Losing Susan

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Joy Ibsen

What happens after death? What is the meaning of life? If you have ever wrestled with these questions, or experienced answers, you will want to read this book. When someone we care for dies, we have the fantastic opportunity to experience a glimpse of eternity intertwined with present reality. We stand naked before the unknown, vulnerable--unhindered by usual earth time restrictions and preconceived borders of what is possible and we are open to new experiences, new truths. When ordinary earth time merges with infinity, mortality and eternity come together, the mystery of life deepens and sometimes we can perceive and respond to a reality beyond our usual capacities. Even if it is for only a nanosecond, profound changes can occur which last our entire lives. Our consciousness expands permanently. We are forever more aware of the marvelous complexities and interfacing of life and afterlife--the eternity connection--and open to perceiving its truths in everyday life. Here and Hereafter is a book of stories about life-endings--death; it is also a memoir. The stories are based on real life and death problems-- illness, accidents, errors in judgment, suicide, alcoholism, assassination, old age. The characters in the stories are real people in various roles and stages of life-- baby, child, teenager, college student, wife, husband, grandparent, father, mother, national leader, community leader, teacher, minister, patriarch, poet or politician--and yes, even a dog. Each story stands on its own but like life, the sum is greater than its parts. This book is also about spiritual legacy. What is the spiritual legacy you were given? What about it have you embraced? Enhanced? Discarded? How will you approach your own life-ending? What story can you pass on to others?

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Nicole Dryburgh

At age 11, Nicole Dryburgh did 12 hours of Gymnastics every week. Then she was diagnosed with a malignant tumor on her spine. At age 13, she suffered a brain hemorrhage. Blind and unable to move, Nicole was expected to only live for weeks. Now 18, still blind and unable to walk, Nicole is always busy, whether writing, fundraising, horse-riding, or socializing with friends.

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Kelly Corrigan

At 36, Kelly had a good marriage, a couple of kids, and a weekly newspaper column. But she still saw herself as George Corrigan's daughter. A garrulous Irish-American charmer from Baltimore, George was the center of the ebullient, raucous Corrigan clan. Kelly's was a colorful childhood, just the sort a girl could get attached to. She lives deep within what she calls the Middle Place--"that sliver of time when parenthood and childhood overlap"--but she's abruptly shoved into a coming-of-age when she finds a lump in her breast. And so her journey to full-blown adulthood begins. When George, too, learns he has late-stage cancer, it is Kelly's turn to take care of the man who had always taken care of her--and show us a woman as she finally takes the leap and grows up.--From publisher description.

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Faye Aldridge

Burke Aldridge passed away in 2005 at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Before Burke?s death, he told his wife he would send her a fax from Heaven to let her know he was all right. Since his death, two doctors?who did not know each other?have seen Burke appear in their homes, and they both received similar messages from him. The doctors faxed letters to Burke?s wife, Faye Aldridge, documenting their after-death encounters and the content of Burke?s message. A Fax from Heaven tells this story, along with many other miraculous true stories as told to Faye Aldridge. The author has included many of her own inspiring lived experiences. These extraordinary events are God?s messages of hope. He is with us, and He reveals Himself in supernatural ways to those who listen with expectant faith. This book shares true stories of real people and real life-changing events in their lives!