Yesterday's Children

Absolutely loved this movie and sobbed my way through it.  Very powerful message to me about survival of the soul and the abiding power of a mother's love.

This movie is based on a true story of Jenny Cockell many years ago, and of her riveting account about her past life as Mary Sutton, a young Irishwoman who died over 20 years before Jenny was born.  She was a  mother of a young family and married to an abusive man. Jenny was able to remember parts of her past life since she was a young child, and it is only in her adulthood that the memories become stronger until she finally decides to verify the memories for herself.

In the movie version, Jane Seymour plays Jenny Cole, who resides in the US with her husband and teenage son. Though Jenny has recalled some aspects of her past life since she was a young girl, her memories become clearer through vivid dreams in which she sees herself as Mary Sutton, a woman living with an abusive husband and four young children, Sonny, Jeffrey, Frank, and Elizabeth. Jenny, with the support of her mother, undergoes regression, and her past-life memories surface. Jenny also undertakes a journey to Ireland with her son (her husband is a skeptic for most of the movie) to see if there is any credibility to her memories(though in her mind and heart there is no doubt), and to discover what actually happened to her 'children' from her past life after their mother's death in 1932.

Jane Seymour's portrayal as the distraught Jenny is so credibly portrayed, her determination and love for her 'past life children' come across as honest and poignant.  I just love what the Catholic priest tells Jenny in the movie. In response to Jenny's question, "The Catholic church doesn't believe in reincarnation, does it Father?", and the priest responds, "No, but it does believe in the survival of the soul." This is a movie that has captured my heart and will appeal to those who are interested in survival of the soul and the power of  maternal love.

I have also read the book by the same name.  Jenny's constant dream-memory is of Mary dying alone and desperately worried at the thought of leaving her children behind. 
When her own children were born Jenny finally acknowledged that she had to find her lost family.  She needed to to know what became of them.  That she succeeded in uncovering the past, finding her lost children and reuniting her family is a testament to Jenny Cockell's courage and determination.  Jenny's fascinating story is living proof of what she always knew to be true - that she had lived before.