If you have ever been asked “What’s your sign?” you have Linda Goodman to thank—or blame. America’s first New Age celebrity, Goodman’s 1968 book, Sun Signs, sold over 60 million copies, while the advance for her second book, Love Signs, broke an unprecedented $2.25 million. And yet, while Goodman was teaching the world how to search the skies for clarity, her gaze was fixed upon her own dark, mysterious pursuit.
In 1973, Goodman’s daughter was found dead and the police declared it a suicide; Goodman believed otherwise. She spent years depleting her fortune, chasing down leads that might uncover the real truth about her beloved daughter’s death. Headlines criticized and discredited Goodman, ultimately overshadowing the revolutionary nature of her work.
Courtney Ann LaFaive first discovered Goodman’s books as a teenager. Reading her astrological wisdom decades after its heyday, LaFaive contemplates the redemption of Goodman as a literary and spiritual figure, all the while reckoning with her own impulsive forays into love and relationships. Follow the Signs asks what it means when facts become stranger than fiction and who we become when we must walk away from those we love.
“Follow the Signs takes you on an emotional journey through possibility, projection, love, loss, the parasocial relationship, and what it means to believe in somebody—including yourself. I loved getting to know the very Neptunian story of one of the most important foremothers of pop astrology. LaFaive’s writing immediately hooked me, and once I started reading, I couldn’t put the book down. This story doesn’t just illuminate Goodman’s life or entertain you—it stays with you long after the final page.”—Jessica Lanyadoo, astrologer, coauthor, Astrology for Real Relationships: Understanding You, Me, and How We All Get Along, host, Ghost of a Podcast
“I’ve not read anything like this book, with its twinning of celebrity biography and exploratory memoir. Follow the Signs features a quest narrative and a portrait of American mystic practice, so there’s plenty herein to keep its pages turning. LaFaive is a smart, compassionate guide, and her book shows the great power that comes from examining your story through that of another figure—even if the figure is a nebulous one, more steeped in myth than reality.”—Elena Passarello, author, Animals Strike Curious Poses
