The Forever Angels: Near-Death Experiences in Childhood and Their Lifelong Impact

Description

In this major study of near-death experiences with the newly born, babies, toddlers, and children up to age five, NDE expert P. M. H. Atwater reveals how those who experience a near-death state or other worlds at a very young age are profoundly affected for the rest of their lives, including developing psychic and intuitive abilities, higher intelligence and "wisdom beyond their years," and a pervasive feeling of being "homesick for heaven." Drawing on interviews with nearly 400 childhood experiencers, both fully matured and young, Atwater explores their accounts of what it is like to be alive on the other side of death as well as what makes them different from others, complemented by a deep analysis of statistical evidence from her more than 40 years of NDE research involving more than 5,000 people. She shows how, in contrast to adult experiencers, child and infant experiencers of near-death states cannot compare "before" with "after" as adults do, because they don't have a "before." The world of these "forever angels" is the life continuum, a stream of consciousness that has always existed and always will. Integrating "where they once were" with "where they now are" is a lifelong challenge. Examining the forever angels' memories of the womb, birth, early childhood, and the other world, Atwater investigates the wide-awake consciousness of babies being born, the vivid recall of mature childhood near-death experiencers, and how memory of the life-continuum never fades, nor does the desire to go back.

P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D., is a distinguished researcher of near-death experiences, prayer chaplain, spiritual counselor, and visionary. She is the author of 18 books including Children of the Fifth World, Beyond the Indigo Children, and The New Children and Near-Death Experiences. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

"P. M. H. Atwater, in her new study, establishes that the full pattern of NDE aftereffects--physical, mental, emotional, spiritual--has a far greater impact on children (and adults) than anyone thought or has found before. She concludes that it takes the average child experiencer at least twenty to forty years to integrate their NDE, because they usually try to compensate, to adjust, and to ignore. This new book is a very important and valuable contribution to our knowledge and insight about NDE in very young children." * Pim van Lommel, M.D., NDE researcher and author of Consciousness beyond Life * "In The Forever Angels, P. M. H. Atwater tackles the particular challenges of the very youngest near-death experiencers but from an innovative angle. In this novel approach, Atwater interviewed hundreds of people near the end of life who recalled having had an NDE in their first years of life. This strategy gives us an unprecedented "long view" of how NDEs influence these children over the entire course of their lives. Unlike adult experiencers, these children did not have the chance to develop "normal" attitudes and behavior patterns before their NDEs, which makes them a unique group of people, with unique traits and challenges. There is no other book like this, nor is there likely to be one." * Bruce Greyson, M.D., Carlson Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences * "In her truly groundbreaking book, P. M. H. Atwater has boldly gone where no researcher has dared to go before--into the lives of the newly born who have had NDEs. And what she has found gives us an important new way to view NDEs--for these children, it isn't what we thought. P. M. H. Atwater is the field's most creative and tireless researcher! This is a helluva book." Kenneth Ring, Ph.D., author of Lessons from the Light: What We Can Learn from the Near-Death Experience * Kenneth Ring, Ph.D., author of Lessons from the Light * "I had a near-death experience when I was five years old, and I had not understood my early childhood difficulties until I read The Forever Angels. Besides helping you understand yourself, this book's greatest value may be for parents who need to understand an alienated child, a child in great need of finding security at home." * Barbara Hand Clow, author of The Mind Chronicles: A Visionary Guide into Past Lives * "One of the most influential researchers into the mystery of the near-death experience is P. M. H. Atwater. She has given a voice to those whose experiences during childhood and infancy has, to date, been somewhat neglected and, in doing so, has given other authors like myself, a great deal of food for thought and an intriguing new area of investigation." * Anthony Peake, author of Opening the Doors of Perception * "P. M. H. Atwater is unafraid to venture into sketchily charted territory. Using her considerable knowledge and skills, in direct staccato style, she exposes life experiences too fragile or too subliminal for others to have unmasked. Read The Forever Angels; you will be guided beyond the mundane into our larger existence." * Lynn B. Robinson, Ph.D., author of Loving to the End . . . and On * "If you want to know what really happens in near-death and out-of-body experiences in the words of real people in the real world, look no further. P. M. H. Atwater has assembled an astonishing collection of accounts that shows us not only what occurs during these events but how they impact the individual's development over the lifespan. A beautiful work!" * Rev. Terri Daniel, M.A., CT, end-of-life advisor and founder of the Afterlife Conference * "As a psychotherapist, I found this book expanded my understanding of the powerful impact of NDEs on children's development. I recommend this very readable, very interesting book. It's full of detailed information that will be especially relevant for psychotherapists working with young children." * Fonya Lord Helm, Ph.D., ABPP * "The Forever Angels is a triumph. I was riveted from beginning to end with these amazing stories. " * Julie Loar, award-winning author of Goddesses for Every Day * "A fascinating review of the youngest survivors of near-death experiences." * Karen Newell, coauthor Living in a Mindful Universe * "In this original and wonderful book P.M.H. Atwater stretched my imagination and made me question if a child in the womb can really have a near-death experience." * The Echo World * "Atwater is one of the original researchers in the field of near-death experiences, having begun her work in 1978. She has found that most child experiencers are gifted, have a vivid imagination, are very creative, and are often psychic. Atwater's study of these 'forever angels,' provides vital evidence that life beyond life truly exists." * Light of Consciousness Magazine * "This ground-breaking book by a veteran NDE researcher develops her earlier work based on 277 childhood near death experiences with a new study of 120 subjects, pulling together the common patterns where, unlike NDEs in adults, there is no before and after. This is a highly significant and original contribution to the NDE research field." * Paradigm Explorer (Journal) *