(Left Norwich resident and newly-published author Lu Dick. Her book, "Trust the Messages" details five decades of spiritual growth and paranormal experiences. Dick will be holding a book signing event on Wednesday, July 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Cottage Bakery, located at 17-19 South Broad Street in Norwich. (Submitted photo) (Right) "Trust the Messages" by Lu Dick is a firsthand account of a Catholic's journey into spiritualism, evidence of life on the other side, and stories and experiences shared by her friends and family. (Photo by Sarah Genter)

NORWICH — After a spiritual awakening spanning several years, City of Norwich resident and newly-published author Lu Dick has compiled 22 stories detailing her own experiences and those shared by friends and family.

A lifelong Catholic, Dick said she had never thought much about spirits or the potential for messages and signs from deceased loved ones. Even after receiving signs herself, she said it took 20 years for her to begin realizing they were more than just odd occurrences.

"I just thought, well that’s odd. And I unknowingly just waited, and then something else would happen. I’d say, well that’s odd. That went on for 20 years," said Dick.

Her book, "Trust the Messages," provides her firsthand account of experiences that led to her spiritual awakening, from visits to psychics and their predictions coming true, to spirits captured on photographs, and events and synchronicities that were more than just coincidence.

Over the course of five decades, Dick went from just beginning to pick up on signs and messages to overcoming fear of the supernatural, learning to recognize when a spirit or guide was with her, asking for help from guides, developing strong intuition, and finding others who shared her beliefs.

Dick will be holding a book signing event on Wednesday, July 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Cottage Bakery, located at 17-19 South Broad Street in Norwich. Copies will be available for purchase, and they are also available on Amazon, where the book currently ranks 677 in the "Angels and Spirit Guides" category and 970 in "Spiritualism."

"Trust the Messages" was a five-month labor of love that originally began as a way for Dick to catalog her spiritual experiences and the stories shared with her by friends, family members, and even strangers.

"It was just going to be, not even a book, just writing for my friends. It was winter and I didn’t have much to do as people don’t normally in the winter, and I had a new laptop and I thought, well, I’m just going to catalog some of my experiences and things," she explained. "Then I thought, well, I’ll print it out for ten friends, and then I thought, well, I should probably have an editor."

The journey to finding an editor and publishing the book was difficult, Dick said, especially after beginning a new job. The book was put on hold until her editor pushed her to complete it.

The result is a 72-page paperback that aims to show there is life on the other side, and that opening up to their messages can bring comfort, guidance, and even humor.

"I hope that the book gives people that are struggling with [loss], it inspires them and gives them a little bit of hope," Dick said.

She also hopes fellow Catholics are open to reading the book. Dick said her journey and spiritual awakening didn't discredit her faith, but instead served to strengthen it.

"It took like 45 years for me to, the easiest way I can say is to put the pieces of a puzzle together. And I thought, oh okay, so they're trying to tell me that I had this foundation and now I need to strengthen it," said Dick.

"Because I had the foundation, I just knew that it was possible," she added. "I want Catholics to know that your faith can be strengthened in different ways."

Dick said her book is not meant to try to convince anyone to believe in the paranormal, but rather share her experiences and possibly encourage others to trust the messages they receive.

"This book is not to convince, but only to share what I know to be real," wrote Dick in the book's introduction. "It may prompt you to trust messages you are already receiving but failing to acknowledge. If you chose to be more open to the signs after reading this book, the discovery of spirit may bring you peace, comfort, and happiness. However, by taking notice, you may also begin to transform."