Product Description: She was one of the most important psychics of the twentieth century. Over 7.5 million copies of her books have sold throughout the world. Now, Speaking of Jane Roberts reveals the story of a woman as fascinating as the material she produced.
Susan Watkins and Jane Roberts were friends for sixteen years. Early on, Seth, the entity who spoke through Roberts, told the two women that they were counterparts, connected in this particular lifetime to work out some shared personal issues. In addition to being a compassionate and sometimes painfully honest look at Roberts' life---her difficult childhood, her constant questioning of psychic abilities and sources of creativity, her resistance to Seth's advice, her dramatic struggles with her health---Speaking of Jane Roberts is also a beautiful and applicable illustration of the counterpart relationship. The connection that Watkins and Roberts share reveals something important about the power and mystery of the connections we all share with the people closest to us.
It's really Speaking of Sue Watkins (and Jane Roberts too) ^ I'm a big Seth/Jane Roberts fan, having read my first Seth/JR book back in 1986. I also read and very much enjoyed Sue Watkins' Conversations with Seth Vols 1 and 2; they were well written and added an interesting, down to earth perspective of Rob and Jane's ESP classes which enriched my reading of the Seth/JR books. So when I saw that Sue had written Speaking of Jane Roberts I really looked forward to another great experience.
I couldn't have been more disappointed.
The first big problem is Sue talks as much about herself (if not more than) Jane Roberts. The second problem is that the stories and anecdotes, while down to earth, frank and sometimes moving, can be quite superficial. Some examples follow. And finally my third issue with Sue is her writing style is very wordy - in short she talks at the reader when she should be showing - something any decent high school english teacher would have espoused.
The sections that demonstrated insight to me were: the Creator (pg 168) which revealed Jane's deep motivations behind her work; Chapter 17 which was a portrait of Jane from her classes (a sort of Conversations with Seth view); and Chapters 19 and 20 which revealed in touching detail Jane's struggle with her health.
Unfortunately, it starts to go downhill from there. The interesting sections in a "oh, I never knew that about Rob and Jane" sense were: The Flood in Chapter 12, Jane's attitude toward food in Chapter 16, Jane's attitude toward money on page 123 and the list of declined speaking invitations on page 210.
And the rest of the book is pretty much about Sue. Sue talks about her boyfriend (pg 98-103), devotes an entire chapter about her marriage (Chapter 9) and muses about boobs (pg 126). She also drones on and on about her writing abilities (Chapter 11 and sprinkled all over the book) - how she doesn't live up to them, how she can't commit to her craft, her craving for Jane's approval, etc. And her tone can be downright catty and competitive toward Jane (see the last two paragraphs on page 90).
As a die hard Seth/JR fan, however, I would have waded through all that without fuss if Sue had presented some quality insights about Jane. After all, aside from Rob, there seems to be no one else close to Jane through all those years who in this present day is still deeply involved in the Seth material. So I think Sue had the perfect opportunity to tackle some really interesting questions like, "Couldn't Seth or his ideas help Jane get well in the end?" Sue does touch upon this question in pages 166-167 and concludes "she (Jane) never quite made it out of the thicket of her own beliefs". That's it?!
Just a couple of pages on a core question but many, many pages on Sue's personal woes - that pretty much sums up this book.
If this were a book about another topic altogether it would have given in 0 stars. But because it's about Seth/JR, I'll give it two. If you do decide to read this book to get some insight into Rob, Jane and their relationship to Seth please also read the Early Sessions Vol 1 as well as there's some great material there.
I was saddened ^ A vital perspective on Roberts and the Seth Material; I see now, as I had only glimpsed in the Seth books, how compulsively disciplined Jane and Rob were--very far from Seth's ideas about spontaneity--how severe their lives were, in terms of diet and overall lifestyle, although not in a classical "spiritual" way (obviously they drank and smoked, for example); how much more important was Jane's view of herself as a writer, than as a psychic. I'd never have guessed that Sue didn't like Jane's poetry much, something she apparently didn't have the nerve to write while Jane lived.
There are none of the eye-popping psychic experiences that make the other books such a blast to read, and make Jane's life seem so glamorous--in fact it's the difficulties and sadness and illness that come to the fore. How could the woman who brought us Seth's teaching have been so distant from it, in many ways, herself?
But it's not a biography--it's one friend's view of a woman who, perhaps, no one (other than her beloved husband Rob) really knew all that well. How I long to see two books published: Robert Butts' long ago proposed book on the phenomenon, "Through My Eyes", and Jane's unfinished autobiography "From This Rich Bed", which someone (are you reading this, Sue?) should put into some kind of usable form while people who knew Jane are still alive. This book gives only a glimpse of the brilliant woman who brought us the Seth Material but who was not the Seth Material, but a sad, funny, insecure human just like the rest of us.
Very disappointing ^ As I delved into the Seth works, I started wondering just who Jane Roberts was. Since this 'memoir' was the only book on her I could find, I bought it despite iffy reviews. Well, I have to say that although it was a quick read, it is an awful book and a real letdown since I really wanted to know about Jane's life. This book is mainly about Susan Watkins. When it is not specifically about Sue, it is about Sue's opinions and judgements on Jane and how they relate back to Sue. This author might be one of the most biased, slanted, and judgemental people to write a biography yet. She judges herself so badly that the book becomes painful to read. I started feeling a dark cloud encompass me throughout. To be honest and searching with oneself is one thing. To think of everything you are and have done as not good enough and to write about it page after page in a biography on someone else is quite something else.
I told my husband that I could do fans of the Seth material a favor and edit out all the stuff on Sue and write a really nice 15 page booklet on Jane. I wonder what Rob, Jane's husband, thinks of this self serving piece of work.
I give the book two stars because it was a fast read and it made me question the validity of Seth and any psychic phenomenon. Sue makes it sound like Seth is just another part of Jane and after understanding her perception of Jane, I just don't know what to think anymore.
Really not worth it. ^ I really do regret purchasing this. Poorly written with the author going on and on and on about herself and trying desperately to associate herself with Jane Roberts. It was torture reading this.
Integral part of the Seth Material ^ Marshall McLuhan coined the famous phrase, "The medium is the message." As I began reading through Seth's books and Jane's books, I often thought how aptly this applied to Jane.
It seemed to me that Jane often fought fiercely to preserve her independence from Seth. While I admired her intellectual integrity, I felt that in holding to it so rigorously, she was actually missing out on some of the benefits of applying Seth's ideas in her daily life while having Seth around to coach her.
Still, it was seemed apparent to me that she had expanded her use of the inner senses tremendously from reflecting on Seth's ideas. That in itself was a testament to the material's validity and I used to point this out to others.
The death of Jane shocked and saddened me and I suppose I had the same reaction as many readers, "Couldn't Seth have done something? What was the point of the Seth Material if Jane couldn't use it to heal herself?"
That was only a knee jerk reaction though. I discovered Seth in 1973 and it only now that I am beginning to integrate it into every aspect of my life. I knew how difficult the translation of idea to behavior was and is.
Reading THE WAY TOWARDS HEALTH provided a sense of closure for me about Jane's death, as it laid out what had transpired in the last days.
SPEAKING OF JANE however, helped me UNDERSTAND Jane's death. It painted in stark relief, the beliefs that Jane held dearly to, which manifested her condition and death.
No biography could have done that in the same way that this memoir did. Life is not a series of events, it is an interactive dance between thoughts and the experiences that flow from those thoughts. SPEAKING OF JANE, for me, put the Seth Material into perspective.
Seth SOUNDS nice. His ideas FEEL good. But they also happen to be the governing dynamics of experience. Unless I act as if what Seth taught MATTERS, in the moment, his ideas are only a comforting bedtime story.
For me, Sue's books are an integral part of the Seth material and SPEAKING OF SUE, an indispensible illustration of the incredible value of applying the lessons of don Seth to every aspect of my personal journey.
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