The day my dead daughter visited me from the spirit world and gave me irrefutable evidence to prove it. Military chief SUZANNE GIESEMANN’S family tragedy changed her life. Now she tells how our loved ones never really leave

When I became a medium, the messages I was given by the spirits sounded so much like my own thoughts that it was often hard to distinguish them as coming from a separate entity. But the voice I heard one morning in 2009 was unmistakable.

Although it had been three years since I had heard my stepdaughter Susan speak, the tone and inflection brought her back to me as vividly as if she had never been struck by the lightning bolt that killed her and her unborn baby.

Susan was the youngest of my husband Ty’s two daughters from a previous marriage and it was in the hope of one day contacting her spirit that I had trained as a medium, a highly unusual shift for a retired Navy commander who had been senior aide to the head of the US military on 9/11.

Unaware of anything beyond the earthly realm, I was rooted very much in the material world but then Ty and I began receiving what I could only interpret as signs from Susan to let us know that her vibrant spirit lived on in the afterlife.

Although I was helping other people by sensing their loved ones, I still had not connected with her, despite my best efforts. One morning, I felt I had come close after relaxing my body from head to toe and reaching the familiar altered state of meditation in which I contacted spirits.

‘Susan,’ I prayed, ‘please show yourself to me. Come here now and let me know you’re around. I would really like to see you.’

I opened my eyes and saw nothing but the familiar walls and furniture of our living room in Florida. Frustrated but undeterred, I was about to close my eyes again when our miniature dachshund Rudy shot out of his bed and ran into the hallway adjoining the living room where I sat. He stopped three feet short of the front door and stared up as if someone had stepped into the foyer.

I watched, incredulously, when Rudy moved to his left as if following something and hopped one step up on to the landing at the foot of the stairs. There he stopped and stared up at a framed picture of Susan I had drawn and hung where we would see it many times a day.

I kept my eyes riveted on Rudy, awestruck, as he now moved from the landing to the living room, cocked his head in confusion and stared warily at the armchair next to me.

Looking from Rudy to the chair, I said softly to Susan, ‘You’re there, aren’t you?’

I heard no reply but the way Rudy pinned his ears against his head spoke volumes. I might not have been able to see Susan, but that afternoon she’d let me know in the best way she could that she was with me.

Now here she was talking to me and, best of all, I sensed her presence as if she were physically standing beside me. I wanted to hold on to the moment for ever.

Her words – so simple, yet so perfect – brought a smile to my face.

‘Thanks for the cheque,’ she said, referring to my donation of one of the first fees I’d ever earned as a medium to a wildlife rehabilitation charity. It was a good choice because Susan loved all animals and had a soft spot for anything hurt in any way.

I talked with her mentally, telling her how much we missed her. As I did so, I imagined sharing this sacred moment with Ty. I saw myself saying, ‘Susan just visited me in my meditation!’

I pictured him patting me on the shoulder and giving me a tolerant ‘That’s nice, Suzanne’ in return.

I realised this special occasion was no different from any reading where a loved one came through. If I was going to prove that the interaction was real, I needed evidence.

‘I’m sorry to put you to the test,’ I said to Susan, ‘but I want your dad to know this is you. Can you tell me something about your mother that I have no way of knowing?’

Without hesitation Susan, a Sergeant in the US Marines, issued a crisp order: ‘Write this down…’

I picked up my ever-ready pad and flipped to a clean page, noting exactly what Susan shared with me in her distinctly sassy voice and experienced a thrill of excitement as I recorded three snippets that were so unique, they made my heart soar. If Ty’s former wife could verify what I’d written, no one could doubt that I had obtained them directly from Susan. As I felt her withdrawing, I thanked her profusely before finding Ty in his study, doing paperwork. ‘I got Susan!’ I shouted excitedly. Seeing the look on my face, he jumped to his feet. ‘It was her, Ty! After all this time! She finally came to me clear as day. Oh God, I wish you could have heard her voice!’

‘So do I,’ he said thoughtfully.

His eyes widened as I told him we needed to call Susan’s mother as my way of validating the visit. When she picked up the phone, I got to the point.

‘Susan visited me this morning. I finally felt her presence after trying daily for three years. There is no doubt in my mind she was there,’ I said.

‘Oh my goodness,’ she gasped. ‘That’s wonderful!’

‘As a matter of fact,’ I said, looking at the paper in my hand, ‘she told me three things that are going on in your life now as a way of proving she’s around you, too.’

‘What did she say?’ Ty’s ex-wife asked, her anticipation evident, and I felt my stomach clench. Even though I had never been more certain of a spirit visit, this one had to be right. ‘First, she told me your cat is sick.’ I didn’t know if Susan’s mother had a cat but if so, and it was ill, that would be meaningful beyond coincidence.

‘Oh!’ she exclaimed. ‘Mireya has a urinary tract infection! We just brought her back from the vet and she’s on medication.’

‘Yes!’ I said, pumping my fist in the air. Way to go, Susan!

‘What else did she say?’

‘I only heard her say one word – “ladder” – but I heard it several times. It came with the feeling that there was a recent incident with you and a ladder.’ There was only a moment’s pause. ‘This weekend, I was at a friend’s wedding at her house. We were all running around, looking everywhere for her ladder. Everyone was saying, “Where’s the ladder? Where’s the ladder?” Then it just appeared out of nowhere!’

I rocked my head as I considered that one. Was it a stretch? I couldn’t imagine many people having a recent ladder story to tell, and the story sounded plausible. ‘OK,’ I said, ‘I’ll take that.’

So far, we were two for two. Now came my chance to finally prove first-hand – not through another medium and not through signs, however wonderful – that Susan was with us and that we would see her again someday.

I took a deep breath. ‘She showed me a string of white Christmas lights in clear plastic tubing. She said that you have them up in your house right now and that they’re there year-round.’

It was not the holiday season. The chance that anyone would have Christmas lights up inside their house was slim. She let out a happy laugh.

‘They run right up the staircase.’

I let my head roll back and stared at the ceiling. Three for three. Susan and I had hit a home run. Knowing she could hear me, I silently uttered, ‘Thank you Susan and thank you God.’ I marvelled at how life is filled with ordinary details that by themselves seem innocuous but knitted together, they weave a tapestry that tells a most meaningful story to those who recognise the threads.

With the simple story of a sick cat, a ladder and a string of Christmas lights off-season, Susan had given me proof of the personal experience I’d sought for so long. I said goodbye to her mother and hung up the phone and I could still feel the glow of Susan’s presence, her ‘Hey, Suzanne’ echoing in my ears as Ty pulled me into his arms and we held each other in silent reverence.

In the years since, I have written numerous books and made YouTube videos reaching millions of viewers, alongside leading classes and workshops to help people make the shift to a divinely guided life.

I have also, of course, given thousands of readings, some of which I believe may have saved lives, thanks to some unseen help.

All of us have at least one main spirit guide who is with you from your first breath to your last while enjoying this earthly incarnation. One of my guides is Sanaya, a combination of male-female energies who has been with me throughout my spiritual journey.

When I ran a weekend workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico, during which I planned to demonstrate a one-on-one reading with one of the students, Sanaya promised to choose the perfect person to be my sitter.

All I had to do was slowly scan across the class as they meditated and the right person would light up in my awareness.

Trusting this process, I began at the left side of the front row and moved methodically from one person to the next. I didn’t get far when I felt as if someone put the brakes on my head’s forward motion and my shoulders sagged as I realised that my gaze had stopped on Tracy, a thin woman with long brown hair who had been stone-faced and tightlipped throughout the workshop.

At the break, I called on my guides and told them that if they wanted me to do a reading for someone as apparently closed off as Tracy they had to give me a really good sign, and suddenly Susan stepped into my awareness.

‘We’ve got your back, Suzanne,’ she said. ‘You’ll know you can trust us because when you go back in the classroom, Tracy will walk

up and talk to you at the book table.’ ‘As if that’s going to happen,’ I snorted. ‘She hasn’t said a word to me or anyone all weekend.’

‘Trust,’ Susan said, and faded away. When I returned to the table where three students were perusing my books, my arms erupted in goosebumps as I saw Tracy walking directly towards me with unmistakable purpose.

‘I’m not getting from this class what I hoped for and I was wondering if it’s OK if I leave,’ she said, lowering her eyes.

‘You can leave any time you’d like,’ I replied, ‘but I’m about to do a demonstration of a one-on-one reading and I was hoping I could give that reading to you.’

She nodded and I thanked her.

After the break, Tracy and I shifted into the roles of medium and client, sitting knee-to-knee on chairs in the centre of the room.

Ignoring the 50 people staring at us, I was immediately aware of the presence of a tall, young man behind her right shoulder. Suddenly I understood that her scowls and tight-lipped silence were not the result of disdain or antagonism. Her demeanour had been masking intense grief. This 20-something man was her son.

Her eyes flooded as I described the personality of a kind and gentle giant who felt quite protective of his mother. He showed me that he had fallen for some reason, and then passed unexpectedly in his sleep.

Taking advantage of his 15 minutes in the spotlight to let his mother know how much he loved her and the family, he let her know she would eventually be aiding other mothers in Helping Parents Heal, an international support group for those who had lost children – but only after she healed herself first.

When the reading ended, Tracy excitedly validated everything her son had shared. She tearfully told the class that her beloved son, Aymen, had had an adverse reaction to a prescription medication for sleep apnoea. Just as he had shown me, he fell at work during the day and never woke up after going to bed later that night.

He’d mentioned a dog with a distinctive bark, which proved to be a Yorkshire terrier with a yap so unique they nicknamed her Circle Saw. And just as Aymen reported, Tracy confirmed that she had stopped at a chapel on the way to the class and lit a candle for him. When the day ended and all the other students had departed, Tracy approached me. ‘I want you to know that I have no plans to be a medium. The only reason I came to this class was to hear from Aymen. I was beginning to think that wasn’t going to happen, which is why I came up to you at the book table.’

‘We were set up,’ I told Tracy. ‘My guides and my stepdaughter knew you were about to leave, so they orchestrated the whole thing.’

Over the years, as sometimes occurs when I share such intimate connections with my clients, Tracy and I became dear friends. She ultimately confided to me that not only was she planning to leave the class that day if she hadn’t heard from Aymen, but was also planning to leave this earthly realm.

Such stories have reinforced my conviction that mediumship is my calling. I came here to do this work. But what I didn’t understand at first was why it had taken Susan so long to come through to me.

‘I sent you love every day,’ I said almost petulantly.

‘You don’t get it! I wasn’t supposed to come in before I did,’ she replied and I clearly saw what would have happened if I had seen Susan in those first few weeks and months.

I would have been content to spend the rest of my life talking only with her instead of bringing comfort to others who had lost loved ones. My ability to do so has been one of the greatest gifts of Susan’s passing and a silver lining to what was undoubtedly the greatest tragedy in my human story.

l Adapted from Making The Afterlife Connection, by Suzanne Giesemann (Hay House UK, £14.99), to be published June 10. © Suzanne Giesemann 2025. To order a copy for £13.49 (offer valid to 21/06/25; UK P&P free on offers over £25) go to www.mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937.