. I borrowed this book from a fellow member of the Kindle Lending Club. David Kessler is a well-known expert and lecturer on grief and loss. He co-authored two bestsellers with the legendary Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss
and Life Lessons: How Our Morality Can Teach Us About Life and Living
. Mr Kessler shares the stories of doctors, nurses, hospice workers, social workers and family members who have reported the pre-death visions in loved ones during there final days of life. The author has divided these pre-death experiences into three categories:
(1) Visions of deceased loved ones, angels or Jesus entering their room and communicating with them. These images almost always occur in the upper corner of the room. The visions are very real to the patients and usually leave them with a feeling of inner peace and contentment.
(2) Some people believe they are going on a trip when death is near. The book gave examples of very ill patients wanting to pack their bags so that they could catch the bus or train.
(3) Patients sometimes see a crowd of people gathering in their room. Some of the people are unknown by the patient but some are recognized as people that were known in the past but are now deceased. One story told of a woman who had been a school teacher for 40 years. Many of the people gathered in her room were former students and co-workers.
This is the second book that I have reviewed this week on the subject of pre-death visions and experiences. I read Into the Light: Real Life Stories About Angelic Visits, Visions of the Afterlife, and Other Pre-Death Experiences , by John Lerma, and wrote a book review on this blog earlier in the week.
Dr. Lerma's book was much more personal because he wrote about patients that he knew and cared for at the Hospice Center. He went into much more detail about what the patient saw and how he was feeling. Mr. Kessler provided more research on the history of pre-death visions in literature and the arts. He provided many stories about specific pre-death experiences but did not go into the great detail that Dr. Lerma did. Mr. Kessler's book provided more useful facts and information on the terminally ill patient and the process of dying.Mr. Kessler stated that the purpose of this book was to provide people with hope. A hope that we will someday be reunited with loved ones who have gone before us. This book provides hope and understanding.
