Death first knocked on my door when I had a near fatal accident at the age of thirteen. I had the misfortune of being electrocuted while knee-deep in an irrigation ditch. The electrocution took me to the brink of death and the near-drowning all but pushed me the rest of the way over the edge. I can tell you the “life flash” is a genuine experience. Since then I have had several other close calls and brushes with death.
Of course, there have been the deaths of friends and family, two in particular stand out. I lost a classmate in about filth grade. And another in High School. And when I was twenty-one – my first wife, Jenny, died from a fall. Two years later I lost my oldest brother, Johnny, who died of complications from exposure to Agent Orange in Viet Nam. He was twenty-eight. Although my parents lived long and productive lives, we all enter a new chapter when they move on. And while I was writing this book four more of my siblings died.
I have never doubted life continues on the other side yet my interests have been increasingly focused as my life has progressed, not so much on the question of death but on the answers to life. Death is but a door, a brief barrier, beyond which life persists.
In order to answer the questions we all have about life and the other side, I used common sense, revelation (auto and written), and historical wisdom [see the Bibliography & the Quotes Appendix]. But I also used living wisdom and a healthy God concept.
I will not claim an angel sat on my shoulder while I wrote but some ideas beyond my imagination were surprising and welcome gifts. We all know the difference between an idea we generate ourselves and one we hear from someone else. The “someone else” can be either visible or invisible. In other words, angles are real. They have our best interests in mind and are working with us. When we have a good question they can direct our thoughts to a suitable answer, if we give them permission and pay attention. I thank them now and will enjoy doing so again when I see them on the other side.