Vampires in Their Own Words by Michelle Belanger

It's always hard to truly assess due to the secret nature of the majority of vampire societies, but I felt like many different sects and identities were represented here. I also liked essays, like 'Being a Vampyre Donor' by LadyBlak that portrayed honest situations where she struggled to maintain that love and gratitude. I found that some of the passages about donors were beautiful and expressed love and intense gratitude towards them. The writers in the book work hard to combat the vampire equivalent to the 'fluffy bunny' of the pagan community: angsty goths who use the identity to feed their own egos and abuse others. I liked it because it explained the different theories people have about why they are a vampire - some believe it is a physical/spiritual issue that makes it difficult for them to process energy/burn through energy faster than non-vampires - others believe it indicates an elevated spiritual standing. I had a basic understanding of 'sanguine', aka, blood vampires, and 'psychic' vampires before reading the book. So, this book should have been perfect, right? Anything 'weird' attracts me because I am a huge contrarian. I am also very interested in outsider status. I have seen television programs on 'real' vampires that were intriguing. I have seen Michelle Belanger on various paranormal television shows and somehow knew a little about her - she identifies as a vampire and owns a large library of occult books, which I envy! I am interested in the occult and always have been. The deals are great so I periodically go through the website and find any interesting books and purchase them.

I frequently purchase books from a great new age surplus shop online.

Vampires in Their Own Words by Michelle Belanger