Book excerpt: At just five years old, Maureen Hancock discovered her ability to communicate with the dead. Descended from a long line of legendary Irish mystics, she was no stranger to the spiritual realm, but for fear of being misunderstood by her friends and family she kept the otherworldly messages to herself, eventually suppressing them completely. Maureen wouldn't hear the spirits again until she was in a near-fatal car crash. Soon after, she had hundreds of voices in her head, many of which helped her crack cases and expose fraud in her role as a litigation paralegal at a large Boston law firm. Then, when tragedy struck on 9/11, Maureen was bombarded with messages from the spirit world. As each one made contact with her, she finally came to terms with her calling: to communicate with the deceased, assist the dying, search for missing children, and teach the living about life after death, all the while raising her children in her suburban home. Maureen Hancock is literally is the Medium Next Door, and in this book and through her stories of her encounters with the otherworld as well as guided exercises at the conclusion of each chapter, she offers the same comfort and wisdom she shares in her healing encounters and lectures about what is out there waiting for all who are open to its mysteries. . . .