The only son of Lew and Esther Smith - a successful and renowned interior design visionary and a high society figurine - Philip Smith was no stranger to the culture of American art and lifestyle. However, as the climate of his native Miami took sharp political turns, a la Castro-ism and the Cuban Missile Crisis, his family life took sharper ones. Somewhere in between design consultations with Walt Disney and cocktails with the Nixons, Smith's father began to recognize powerful psychic healing abilities within himself. Interior design went from his profession to his marginal duty; something he did when he wasn't busy using his deep healing energy to remove tumors and perform exorcisms…and in true Lew Smith fashion, he led his category. Smith describes his father's newfound prominence in the psychic realm: "All of a sudden he was on the A-list party circuit for the deceased." So is the story of Walking Through Walls (Atria/Simon & Schuster), a collection of precise and poignant recollections from Smith's fascinating upbringing. For Smith, teenage angst took on new meaning, as his actions were frequently criticized by his father's "spirit guides" - a network of diseased scholars and healers he regarded as friends and teachers. Having your mind read by your father on a daily basis certainly took the fun out of surfing, sex and Scientology. Walking Through Walls is currently available at www.amazon.com, and will be released in paperback version in November 2009. To learn more about Walking Through Walls and Philip Smith visit www.walkingthroughwallsthebook.com.