Phyllis Atwater speaks to us in this book on a subject that she has made her specialty over the last few years: What it is like for a survivor of a near-death experience to come back to 'ordinary life' after having glimpsed the realm of 'the eternal. On this matter, Phyllis is, I believe, uniquely quali- fied to address us.... As a result of her personal experiences in coming to terms with her own near-death episodes and her wide-ranging exploration of others coping with the same problem, Phyllis has amassed a wealth of knowledge and insights on this subject that is, I am convinced, unsur- passed by any other researcher in the field"