Disclaimer: I did not read this entire book. I'll report here why I had to stop reading it.

I believe in the reality of psychic phenomena. Failing any evidence that she is a hoaxer, I have no reason to doubt that Terry Iacuzzo is as psychic as she reports in the pages of "Small Mediums at Large."

The portions of the book that I read were well-written. Characters were so vivid that they jumped off the page; not a word was wasted. This is polished, distinctive, professional writing.

Here's why I had to stop reading: exactly because I do take psychic phenomena seriously, I was uncomfortable reading about a woman who has such power and presents herself as being so completely ungrounded and unbalanced.

In the portions of the book that I read, Iacuzzo describes herself as being victimized by others and being unable to take a stand.

In one vignette, Iacuzzo described consulting with a client who had been horribly abused as a child. Iacuzzo knew exactly what happened to this man, but was utterly unable to help him. She never makes clear why she could not help him. She seemed to have adopted an attitude of, "This man is doomed, and I'm not going to do anything to change that."

Any kind of power demands some kind of grounding, and balance. In the portions of this book that I read, Iacuzzo didn't show that balance, and that grounding. She came across as an unrooted plant, tossed about by the wind. That she is so psychically gifted makes her lack of grounding all the more disturbing.

Power without discipline can be very damaging.

It's one thing for her to submit to abusive behavior from her parents, herself, and her brother, as she so vividly describes, without ever seeking some system or belief that could empower her to create a better life for herself.

It's another thing to read an exceptionally powerful woman virtually curse a client to a lifetime of excrutiating suffering because she, Terry Iacuzzo, could not adequately address his plight.

People who have been through torture, and child abuse, and any number of horrors have been able to rebuild their lives.

It is not for Terry Iacuzzo, just because she, herself, has no belief system that offers hope, to condemn a client to a life of suffering.

This is a fascinating, honest and, at times, bizarre account of psychic, Terry Iacuzzo's life. I could not put this book down --jaw-dropping accounts of psychic experiences and seances as well as descriptions of Terry's personal odyssey of drug use, sexual experimentation, assorted oddball friends -- some like protective angels to her, others very destructive.

The parts that were most difficult are the descriptions of her cold, undemonstrative parents and her excruciatingly cruel treatment by her brother, Frank Andrews and his lover, Jay. I found it mind-boggling that a brother could treat his sister so shabbily -- stealing $2,000 from her, forcing her to work to live in an unfurnished/unheated apartment, assigning her to the basement to live, not allowing her to be at home during the hours of 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM. Infuriating and incomprehensible that she would allow that kind of treatment!

I recommend the book to all who are interested in psychic phenomena, however - it is highly readable.