Psychic Buddha, Qu'est-ce Que C'est by Davy Rothbart for This American Life (biographic audio, 2002)

[lb_lee]

(CATALOGER NOTE: BACK UP TRANSCRIPT LB!) Submitted by quailfence! Thank you, quailfence!

"I feel his presence there constantly. But it's like sitting in a room with somebody, and you're reading a book, and they're reading a book. And you don't always have to talk to each other. You just feel the other person's presence. And if it's somebody you really love, there's a comfort in that presence."

Blurb: Davy Rothbart's mother is funny, rational, and by most measures, pretty normal. Except that she spends every day in the company of an ancient Buddhist monk named Aaron, who no one else can see. Davy talks to his brothers, father, and eventually his mom, and asks the question they've somehow never managed to discuss: do any of them actually believe he's real?

Why is it worth your time?: It's an example of spirit channeling by someone in a Western society, which is pretty unusual and uncommon. I also like how the story goes out of its way to show that regardless of if he's "real" or not, Aaron has been a largely positive influence in the Rothbarts' lives

Plural/1+ Tags: abuse:intermediate-focus, people:the dead, relationships:friendship, relationships:teamwork, relationships:mentoring type:spiritual, type:possession, type:switching, may qualify for "creator speaks from experience" given that we hear from Davy's mother and Aaron a few times

Content Warnings: The story briefly discusses how Aaron helped Davy's brother process childhood sexual abuse. A decent amount of time is also spent on how Davy's mother suddenly becoming deaf negatively affected her relationship with his father, including his father saying/doing some ableist and victim-blamey things. As the blurb alludes to, a main focus of the story is Davy and his family trying to decide whether Aaron is real or if his mother is simply "crazy",

Accessibility Notes: Available free online in English. Transcript available. Link: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/212/the-other-man

Misc. Notes (if any): Produced as Act One of the This American Life episode "The Other Man".