You’ve seen the blonde kid with the scribbling pad. He sits across from a crying celebrity, his pen moving in frantic, jagged loops on a legal pad while he talks about "internal conditions" or a "grandfather figure with a lung issue." Tyler Henry has basically become the face of modern mediumship, but before the Netflix specials and the sold-out tours, there was a book. Specifically, Between Two Worlds: Lessons from the Other Side.
Honestly, the title sounds like a standard Hallmark movie, but the content is where things get weird. It isn’t just a "best of" reel of his Hollywood Medium hits. It’s an attempt to explain the mechanics of what he claims is happening in his brain.
The Grandmother Premonition and the "Knowingness"
Tyler didn’t just wake up one day and decide to be a celebrity psychic. According to his memoir, it started when he was ten. It’s a pretty heavy story for a kid. He describes waking up with a sudden, overwhelming "knowingness"—that’s his word—that his grandmother was about to die. He ran to his mom, they got the news, and according to Tyler, the "veil" never really closed after that.
A lot of people think being a medium is like hearing a clear phone call from the dead. Tyler says it's more like a game of charades played with static. He describes it as a mix of:
- Clairvoyance: Seeing flashes of images or symbols.
- Clairaudience: Hearing muffled words or names.
- Clairsentience: Feeling the physical sensations of how someone passed.
If a spirit had a heart attack, Tyler says he might feel a tightness in his own chest. It sounds exhausting. In the book, he’s pretty blunt about the toll this takes on him. He isn't some high-energy performer; he often looks physically drained after a session, and he attributes that to the "frequency" he has to maintain to bridge the gap between the two worlds.
Why the Scribbling Actually Matters
If you watch him, the scribbling is the most distracting part. Skeptics call it a prop. They say it’s a distraction technique to give him time to "cold read" the person in front of him. But in Between Two Worlds, Tyler explains it as a grounding tool.
He calls it "automatic writing" or just a way to keep his conscious mind busy so the "impressions" can come through. Think of it like doodling while you're on a long phone call. If his hand is moving, he isn’t overthinking the information. He mentions that if he stops to analyze a message—like "why am I seeing a yellow rubber duck?"—the connection breaks. He has to just say the duck and keep moving.
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The Lessons Nobody Talks About
Everyone focuses on the "I see your dead uncle" part, but the back half of the book is actually more about his philosophy on life. It’s kinda surprising how much he focuses on the "ego."
He argues that once people pass over, their ego—the part of us that holds onto grudges, pride, and anger—basically evaporates. This is why, in his readings, you rarely hear a spirit come through and say, "I’m still mad you didn't give me the inheritance." Usually, it's "I understand now why you did what you did."
He touches on a few "rules" he's observed over thousands of readings:
- Perspective is everything: Souls on the other side supposedly see the "big picture" of their life's lessons.
- Forgiveness is a recurring theme: Almost every reading involves some level of "it's okay" or "I'm sorry."
- Signs are subtle: He claims spirits use "synchronicities"—like a specific song on the radio or a certain bird appearing—rather than big, dramatic ghosts.
The Elephant in the Room: Skepticism
Look, we have to talk about the critics. People like Susan Gerbic and various scientific skeptics have been on Tyler’s case for years. They argue that what Tyler does is a mix of cold reading (making high-probability guesses based on body language) and hot reading (researching clients beforehand).
When he told Alan Thicke to watch his heart, and Thicke later died of a ruptured aorta, fans saw a prophecy. Critics saw a lucky guess about a man in a high-risk age group for heart issues. Tyler addresses this in a roundabout way in the book, basically saying he’s just the "vessel" and he can’t control what comes through or how people interpret it. He’s surprisingly chill about the doubt. He basically says, "Take what resonates and leave the rest."
What's Changed Since the Book?
Since he wrote Between Two Worlds, Tyler’s life has shifted significantly. He’s moved from E! to Netflix with Life After Death and more recently his live weekly series, Live From the Other Side. He also got married to his longtime partner, Clint Godwin, in 2025.
Physically, he’s had some scares too. He’s been open about a brain tumor discovery and subsequent surgery that happened recently. For a guy who spends his life talking about the "other side," facing his own mortality in such a clinical, scary way was a major turning point. It's made his more recent work feel a bit more grounded and, honestly, a little more weary.
Practical Takeaways if You’re Curious
Whether you believe he’s talking to the dead or just a very talented empath, there’s a way to engage with his work without losing your mind.
- Read the book for the "How": If you want to know the "technical" side of his claims, the book is better than the shows. It’s 224 pages of him explaining his internal "dictionary" of symbols.
- Watch for the "Scribble": Next time you see him, watch the pad. Notice when he stops and when he starts. It’s a fascinating study in focus, regardless of where you think the info is coming from.
- Focus on the Grief, Not Just the Ghost: The real "magic" of Tyler Henry isn't necessarily the accuracy; it's the therapeutic effect. For many people, the feeling of being heard by a lost loved one is enough to jumpstart a stalled grieving process.
If you’re looking to dive deeper into his philosophy, your next step is to check out his second book, Here & Hereafter. It focuses less on his autobiography and more on the specific "life lessons" he claims to have gathered from his readings. It’s a more "self-help" version of his mediumship. You can also look into his live tour dates if you want to see if the "vibe" feels different in person than it does through a TV screen.
Actionable Insight: If you feel like you're stuck in the grieving process, don't just look for a psychic. Use Tyler’s concept of "signs" as a mindfulness exercise. Pay attention to small, recurring coincidences in your daily life. Even if they aren't "messages from beyond," they can serve as meaningful prompts to remember and honor the people you've lost.