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“We are either pulled by a vision, or pushed by pain.”

—Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith

The subjects in this book strike at the very core of the human family: who we are, what we’re doing here, and where we’re headed. This book has been long in the making because, quite frankly, I didn’t have the guts to write it before. What changed for me? Well, I got real. I decided to shift my emphasis from thinking like a researcher to feeling like a person. That means, it’s time for me to “own” my own experiences, claim them. I’ve been speaking on behalf of others for twenty-five years as a disciplined, scientific investigator. Now it’s my turn to open up and say what I really want to say.

It’s only fair, though, that you know something about me to begin with, so, let’s get acquainted.

I’m past retirement age, still snappy, lots of energy and drive, and as passionate as ever. My former marriage lasted twenty years; the present one looks like it’ll go on forever and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve birthed and raised three children, miscarried three, have four living grandchildren (one more in spirit), was born in Twin Falls, Idaho, and died in Boise. Yes, you heard me right. I’m one of those near-death experiencers who physically died (as near as the medical community can determine), encountered life on “the other side” of death, and revived to tell of it. I did this three times in three months in 1977. It’s because of my third episode that I became a researcher of near-death states, but it was Elisabeth Kübler-Ross who got me started.

We huddled together, just the two of us, on a bench at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport back in July of 1978. Our nonstop chattering went on for over an hour: me, describing the three times I had died the previous year and what I had experienced each time on “the other side” of death; and she, in recognition of what she had heard, naming my episodes “near-death experiences” and me a “near-death survivor.”

In doing this, Elisabeth validated me. She said I wasn’t crazy, that what had happened to me was real and I could believe it. There are no words to describe the relief I felt when she said that. Her unquestioned expertise in the field of death and dying, however, did not suffice. I needed to know more. I had questions.

I began asking my questions that November, once I had moved from Boise to the state of Virginia. My research base now totals sessions with over 3,000 adult and 277 child experiencers, plus many of their significant others; six books record my findings; as well as a web site that is filled with even more information.

This effort can be matched with its duplicate: the years between 1966 and 1977 that I spent investigating altered states of consciousness, mysticism, hauntings, paranormal phenomena, and varied forms of spirituality. I launched this earlier work after reading The Sleeping Prophet by Jess Stearn—a book about a most unusual psychic by the name of Edgar Cayce. The book changed my life in how it enabled me to view my childhood differently and set me free to explore larger venues without fear or hesitation.

I actually conducted my first double-blind, control-group study at the age of five, though. I was experimenting with mud pies to arrive at the ratio of soil, water, and temperature needed to create the masterpiece of color and texture I wanted. I did the same thing when I learned to cook. It drove my mother nuts.

In the personal quotes and sharings this book is packed with, you’ll have an opportunity to see how individual experiences—yours and mine—can lead to greater truth. You’ll also have an opportunity to know that, far from being a disciplined researcher, I am a very human woman who loves deeply, laughs much, and is intensely curious.