"Courageous Souls: Do We Plan Our Life Challenges Before Birth? by Robert Schwartz explores the premise that we are all eternal souls who plan our lives, including our greatest challenges, before we're born for purposes of spiritual growth. The book contains ten stories of people who planned physical illness, having handicapped children, deafness, blindness, drug addiction, alcoholism, losing a loved one, and severe accidents. The information about their pre-birth plans was obtained by four gifted mediums and channels, including one who has the ability both to see and to hear the dialogue we have with one another before we're born. The book contains the actual conversations people had with their future parents, children, spouses, friends, and other loved ones when they planned their lives together. For readers, suffering that once seemed purposeless becomes imbued with deep meaning. Wisdom may be acquired in a more conscious manner; feelings of anger, guilt, blame, and victimization are replaced by acceptance, forgiveness, gratitude, and peace."