When the Mail serialised a book by brain surgeon Dr Eben Alexander, in which he wrote of his fervent belief that he had seen the afterlife while in a coma, hundreds of readers wrote in to say his writings chimed uncannily with their own experiences. Here we share some of their stories.
SAVED FROM DROWNING BY MY DEAD AUNT
Sharon Joseph, 73, based in Brighton, said:
Sharon Joseph’s Aunt Mary died of TB when Sharon was four. She finds the memory of her strangely comforting
In the summer of 1959, when I was seven, my family joined my Uncle David and his three children for our annual holiday to Hayling Island, just off the coast of Hampshire.
Uncle David was a bit of a daredevil, and that year he decided it would be fun to take me swimming at high tide, when the waves were beating against the harbour wall.
He told me he would hold on to me tightly, and he wrapped his arms around me after we ran laughing into the sea. But, within moments, a massive wave knocked us off our feet.
Sharon’s aunt hadn’t been able to have children of her own, and she’d loved Sharon so much that she’d wanted to adopt her
I remember the force of the water coming up between my uncle’s arms, flinging us apart. The next thing I knew, I was on the sea bed, gazing around.
What has always struck me since is that I felt no fear. It was beautiful down there — full of plants and colour — and I paddled along the bottom calmly like a dog, taking it all in.
It was then that I saw a figure coming towards me in the water — wispy yet fully formed and beautiful, like a Greek goddess. It felt like she might take me somewhere, but instead she shook her finger gently to say no, and left.
In the next moment I remember my uncle scooping me up and carrying me out on to the sand, where my mother was crying hysterically.
I only found out later that I’d been gone for seven minutes — to this day I have no sense of how I survived that long without breathing.
I didn’t mention the lady — my mum was traumatised enough and I didn’t want to upset her further. But the experience changed me profoundly. For many years I felt older than my peers, as if I was in possession of some deep knowledge.
A few years later, when I was 13, I was leafing through a family album of black-and-white photos when I saw the face of the lady in the sea.
It was my Aunt Mary — the wife of my father’s brother Derek — who had died of TB when I was four. She hadn’t been able to have children of her own, and she’d loved me so much that she’d wanted to adopt me.
Even then I kept what had happened to myself — only telling my ex-husband many years later.
I’ve always found the memory strangely comforting. I don’t know if our loved ones are waiting for us when we die, but I do know that when we pass away on Earth, it is not the end.
MY LATE GRANDFATHER REVEALED NEW WORLD
Hollie Beattie, 47, originally from London, said:
Hollie Beattie saw a vision of her late paternal grandfather William after she fainted
One evening in Italy, several years ago, I was visiting a friend and her boyfriend. We were chatting and drinking some wine when I got up to go to the bathroom.
I remember switching on the light then hearing a loud noise. Later, I would discover this was the sound of my body falling to the ground and hitting a metal bin under the sink. I’d fainted.
Suddenly I was aware of taking a step to the left and being in another place, and there, in front of me, was my late paternal grandfather, William.
Hollie wasn’t particularly close with her grandfather and was surprised to see him but felt an overwhelming sense of love
We weren’t particularly close and I was surprised to see him — but there was this feeling of love that was quite overwhelming. He took me under his arm and started to show me around. There were fields and houses and people — so far so ordinary — but the feeling of peace, of coming home, was indescribable. Then I heard a voice saying, ‘You’re not going to remember this’ — and it felt like I was falling back into my body.
When I came to, I was lying on the bathroom floor, looking up at my friend and her boyfriend, who were yelling frantically.
They had come into the bathroom and found me passed out and not breathing, and they’d performed mouth-to-mouth on me. They were desperate for me to go to hospital, but I was so unnerved that I refused.
While Hollie is still not sure whether there is life after death, it has helped her to think there is some form of beautiful ending
I remember shaking with fear. Although that place had been peaceful while I was there, I didn’t want to go back there.
That feeling stayed with me for a while. But now, with the passing of time, I feel more peaceful about it.
While I’m still not sure whether there is life after death, it has helped me to think there is some form of beautiful ending.
A SPIRIT PREDICTED GRANDMA’S DEATH
Full-time mother Ruby FitzGerald, 51, said:
Ruby Fitzgerald dreamed of her grandfather who gave her a message to pass on to her grandmother
When I was 20 I had an experience that had a very profound effect on me and has stayed with me to this day. I was living at home with my mum, Elizabeth. My grandmother, Barbara, who’d been staying with us since my grandfather had passed away seven years previously, had recently moved to a care home.
One night, I dreamed of my grandmother and grandfather. I was standing on a beach in Worthing, West Sussex, where we used to live, and there, emerging from the right of my view, was my grandfather, wearing the kind of green V-neck tank top and smart shirt he always wore.
I was so pleased to see him — although he looked quite serious — and then my grandmother emerged from the right and linked arms with him. I said to her: ‘Grandma, look! It’s Grandpa! How incredible is this?’
My grandfather looked at me and said that in the morning I must tell my mother that Grandma was going to die very soon, and that she must prepare herself for it.
Then they both turned away, arm-in-arm, and walked several paces up the pebble beach together.
I started to follow them so that I could talk some more to my grand-father, but he turned around and told me to stop and go back and tell my mother what he’d asked me to.
When I woke up, although I didn’t want to upset Mum, I knew I had to deliver the message. I told her I’d seen Grandpa and that he’d told me Grandma was going to die soon and that Mum needed to be ready. Of course, Mum didn’t make much of it — she thought it was just a dream — but I knew I’d experienced something different.
Three weeks later we got a phone call saying Grandma had passed away from complications that no one had known anything about.
I was upset, of course, but felt comforted by my conviction that Grandpa had warned me. I’ve always been quite spiritual, but now I don’t even question that when I die it won’t be the end of my journey.
GUIDED TO MUM BY A BRIGHT LIGHT
Jenny Ryall, 63, from Glasgow, said:
My mother Joan and I were incredibly close. When she died in January 1998, after a series of strokes that had led to vascular dementia and pneumonia, I struggled to cope with my loss. Sometimes I wondered if I’d ever fully get over it.
Jenny Ryall was incredibly close with her mother Joan and struggled to cope with the loss when Joan died after a series of strokes
As the first anniversary of her death loomed, I was comforted by the idea that I had a skiing holiday booked with friends. Yet on the anniversary itself, despite the warmth and companionship of those friends, the loss of my mum struck me acutely.
I felt such emptiness that I went to bed early, absolutely bereft.
The following morning, before waking, I had what I can only describe as a very vibrant dream. Over time I’ve come to realise it was much more than that.
I became aware of a great light and a voice — unspoken but sensed somehow — that told me I was going to see my mother, and that afterwards I must go forward and live my life and allow her to move forward also.
On the anniversary of her mother’s death Jenny had a vibrant dream that told her she was going to see her mother
I was led through a door into a room with an amazingly bright and uplifting light — so bright it was blinding — but I knew that Mum was there because I felt the most unbelievable, unconditional love, of a kind greater than anything else I’ve felt on Earth, before or since.
It was all-consuming, and when I woke up it was with a sense of renewed peace. My mother, I felt, had given me the freedom to move on.
From that day I was able to look forward and start to plan for the future — aided by the sense that Mum is with me.
Unlike a dream, which evaporates over time, the experience has stayed with me, growing stronger. I feel that, in her own way, Mum guides me and I will see her again, and that brings me enormous comfort.
- A version of this article was originally published by the Mail in November 2014
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