Welcome to the Reincarnationist Blog’s series of interviews using the infamous Proust Questionnaire. Today’s subject is Diana Gabaldon..

THE QUESTIONS:

Title of your latest book as of Sept 1, 2007 – LORD JOHN AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE (Random House)

 

book cover

Do you believe — even a little bit that reincarnation is possible?

 

Well, I’m a Roman Catholic, and we don’t _officially_ believe in reincarnation <g> On the other hand, we do believe that “anything is possible with God,” and I for one would certainly not be telling Him that this or that can’t ever happen.

 

On the strictly biological side–you’d have to say that all of us are reincarnated to some degree; our DNA is the _same_ DNA that our ancestors had, which combines itself with other strands and then patiently reassembles the necessary proteins to construct another human being to carry it onward.

 

Have you ever read anything books the subject that made an impression on you?

 

Well, to be honest, most novels I’ve read that have used reincarnation as a plot device are Just Awful (generally because they use it _only_ as a plot device), but there is the occasional exception–Anya Seton’s GREEN DARKNESS, for instance. Much more interesting are the occasional investigations–you’d have to call them “non-fiction,” though with the proviso that this is not necessarily the same thing as “fact”–into reincarnation phenomena.

 

What is your most marked characteristic that you believe could be a hold over from a past life?

 

I’m not sure how you would distinguish between a characteristic from a past life, and a characteristic derived from your own genetic past. I’ve had the experience of finding an old family photograph of my great-great-grandmother (aged 85), and seeing my own face looking back at me. (At least I know what I’ll look like as an old lady, if I’m lucky enough to make it to 85! <g>). And there all kinds of small gestures, personality quirks, and so on that I see pop up repeatedly in family members–those older than I am, and in my own children.

 

I really don’t have any characteristics that I could think came from a past life–but I do have a memory. I’ve had this since I was quite small–it may be a dream, but it doesn’t feel like that; it’s a very vivid memory of lying in the snow on a mountaintop. The sky is a pale, bright blue and there’s a lichen-covered rock near my face. I realize that I’m freezing to death, but I’m not afraid; everything is very peaceful. So–_did_ I freeze to death in a previous life? No idea–but that memory is there.

 

What is your principle defect that you believe might be inherited from a previous incarnation?

 

Clumsiness. Might as well blame it on _somebody_! (<cough> er…I b’lieve that’s spelled “principal”. Don’t mind me, I went to a parochial school…)

 

Which of your favorite heroes do you think you actually could have been and why?

 

If you ask me, the chief drawback to reasonable discussion of reincarnation is that most of the people who profess to believe in it think they were Cleopatra or Genghis Khan. Nobody thinks they’re the reincarnation of a 4th-century Babylonian prostitute or a Spartan latrine-digger, whereas the odds are obviously in favor of that.

 

What three people from history would you like to have over to dinner for a discussion about reincarnation?

 

How far back is “history”? I’d certainly include Edgar Cayce, who’s dead, but not all that historical <g>. Benjamin Franklin, for another–there was a guy with a lively interest in natural phenomena. And Bridie Murphey, I suppose. <g>

 

What do you think happens when we die?

 

Like I said, I’m a Roman Catholic–we officially believe in ghosts <g> (i.e., the presence of saints). Personally, I’m sure that we continue, but I don’t know in what form. I have _met_ a couple of ghosts, though.

 

When you come back next time, who would you like to be?

 

A writer.

We would love to hear your responses to these questions. Please feel free to copy and paste the Questionnaire with your answers into a Comment for this post.

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