SAVED BY THE LIGHT
Author Dannion Brinkley, Villard Books, 1994
by Ann Fowler
Brinkley's autobiographical story is a dramatic one. In 1975, Dannion Brinkley was talking on the phone during a thunderstorm. He is uneasy and tells the friend on the phone he wants to hang up because of the lightning. A bolt of lightning hits the phone line, sending thousands of volts into his head and down through his body. He is blasted into the air. His heart stops and he dies. Whether you believe in life after death and physic powers, or not, you will be riveted by Brinkley's story. He was revived in the morgue after twenty-eight minutes after his death and gives a personal account of what happened to him during that period. Having read a few near-death experience (NDE) books I was skeptical if his story would just be some sort of rehash of someone else's story. It is as unique as each of us. When doctors pronounced Brinkley dead he states he was already traveling through a tunnel toward a spirit being who led him into a light filled crystal city. He entered the "cathedral of knowledge" where Brinkley was told of many world events yet to come. Maybe the obligatory tunnel traveling was usual but his "education" at the hands of thirteen angelic teachers is more than unusual in the realm of out of the body experiences.
The straight forward story-telling style is refreshing and so is the detail. Without becoming preachy, Brinkley relates how the astounding events have changed his life. He also includes interesting stories that people have related to him about their own near-death experiences. The book can be read at two levels. After Brinkley 's accident he was left with a weak heart, muscles that wouldn't work and a kind of collapsing fainting spell. You observe his thoughts as he struggles from a paralyzed state to successfully walking with two canes. What gives a person the will to overcome the odds and walk again? Brinkley down plays this part of the story but it was a major element in reaching out to me, a reader. His experiences in dealing with his newly acquired, after NDE, mind reading talents are amusing. Because of the damage to his heart and body from the electricity, Brinkley describes a second NDE episode and how that played a role in his current day commitment to life. Two NDE's for the price of one? Well, maybe so, but its a good read.
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