In this collection of real-life stories, Jim B. Tucker, a notable US medical scientist investigates children's experiences of past lives. We are all familiar with Buddhist tales of reincarnation, but this book focuses on ordinary kids in suburban homes across the US and elsewhere.

In Return to Life, Tucker asks the ultimate question: Does any part of our mind survive after death? His focus on children gives him an opportunity to observe the phenomenon without the baggage and biases of adult life.

There is the story of Patrick, born twelve years after his brother, Kevin, tragically died of cancer. Patrick, throughout his childhood, bore the physical marks of his brother's illness, but none of the actual symptoms, and had remarkable recall of his brother's short life. Or the story of the boy, James from Louisiana who from the age of two is convinced he was a World War II pilot, and is able describe the pilot's life and details of the crash that killed him.