The Last Frontier: Exploring the Afterlife and Transforming Our Fear of Death

by Julia Assante, Larry Dossey (Foreword)

Knowledge of the afterlife can trigger dazzling transformations in body, mind, and spirit. It unleashes our authentic selves, radically resets our values, and deepens our sense of life purpose. From it we discover that the real nature of the universe is the very essence of benevolence. In this comprehensive work, Julia Assante probes what happens when we die, approaching with scholarly precision historical and religious accounts, near-death experiences, and after-death communication. She then presents convincing evidence of discarnate existence and communication with the dead and offers practical ways to make contact with departed loved ones to heal and overcome guilt, fear, and grief.

* Winner of a 2013 Nautilus Gold Award in the category of grieving / death & dying

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality

424 pages, Paperback

First published October 16, 2012

Reviews

[Spencer Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bumped up from 3 to 4 after actually trying to contact someone by her instructions. Pretty amazing.I don't agree with her 100 per cent, but this book could easily be a life-changer. A universe-changer. Bumped up again to a 5. The ideas in this book continue to influence me. I really want to check it out again. Or perhaps just buy it.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books that make me think and ponder why I believe what I believe – this is such a book. A fascinating journey.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Far and away the best book I've read on this subject. A fascinating and (IMO) ground-breaking work!

[Sara Casalino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating!

I especially enjoyed reading the parts about dreams and reincarnation. I like how the author gives us a more positive view of death and that it's a natural process.

[Sevenponds · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Last Frontier is an attempt to explain, mystify and appreciate the death, dying, and, most prominently, the after-death experience, and there could perhaps be no one more qualified than Assante to tackle what seems so impossible a field. With a PhD from Columbia University, she describes herself as a mystic, medium, therapist and scholar, a heady combination to be sure. For the most part her writing is lucid, engaging and unpretentious. In the introduction she states: “In the modern era, the exact nature of the afterlife stands on rapidly shifting sands, with individuals harboring widely divergent opinions.” And she doesn’t mean in a purely New Age-y, faux-Eastern, lovey-dovey karmic sense (though all of that plays in as well). Yes, she’s speaking about spiritualism, but she’s also speaking about science, psychology and consciousness. She addresses our tentative early forays into study of the Higgs-Boson (the so-called ‘God Particle’), string theory, and quantum mechanics, where conventional understandings of time and reality do indeed stand on unsteady ground. But the bulk of the book is spent validating the “after death” experience, and she is armed with a surfeit of carefully documented stories, studies and polls (some of which say up to 72% of us have had an after death encounter of some kind) to back up her assertions. [Continued]

Full SevenPonds Review:
http://blog.sevenponds.com/lending-in...

[Dominic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating. I read this book after seeing it recommended by Eben Alexander, the author of "Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife." Unlike Alexander's book, the main focus is not solely what happens after we die, but also reincarnation, communication with the dead, and more. While a bit "out there," this book provided me comfort, particularly so soon after my Mom's passing. I am skeptical regarding some of the topics, like means of communicating with the dead, but if you read this with an open mind, accepting that while some of the subjects might seem far-fetched or unlikely, they are no more so than any other belief or theory regarding what happens after we die, including there being nothing. Why not consider a more comforting perspective? The book is a fairly quick read and is structured so that you look forward to what comes next. The author clearly knows the topics well and fully believes what she writes, enough so that at times it is difficult to doubt her. She covers each topic briefly but thoroughly, and provides sources for most of what she refers to, a number of which I checked successfully, lending credence to her positions. If your mind is open to possibilities, I highly recommend this book. However, if you are certain that we have no soul and our fate is to be "worm-food," refusing to accept any other possibility, then don't bother.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like the author going into different aspects of the afterlife. Beliefs, stories, scientific views and studies, were discussed. I will say there was a fair spread of viewpoints. While I did not know what I expected, I must have has some idea because the book left me a little disappointed. It was quite a bit longer than I thought and went too long in certain areas. For me, a history of the different religions and societies and how that plays into current social thoughts on the afterlife was too.long. The other positive is that she delved into how you can have or strengthen contact with deceased loved ones.

[Andrew Ashby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading on this subject for twenty years. This book makes for a great summary of those twenty years. We have evidence, albeit anecdotal, going back thousands of years that consciousness survives death, regardless of belief. Our culture refuses to accept this as fact, yet, one hundred years of looking at surface temperatures, combined with statistical manipulation, most people believe in global warming, rephrased as climate change. If everyone believed in an everlasting conscienceless, imagine the positive change that could make.

[Rupeet Malhotra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book while I was deeply grieving the loss of someone very close to my heart, and still refer to it from time to time. I count this amongst a few books that saved my life during that difficult time, others being Hello from Heaven and Many Lives Many Masters. This book is extremely well researched and written by someone who had a lot of authority on this subject, making us aware of our mortality and yet, telling us how not to be scared of it, but embrace it and accepting it. Remarkable!

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a big book, and full of history and ideas, so be prepared to take your time and soak in all the information that Julia Assante shares. I learned a lot, and appreciated the depth of research and level of knowledge that Ms Assante put in writing.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well done. I found the examination of thought forms particularly useful.

[Mikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding. This will shake up your worldview about death and where we 'go' when we die.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Right on target.
Useful info and helpful.

[Johan Pretorius · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Must Read!

A well written and insightful book that effortlessly blends a scholarly approach with humour and personal experience! Highly recommended indeed...

[Ingrid Emerick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly groundbreaking!

[Pat Rolston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Her quest to de-stigmatize the fear of death and documents a process for communicating with the other side is admirable and very well done. I may be unjustly penalizing her for having information that I have read in other works repeated in a manner that detracts from the experience. There is no question the author is very talented and indeed deserves a better rating, but if you have read, "The Holographic Universe," by Michael Talbot or similar explorations into the paranormal you may feel the same. There is great information pertaining to the subject of consciousness from various perspectives that alone make this a worthwhile book to read.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.