Jim Tucker - Children Who Remember Past Lives

In this interview with EnlightenNext's Carter Phipps, Dr. Jim Tucker, assistant professor in the Division of Personality Studies at the University of Virginia, discusses his personal journey from child psychiatrist to full-time reincarnation researcher traveling the globe in pursuit of children who recall previous lifetimes.

Dr. Tucker continues the work of pioneering reincarnation researcher Dr. Ian Stevenson, investigating and carefully documenting the lives and stories told by children who claim to remember past lives. Tucker's latest book, Life Before Life, describes in detail many of the most compelling cases documented over the last 40 years by himself, Stevenson, and their colleagues around the world. These truly amazing tales of children who clearly remember not just that they lived before but are able to recount names and faces, people and places, are backed up by extensive field interviews and have been thoroughly documented. The evidence presented may not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that reincarnation actually exists, but it provides a weight of evidence that is impossible to dismiss without a second—or even a third—hard look.

Whether you personally believe in reincarnation or not, the stories Tucker presents are fascinating and intriguing, but give them a more serious consideration, and you may find them to be more than a little bit unsettling. After all, what would you do if your three-year-old looked up at you one day and asked, “Where's my other mommy?”

BIO

Jim B. Tucker, M.D., is the author of Life Before Life: A Scientific Investigation of Children's Memories of Previous Lives, which presents to the general public an overview of more than forty years of research at the University of Virginia Division of Personality Studies. Dr. Tucker, a board-certified child psychiatrist, directs research there into children's reports of past-life memories, and he worked with Dr. Ian Stevenson, its founder, for several years before taking over the research upon Dr. Stevenson's retirement.

Dr. Tucker attended the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. degree in psychology, followed by a medical degree four years later. He received his training in general psychiatry and child psychiatry at the University of Virginia. After a stint in private practice, he returned to the university and served for one year as acting director of the Division of Child & Family Psychiatry before focusing on the research. Since doing so, he has published a number of articles in scientific journals. He is currently Assistant Professor of Psychiatric Medicine, and in addition to conducting research, he serves as medical director of the University of Virginia Child & Family Psychiatry Clinic.