people are led to believe this great and sad mistake. Death is not a separation. When our loved one dies, they do not leave us. They remain. They do not go to some distant place. They simply begin their eternity. Death has not destroyed them, nor carried them away. Rather it has given them life and the power to know and love us more fully than ever before. The
tears that dampen our eyes in times of mourning are tears of homesickness, tears of longing for our loved ones. But it is we who are far from home, not they. Death has been for them a doorway to eternal home. And only because this home is invisible to our worldly eyes, we cannot see them so near us, lovingly and tenderly waiting for the day when we, too, will enter the doorway. And then we will see them.
Kudos to Mr. Blatty for helping to expose "that liar and fraud named Death."
So many people imagine that death cruelly separates us from our loved ones. Even pious people are led to believe this great and sad mistake. Death is not a separation. When our loved one dies, they do not leave us. They remain. They do not go to some distant place. They simply begin their eternity. Death has not destroyed them, nor carried them away. Rather it has given them life and the power to know and love us more fully than ever before. The
tears that dampen our eyes in times of mourning are tears of homesickness, tears of longing for our loved ones. But it is we who are far from home, not they. Death has been for them a doorway to eternal home. And only because this home is invisible to our worldly eyes, we cannot see them so near us, lovingly and tenderly waiting for the day when we, too, will enter the doorway. And then we will see them.
Kudos to Mr. Blatty for helping to expose "that liar and fraud named Death."
February 3, 2016
#
CompNtBk
Borrowed from library.
FS: "When my dear friend Shirley MacLaine and I were chatting over lunch in Malibu last year and I suggested I Used to Not Believe in All This Shit as a possible title for her forthcoming book, she smiled warmly, flipped me a delicate bird and replied it might serve me very well to do the same."
LS: "The opening line of his Chapter One is, Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderly again."
I did not really enjoy the exorcist. And I did not enjoy this book. I understand what he was trying to relay to his readers but as a man who's biggest hit was a thriller about the other side, it's hard to grasp that any of this is true. Not to mention he's a horrible writer. The way he pieces together some of his sentences just blows me away. Anyways, if these signs really did come to him from his deceased son, then he's lucky. Not to mention, the whole subject of this book didn't actual get to the point until page 167 and stopped roughly around 221...
This book was a fast read because I didn't want to digest it. Simple as that.
CompNtBk
Borrowed from library.
FS: "When my dear friend Shirley MacLaine and I were chatting over lunch in Malibu last year and I suggested I Used to Not Believe in All This Shit as a possible title for her forthcoming book, she smiled warmly, flipped me a delicate bird and replied it might serve me very well to do the same."
LS: "The opening line of his Chapter One is, Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderly again."
I did not really enjoy the exorcist. And I did not enjoy this book. I understand what he was trying to relay to his readers but as a man who's biggest hit was a thriller about the other side, it's hard to grasp that any of this is true. Not to mention he's a horrible writer. The way he pieces together some of his sentences just blows me away. Anyways, if these signs really did come to him from his deceased son, then he's lucky. Not to mention, the whole subject of this book didn't actual get to the point until page 167 and stopped roughly around 221...
This book was a fast read because I didn't want to digest it. Simple as that.
August 27, 2015
I enjoyed reading about his childhood in the very beginning, and I enjoyed the part at the end about his son Peter's messages from the other side. However, I felt a little deceived by the book cover's description. I thought the entire book was going to be what the very last 1/4 of it was. I didn't care all that much for the biographical stuff in the middle. In fact, I skipped over some parts of it. I didn't even know who William Blatty was until I picked up this book, so I wasn't drawn to his celebrity in the slightest when I picked this up from the shelf at the library. I feel like the book cover and description were a little misleading. If you are interested in how our loved ones remain connected to us, even after passing to the other side, I would recommend it. Otherwise, you probably wouldn't find it much interesting. Well, unless, of course, you are a fan of William Blatty.
May 1, 2015
Finding Peter is a funny autobiography of William Peter Blatty, author of The Exorcist. I learned a great deal about Blatty--that he was born in Lebanon, that his mother was "definitely different," that he was best known as a comedy screenwriter, that he has known many of the all-time greats of Hollywood. The anecdotes and stories are hilarious. Yet there is sadness--the sudden death of his son, Peter, was probably the saddest. Yet the story has an optimistic note in that Blatty and his wife believe that Peter has revealed his continuing presence in their lives through signs that point to him. Some of them would fit well into Jung's notion of "synchronicity." Are they evidence of life after death? The reader will have to judge for himself. Blatty is a devout Roman Catholic who believes in divine providence in his life. The book is a good read, and I highly recommend it.
July 31, 2016
This book was written by the author of The Exorcist. I didn't know what to expect since that was such a dark horror film but he comes across as a regular every day guy with a big sense of humor. In fact, an awful lot of the writing he has done in his career is strictly humor. He shows humor in every page of this book. The books intent is to show the reader that when people die, they don't disappear. In his case, he and his son who died prematurely, apparently have a high sense of awareness of human feeling and unspoken communication. he describes many instances where his son shows himself to William in different ways. A large part of the book is dedicated to telling about William's own life from childhood on up to his son's death. It is a lighthearted book in spite of the subject and I must say that I enjoyed the book.
April 29, 2015
I came upon this book quite by accident. I am an avid reader, but I only read on my iPad or kindle unless absolutely necessary to read a hard cover book. I was visiting my local library online searching for a movie to order. A suggestion to read this book was printed on the right hand side of the screen. Without thinking, I ordered it. Not only was it entertaining and based on the real life of the author, but it was just what I needed at that moment. I am no beginner at reading books of this sort, but it struck a chord and reeled me back in when day to day life was sucking the life from my soul. Sit back, relax and enjoy. You will be glad you did.
June 28, 2015
Why use 200 words to tell a story when you can use 50,000 and make it so convoluted as to be nonsensical at times? That seemed to be the theme of every segment of the book, every chapter. Even certain sentences became so long that the author seems to have forgotten the point he was trying to make as clauses piled up and meaning went down the drain.
On the other hand, many light and funny moments vignettes manage to surface. A couple of the stories will stick with me for a long time. Much, much name dropping.
On the other hand, many light and funny moments vignettes manage to surface. A couple of the stories will stick with me for a long time. Much, much name dropping.
September 5, 2015
William Peter Blatty, screenwriter of "The Exorcist", jumps from telling about his experience in show business and all the famous people he met to telling about the death of his son, Peter. He didn't write about the years in between when he apparently got married and had seven children. His son Peter suffered from a bi-polar illness and suddenly died from a rare disorder call viral myocarditis. Blatty and his wife have seen several signs that their son is happy and living in a different dimension. Blatty wants the reader to be comforted by the fact that our deceased loved ones are close by.
June 26, 2015
At first I was disappointed when I began reading the book because I had no idea it was going to be an autobiography. I thought it was more about Peter and less about Bill. But once I got into a few pages' I felt like I was sitting down listening to the author tell the stories of his life to me. It was a very personal book that read like he speaks, I guess. The parts about Peter were very well done. I too am a skeptic by nature but the "coincidents" that are described are very convincing.
April 19, 2015
I seen it, too.
I've seen several striking signs since my father died 20 some years ago, very much akin to what Bill expresses here. So I believe. What do I believe? That there's something more than this. That we'll find out what the more is once this is over. That this is much more enjoyable knowing that there's a great mystery going on behind the scenes. Peace.
I've seen several striking signs since my father died 20 some years ago, very much akin to what Bill expresses here. So I believe. What do I believe? That there's something more than this. That we'll find out what the more is once this is over. That this is much more enjoyable knowing that there's a great mystery going on behind the scenes. Peace.
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