The hit show “Medium” is based on her life. She has written three books and is working on a fourth as well as a movie and a TV series. She tours the world and is a mother of three living in Los Angeles. If she wasn’t busy enough, former Phoenix resident Allison Dubois can talk to the dead.

AFM: When did you first discover you had this ability?
AD: When I was a little girl. I thought everybody could do it. I thought people just didn’t talk about it.
AFM: How did you figure out you had this talent?
AD: I was 6 years old. I went to my great-grandfather’s funeral and didn’t really understand what was going on. I didn’t really understand what death was exactly. I saw him in the casket, and my mom took me home and put me to bed and she went to bed. I looked at the foot of my bed, and I saw my great-grandfather and he looked really healthy. He said, ‘Tell your mom I’m not in pain anymore, and I’m still with her.’ So I got out of bed, and I went and relayed the message to her. She told me to go back to bed. It was the 70’s; they didn’t know what to do with kids like me then.
AFM: How would you describe your ability?
AD: I think I just have a heightened sense. I don’t think it’s really that different. I think I just hear on a different frequency than maybe some people do. It really depends on how strong [the deceased] were, and how strong they can come through depends on how they lived their life. If they connected with a lot of people, they’re easy to bring through. If they didn’t care about other people and were just going through the motions of life…there’s not a lot to bring through because there’s not much left once the body’s gone.
AFM: You have a few events coming up in Arizona in October. What generally happens at your events?
AD: I ask people to raise their hands if they’re there because of a murder so I can gauge how many murders I might need to get to. Then, I ask people to raise their hands if they’re dealing with a suicide so I can gauge that. We do a question-and-answer [session] where [the audience] raise their hands, and my manager walks around with a microphone and they can ask a question. If it’s somebody they want brought through and it’s serious, I bring them up to sit on the stage with me. It takes about 30 seconds, and I tune into the persona and I start giving them information from the person who passed.
AFM: Now that you live in Los Angeles, what do you most look forward to when coming back to Phoenix?
AD: It’s nice to go back to my old neighborhood that I grew up in and go to the places my dad took me to when I was little and take my kids there. Those are the sorts of places that we go to when we’re there. We always come for Mother’s Day. It’s a tradition in our family to have tea at the Ritz. Arizona’s special to me, and I hope the people who live there realize that there’s really no other place like it on earth. I would know—I’ve been pretty much around the world. It’s a great place to grow up.
AFM: How do you spend time with your kids?
AD: I try not to be gone for more than a week out of every month. I made my youngest daughter a promise that I’d never be gone more than 10 days; otherwise, she gets to come with me. We’re going to Vegas this weekend for her national cheer championship. I’m just like every other mom that’s got the silly T-shirt with glitter that reads ‘Sophia’s Mom’ on the back. We are a part of their activities, and we just support them. I just try to be a regular mom, too. Out here [in Los Angeles] it’s a little easier because other regular moms are on TV, too.