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A Tribute to Natalie

Natalie Smith-Blakeslee†

You can shed tears that she is gone,

Or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that she’ll come back,

Or you can open your eyes and see all she’s left.

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her,

Or you can be full of the love you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,

Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember her only that she is gone,

Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind,

Be empty and turn your back.

Or you can do what she’d want:

Smile, open your eyes, love, and go on.

As a special tribute to Natalie Smith-Blakeslee, I begin this book with this beautiful poem by David Harkins. She was a special friend who knew firsthand the meaning of loving and giving to others. When I was doing research for my book Visits from Heaven, I came in contact with Natalie, a gifted medium and bereaved mom.

Natalie and I became fast friends. I quickly came to know what a beautiful person she was—an absolute blessing beyond words. She offered to help put me in contact with several bereaved parents who had evidential afterlife communication experiences (what I refer to as visits from heaven). She never wavered in her love and support. In addition to giving me many contacts, she contributed to a story about her daughter Carrie, whom she lost to leukemia. She wrote the preface for Visits from Heaven.

Unbeknownst to me, Natalie was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in September 2008. She never let on that she was sick, and our phone conversations and e-mails went on as usual. Natalie also agreed to share her near-death experience (NDE) in this book and spoke about how excited she was for me. I never had a clue that anything was wrong until her e-mails slowed, and I no longer heard her voice.

Natalie passed on October 28, 2009. I was completely stunned. When I spoke to her husband, he told me that she did not tell me and many others on purpose. She wanted us to remember her as she was, not stricken with a horrible cancer but alive and well.

We shared many conversations about the afterlife, and I do know that her spirit is alive and well. I know that her love lives on. My only hope is that she knows how much she touched not only my life but the lives of so many others and how very grateful I am to her for everything that she did for me. Her memory and love will live on forever within my heart.

Below is the story of Natalie’s NDE, which occurred when she was suffering from anorexia. The full details of her NDE can be found in her book Close to You . . . A Memoir by a Mother in Mourning, coauthored by Martha D. Humphreys. For more information, please visit her Web site www.loveandlight.com.