Born in 1953, Jenny Cockell is an English podiatrist who gained recognition in the mid-1990s for her accounts of reincarnation. Her most famous work, 'Yesterday's Children,' details her alleged past life memories as Mary Sutton, an Irish woman from the early 20th century. Cockell describes her research into Sutton's life, including meeting Sutton's surviving children, some of whom reportedly accepted Cockell's claims. She also recounts childhood experiences of recalling past lives, including naming a specific location and drawing a map. Further exploration of her claims involved hypnosis, which she believed helped recover additional memories.

Cockell's experiences were adapted into a made-for-TV movie by CBS in 2000, though the story was altered and the protagonist's nationality changed. Beyond 'Yesterday's Children,' Cockell has written about other alleged past and future lives. In 'Past Lives, Future Lives,' she discusses visions of future existences, including one named Nadia in Nepal around 2050, obtained through precognition and 'progression hypnosis.' 'Journeys Through Time' focuses on a claimed past life in Japan, stemming from childhood recollections.

Her claims have faced skepticism from researchers. Joe Nickell suggested that Cockell's memories were products of imagination and fantasy, rather than genuine recollections. Chris French proposed that her beliefs might be influenced by confirmation bias and cryptomnesia, where unconsciously recalled information from her research contributes to her conviction of reincarnation. Despite critical analysis, Cockell's work explores themes of memory, identity, and the nature of consciousness across lifetimes.

Jenny Cockell's public profile rose in the mid-1990s due to her assertions of having lived previous lives. Her book 'Yesterday's Children' chronicles her purported memories of being Mary Sutton, an Irish woman from the early 20th century. Cockell details her efforts to investigate Sutton's life, which led to her meeting with Sutton's children. According to Cockell, some of these individuals acknowledged her as the reincarnation of their mother, and all accepted that her recounted memories belonged to their mother. She also claims to have spoken of past lives and identified Malahide as a location during her childhood, even drawing a map of the area in front of a witness. Her initial recollections of 'Mary' began around age four, and through research initiated in 1989, she discovered the Sutton surname. Hypnotic regression in 1988 reportedly yielded further recovered memories.

Cockell's exploration of reincarnation extends beyond past existences. In 'Past Lives, Future Lives,' she describes visions she believes represent future incarnations. These insights were initially gained through precognition and later expanded upon using a technique she termed 'progression hypnosis,' a future-oriented counterpart to past-life regression. One notable vision detailed in 'Across Time and Death' is of a girl named Nadia, living in Nepal around the year 2050, which she considered a potential next life. Her book 'Journeys Through Time' delves into another alleged past life, this time in Japan, based on memories she claims to have had since childhood.

The claims made by Jenny Cockell have been met with scrutiny from researchers. Joe Nickell, a researcher in paranormal claims, has analyzed Cockell's accounts and concluded that her alleged past-life memories and reincarnation assertions do not withstand critical examination. Nickell suggests that Cockell exhibits a tendency towards fantasy, and that the evidence points to her recovered memories, particularly those under hypnosis, being imaginative constructs rather than genuine recollections. Professor Chris French, who specializes in the psychology of paranormal beliefs, offers alternative explanations. He posits that Cockell's convictions may stem from confirmation bias related to beliefs about life after death, or from cryptomnesia, where information she has researched is unconsciously recalled and integrated into her belief system about reincarnation.