Return from Tomorrow: A Psychiatrist Describes His Own Revealing Experience on the Other Side of Death

by George G. Ritchie

At the age 20, a soldier George Ritchie died in an Army hospital. Nine minutes later he returned to life. What he experienced would change him forever.

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Spirituality, Memoir, Biography, Christian, Book Club

124 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1978

Reviews

[Mischenko · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm in the middle with this one...

*This review may contain spoilers*

I picked this up because I really enjoy reading about people who have had near death experiences. I find it so interesting how different these experiences are for people, and it's not just the "light" that they see. George saw much more than that. He had a travel experience and a visit with Christ.

At first I was amazed and couldn't wait to read on, but the feel was off. Was he just having a dream? This experience went on for what seems like forever, yet he was only dead for 9 minutes. Not only that, the experience ends with Jesus taking him back to Earth, yet it's really the caretaker who stabs his heart with adrenaline that brings him back to life again. Then, there's the remembrance he has to a cafe he'd never been to, but went to in his travels during the NDE. I found that amazing, but was God trying to reassure him? I mean of all places, he's back at the cafe on a trip back to boot camp?

Regardless what really happened, the book sends many messages to how we should love and live well. To love and forgive is the way to go no matter what. If only it were that easy for everyone...

3***

[Matt Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author dies of influenza at a military hospital and goes to the other side. I read this years ago, but I still remember the harrowing scene where substance-abusing addict-spirits were crawling all over humans participating in the activities the spirits craved to mortally do -- e.g., drinking, drugging, sexing, etc. -- trying to get some sort of "energy hit" from their unknowing mortal proxies. It's a sobering thought to consider that whatever desires control you in this life will pass on with you to the other side; i.e., what goes around comes around.

[M. Chéwl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book freaked me out. I struggle to imagine even the most ardent atheist would remain as entrenched after reading ‘Return from Tomorrow’. It’s a quick read - shouldn’t take longer than a few hours - but boy does it pack a punch.

The evocative accounts of forlorn apparitions really got me: following their still living relatives/partners, pleading to be forgiven for taking their own lives. A young man follows an old man carrying a tray of food to his elderly wife - “I’m sorry pa....I didn’t know what it would do to mama. I didn’t understand...i’m sorry mama..” he laments.

By far the most harrowing scene of all during Richie’s NDE was him witnessing the drunken debauchery of a naval base bar. The disembodied beings desperately trying to imbibe with - and take possession of - the inebriated living sailors, only for their hands never to grasp the whiskey tumbler: “one of the insubstantial beings who had been standing near him at the bar was on top of him. He had been hovering like a thirsty shadow at the sailor’s side, greedily following every swallow the young man made. Now he seemed to spring at him like a beast of prey”.

Thus their cravings and addictions follow them into the afterlife, or more precisely, this realm of purgatory where the dead, unbeknownst to them, drift amongst the living in a bestial, unconscious state. Richie then descends further into another hell: a vast expanse where multitudes, writhing angrily, punching, gouging, one on top of another in a frenzy of impotent rage: “more hideous than the bites and kicks they exchanged, we’re the sexual abuses many were performing in feverish pantomime. Perversions I had never dreamed of were being attempted all around us.”

Throughout his NDE experience he is transfixed on his guide: the being of light - Christ - who he is compelled towards all the time and imbued with an overwhelming sense of compassion and unconditional love. He is guided through to heavenly realms redolent of an architecturally sophisticated, luminescent university campus. Complex and blissful music that makes Bach sound primitive envelopes him as he ascends through cylindrical buildings; libraries housing an endless assemblage of books on the most important works on the universe. The occupants of these realms: diligent scholarly monks who transcended their shellfish desires of earth.

I could go on; it was mind blowing and would give H.G. Wells a run for his money. If the author of this book was genius enough to make up a story like this, then I’d say he earned every penny of the revenue gained; notwithstanding how morally unscrupulous it would be to make something like this up!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book. I read this about 10 yrs. ago for the first time. I recently happened upon this book in my personal library and decided to read it again, although it is (sadly) beginnng to fall apart. I plan to buy a couple more copies so my family and friends can read it. I am not quite done with it this second time around, but it has definitely made me re-evaluate why I do what I do in areas I never thought about before. For instance, was I focused on Christ and helping others feel His Love when I was cleaning my home and preparing to host book group at my house yesterday? Or was I only thinking of impressing my friends with my clean and beautiful home? Was I thinking of Christ when I ate too much dessert? Or was I only thinking about the dessert and how I felt? Those may seem like ridiculously trivial struggles, but there are so many earthly distractions and our own pride that can prevent us from seeing spiritually important things.

The author, who sees Christ during a death experience, witnesses hell as a self-imposed state. Those spirits who are so focused on the high from cigarettes, alcohol, sexual perversions, hatred, violence, revenge, etc. can not see the Savior. He is there, but they all refuse to look as He has compassion for them and wants to help them. Ritchie also recognizes some of those feelings within his own heart. He becomes aware that those spirits can leave that area at any time, but their pride and fear of having other spirits hear their horrible thoughts keeps them in that place around others with similar thoughts and feelings.

George Ritchie's experience changes his entire outook on life. He has more compassion and a desire to help those around him that he changes his future career to strive to help others feel the Savior's Love for them. I will read this book again and again.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 'near death experience' book, while fascinating in it's telling, also has a remarkably poignant message about what is truly important in this life.
I absolutely believe in a post-mortal life, and I absolutely believe that people have amazing, remarkable, experiences that involve God and those on the other side. I don't know exactly how things will go when I go. And I've read a couple of these books that lead me to believe that it isn't exactly the same for everyone.
But having said that, I love the feeling that I am left with in reading these types of books. This book in particular leaves one wanting to strengthen relationships, spend time and life motivation on things and people that matter in the long run, and really wanting to improve oneself as a human being.
I think it's the kind of book that could be important to pick up every couple of years just as a reminder.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a small book. My husband found it somewhere in our home. We don’t know where it came from. My husband read it first and could not quit talking about it.

I am so glad I decided to read it. It is a touching book. I didn’t want the story to end.
The author was really an incredible person. His story is unique and made me and my husband want to be better people.

I love these kinds of stories. Some may not believe but I choose too. When something is good and promotes goodness I want everyone to know about it and read it too!!

I gained much comfort by his description of his experience and what may be around that corner.
I want to be a person that shines like the examples he gave in the book.

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is nothing more than a spoiler, but it is the reason I gave the book five stars. It is taken from the later end of the book. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in war, peace and meaning in life.
Ritchie was with the US Army when he met a man at the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps. The author describes the many horrors he witnessed in WWII as a medic and then suggests that the living shells of human beings he encountered at the liberation of the death camps were the most horrific sight of them all. There he meets a man who in his view could not have been in the camps for more than a few days as he was radiant and full of health amidst a population of "walking dead". When this prisoner said he had been incarcerated for five years the author balks at the very suggestion. Then the prisoner tells this story:
He was a Jew with a family who witnessed the Nazis shoot them all dead in front of his home. Then he was told that his ability to speak multiple languages was an asset the Nazis could use and that was why his life was spared. The man claims he then made a decision. He thought to himself that he would choose to love and forgive everyone from that point forward, starting with the Nazi soldiers who just murdered his entire family. He thought that if he did otherwise he would lose his sanity.
His decision to forgive the soldiers followed by his commitment to doing this with every single person he ever met was the secret to his radiant health after 5 years in a Nazi death camp.
This book is non-religious spirituality at it's best. It's a love story of sorts but a mystical love not a romantic one. It's the real deal.

[Beauty in the Binding · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Return From Tomorrow by Dr. George G. Ritchie with Elizabeth Sherill in a single sitting. The book is short, but fascinating. Some of Dr. Ritchie’s experiences correlate to other return-to-life accounts I’ve read, but his happened earlier (in the 1940s). As powerful as Dr. Ritchie’s visions were, my main takeaway from them all was the immense, undeniable love of Jesus Christ. Reading his testimony greatly encouraged me.

I also absorbed Dr. Ritchie’s wise words as he related his post-experience mistakes and the lessons learned: the necessity of loving others well and following one’s call in life. There are many books on those topics, but Dr. Ritchie’s message felt personal and resonated with me.

I absolutely loved Return From Tomorrow by Dr. George G. Ritchie with Elizabeth Sherill and recommend this inspirational book to everyone, Christian or not. Five stars.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this book by the author or publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.

[Carmel Attard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I simply couldn’t let go of this book: I read it in one session; I strongly recommend it. The book explores whether there is “life after death,” and, if so, what is “the true meaning of life,” (p. 6).
The author was clinically dead for nine minutes before he was resuscitated, and he uses his near-death experience (NDE) to answer these two questions (p. 7). Over time (he assures the reader), he ruled out its being a dream or a hallucination; he states, “I’ve had time to study dreams and hallucinations. … There’s just no resemblance.” (p. 20) His conclusion is that our aim in life is “learning to love in this world to prepare us well for the next.” (p. 14)
Apart from a few apparent inconsistencies, although the author is definitely Christian, unlike most Christian authors, the doctrines for ‘salvation’ he endorses in his book are not outlandish—they are somewhat universally applicable to all of humanity.
The book contains an exceptional, personal ‘hellish’ near-death-experience (NDE), which is very rare, because most people are not only generally reticent about recounting an NDE, but more so if it’s a frightening or unpleasant one. They figure it has a bearing on their kind of life; but it isn’t necessarily the case, as one can see throughout the book.
In the 1940s Christians (at least Roman Catholics—apparently also Protestants) were obsessed with sins of a sexual nature: teenagers and twenty-year-olds were inculcated with ‘anti-sex’ sermons from the pulpit; so it’s not surprising that the climax of the author’s hellish experience was the punishment for people committing sexual sins. In fact, he refers to “The sex thoughts I could never control,” (p. 58) and again “just the sexual hang-ups and secretiveness of most teenagers” (p. 61).
The author’s near-death experience (NDE) is one of the earliest recorded (1943) in modern times: much prior to Moody’s book, ‘Life after Life’ (1975), the first book written on near-death experiences. However, Ritchie’s book was only published in 1978 (i.e., after Moody’s book). In fact, the terminologies the author uses are the same as those first-coined by Moody; for example, “near-death experience (NDE)” and “out-of-body experience (OBE).”) I got the impression that his account was massaged somewhat, years after the fact.
He claims he had a verifiable ‘roaming’ out-of-body experience (OBE) while he was comatose. He also claims to have foreseen some of the future (i.e., from 1943 to 1952—p. 135), which I find somewhat harder to believe. I can’t see how this is possible since according to theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking, God cannot even know, exactly, the present position and velocity of a single particle simultaneously—let alone that of its future. In his book ‘The Universe in a Nutshell,’ he writes the following regarding Heisenberg’s ‘uncertainty principle’:
“We cannot even suppose that [a] particle has a position and velocity that are known to God but are hidden to us. … Even God is bound by the uncertainty principle and cannot know [both] the position and velocity [simultaneously]; He can only know the wave function [probability].” (p. 107)
That is, unless Hawkins is totally wrong. However, this uncertainty principle is what delivers us from the ‘determinism’ of ‘Classical Physics’ enabling us to exercise our free will. Personally, I think God might know the future of the earth and the universe, but I don’t believe God knows our future: otherwise we would be, sort of, predestined by his knowledge—our ‘free will’ would be just a joke.
Consequently, although I believe most of the author’s experiences, it makes me wonder whether some of his accounts have been embellished a little over time. Moreover, there’s seems to be a lot of thought behind explaining his various ‘hellish’ visions.
Typical of mainstream Christianity, the author apparently believes that Jesus is the Savior of the world; he writes, “I was not condemned, in spite of the ugly actions I had committed. … It was His [Jesus’s] death … that had already paid for these things [sins],” (pp. 132–33). Probably needless to mention, it’s difficult for non-Christians, especially, to relate to this: to believe that a single person paid for all the sins of the whole world. Moreover, according to biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan, ‘Substitutionary Atonement’ is not a commendable Christian doctrine. In fact, in his book ‘God and Empire: Jesus against Rome Then and Now,’ biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan states,
“It is certainly correct … to call Jesus’ death—or in fact the death of a martyr—a sacrifice, but substitution and suffering are not the point of a sacrifice. Substitutionary atonement is bad as theoretical Christian theology just as suicidal terrorism is bad as practical Islamic theology. Jesus died ‘because’ of our sins, or ‘from’ our sins, but that should never be misread as ‘for’ our sins. In Jesus, the [non-violent] radicality of God became incarnate, and the normalcy of civilization’s brutal violence (our sins, or better, Our Sin) executed him. Jesus’ execution asks us to face the truth that, across human evolution, injustice has been created and maintained by violence while justice has been opposed and avoided by violence. That warning, if heeded, can be salvation [our well-being],” (pp. 140–41, emphasis in original).
One can hardly insist, therefore, that Jesus is the Savior of the world: he was simply the victim of the Church and State of his time—as often happens to good people.
The author makes a few references to being “born again” (pp. 63, 73, 133), which, in my opinion, alienates the majority of Christians to his NDE experience. On the other hand, however, he insists that we should treat everyone as our equals: not to be condescending with anyone. The author recommends disregarding religious differences: that is, to treat everyone as equal; avoiding self-righteousness, prejudices, and treating others as inferiors (p. 127).
In several places, the author aptly points out to Jesus’s unconditional love; presumably he means God’s unconditional love, too, because, in Christianity, Jesus is the exact image of his Father—God—if not divine (p. 6). This is consistent with Jesus’s teaching: see the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32).
In fact, he also revolutionarily opines that Jesus (and presumably God) never abandons souls, not even in hell. Indeed, he quotes Psalm 139:8, “If I ascend up to heaven, thou [God] art there: if I make my bed in Sheol [the ‘underworld’—the Greek Hades], behold, thou art there,” (p. 128). In fact, the author actually states, “Jesus had been there, in those scenes of Sheol. … That shed a ray of hope, even in hell.” (p. 128) Consequently, I think the author is inconsistent when he says that the suffering in hell is “everlasting” (p. 6) or for “eternity” (pp. 71, 109, 133); here, he is simply repeating mainstream Christian doctrine without thinking.
The author claims he was only allowed to go to the “doorway” of the next life: that is, both hell and heaven (p. 10); he states, “Whatever I saw was only from the doorway, so to speak,” (p. 20).
He is inconsistent, however, when he says, “If I suspected before that I was seeing hell, now I was sure of it,” (p. 75) The reader keeps asking, “Is it hell or not?” Again, here, he inadvertently repeats Christian doctrine, assuming biblical infallibility (divine revelation) when he states, “I had not seen, for instance, the lake of fire recorded in the Bible.” (p. 97) and again he is inconsistent when he writes, “While I had been out of the body … there was no pain. No physical feeling of any kind,” (p. 87). He felt neither cold nor hot (p. 46). Even according to him, souls are non-physical: “substance-less” (pp. 46, 48, 53).
My point is, if souls are bodiless, and cannot feel pain, hot, or cold, I don’t see what would be the use of a “lake of fire” since the suffering he saw in ‘hell’ was only mental?
Not surprisingly, as in books of the same genre, the author’s concepts of heaven are very poor compared with those of hell. It seems that our human imagination is more fertile in portraying misery than happiness. He only makes a casual reference to the ‘New Jerusalem’—the city of God—from the Book of Revelation (p. 85).
Apparently, there is no time or space in the afterlife. Motion (as well as communication) is strictly a thought process; he writes, “In this dimension … travel seemed to take no time at all,” (p. 73).
The author then makes a couple of very good points, in my opinion:
(1) The soul is not judged by Jesus/God, but it judges itself; he writes, “It was I who was judging the events [in a life review] around us so harshly. … No such condemnation came from the glory [Jesus] shining round me,” (p. 63). For the author, Jesus is the “Being” of light, replacing God, or other celestial beings, in non-Christian NDEs.
(2) He aptly thinks that the damned remain in hell only because they choose to; he asks, “What was keeping them here?” They could just walk away; but he adds, “There was a kind of consolation in finding others as loathsome as one’s self,” (pp. 76–77). He opines that this is probably the reason why people stay so long in hell. Their evil or self-centered thoughts only find good company among other obnoxious people. But I think this begs the question: how come the people/souls in heaven couldn’t ‘hear’ the thoughts of those people/souls in hell and vice versa?
On the other hand, according to the ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church,’ the soul doesn’t seem to have much choice, even though the words seem to want to imply a personal choice; we read,
“We cannot be united with God unless we ‘freely choose’ to love him. … To die in mortal sin without repenting … means separating from him for ever by our own ‘free choice.’ This state of definitive ‘self-exclusion’ from communion with God and the blessed is called ‘hell.’” (¶ 1033, p. 221, emphasis mine)
It seems like the Catholic Church wants to have it both ways! It says that it’s ‘our choice’ to go to hell, but it seems to me that God sends us there if we don’t measure up.
Finally, as a result of his near-death experience, although the author still feared the pain in dying suddenly during wartime, he did not fear death any longer; indeed, he wished to die soon because he believes there is full consciousness after this life—and no pain.
Conclusion:
This book is a must-read for Christians; non-Christians might want to mentally replace “Jesus” with “God,” while reading, since the author considers Jesus divine. The author’s account is simply captivating.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about one man's story of his near death experience. He was a soldier and died for 9 minutes. Amazing story, the one quote at the end of the book was the lesson he learned "The more I learned to see Christ in other people, the less I was crushed by the death and suffering our unit dealt with." It's a small book - I will bring to next book club if anyone wants to read.

[Alana Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This changed my faith and my perspective on many things, specifically the celestial/terrestrial kingdom hierarchy in LDS theology when I was a believer. Now that my faith is less assured I have a hard time figuring out what to do with this book. It was so believable and made so much sense to me. I think there's something important and true in true we just don't understand yet.

[J.S. Frankel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for stories of the hereafter, but after reading this allegedly true-life account, I'm going to call BS. What I got from this account was that his god is more than somewhat exclusive, rigid and unbending, and hypocritical in many ways. It's more an accept-JC-as-your-lord...but if you ain't Christian, you ain't gettin' in kind of deal.

Leaving that aside, scientifically speaking, I'm also quite surprised that Ritchie never experienced brain damage from his death experience. Allegedly, he was gone for nine minutes, yet the brain begins to die after roughly two minutes (or sometimes a tad more, if hypothermia occurs) and he should have emerged with some form of brain damage. Yet, when I saw a video of him speaking on YouTube, he sounded quite normal. Almost unemotional, yet I guess that's his personality, so okay. My only guess is that while the doctors were working on him, his brain received just enough oxygen to stave off any damage, but that's just a guess.

This kind of novel is really preaching to the choir. It's not badly written, the scenes about spirits in search of a drink or smoke are rather harrowing but well done. Ultimately, though, to me it comes across as being shallow and self-serving. To those who believe, I guess they'll feel uplifted. I did not.

[Rayni · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an easy read. It is not one I would have picked up on my own. It was interesting that his experience corroborates the teaching of the LDS Church & the man is not LDS & probably, in 1943, had never heard of the Church.

I wonder how many copies of The Book of Mormon he was offered in his lifetime. He died of cancer in 2007.

The bar scene was interesting to me. Knowing our habits & addictions follow us to the hereafter, I can just see myself trying to grab a Mt. Dew out of a mortal's hands, hehe. That's the first thing I grab as I get up each morning.

I like this quote: Death is nothing more than a doorway, something you walk through. ~ Dr. George Ritchie

I was trying to explain this concept in a letter recently; too bad I hadn't read the book then. It is interesting also, this book was written in 1978 & the copy I read was published in 2003, in it's 32nd printing! A friend's husband borrowed it through inter-library loan from the Brigham Young University - Idaho David O. McKay Library. It is well read & in need of being replaced.

[Chandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another death memoir, perhaps the first in the near-death experience sub-genre. This was the ur-text that inspired Raymond Moody of "Life After Life" fame to start his exploration of what's on the other side. Surprisingly, Return From Tomorrow is not nearly as comforting as Moody's more methodical works. After clinically dying, Ritchie is shown a sweeping view of purgatory, as well what promises to be heaven (though he can't quite access it). The story is squarely a Christian conversion tale, with hints of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". It's fascinating, though, and quite detailed. Ritchie's return from "tomorrow" really happened, whether or not his retelling intends to proselytize.
Interestingly, this book was recommended to a bereaved friend by her therapist, who intended it to comfort. Instead, my grieving friend was horrified by its ghastly details--both spiritual and physical. Naturally, that's what reeled me in.

[Cranky Commentary (Melinda) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who hasn’t read one of these near death accounts since the market became flooded with them in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s? These books make you contemplate your life and relationships, so no wonder they became so popular.

It’s an interesting subject, and after spending my whole life in healthcare, I’ve heard these stories from more than one of my patients. Many have similarities, but they are all fascinating to me. When reading a book, I always approach it with a grain of salt, because let’s face it: many people will lie for money.

This book is believable, interesting, well written, and not too long! If you’ve never read a book of this type, I would recommend this one as seemingly authentic. All of his experience wasn’t exactly euphoric, but the book and it’s message is still uplifting.

[Amyjoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went to Peru to pick up my father in Peru after his helicopter crash. Among his personal effects was this book. My Dad likely bought it at the airport. He must have known that his time was up.
I do not know if he read it or not.
It took me many years to want to feel like reading this. It has changed how I think and feel about Heaven. This is a must read if you are curious about what will happen to us after we die. I have read several other books on near death experiences. They are all similar yet different in how they describe the same things.

[Jeana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't my typical type of book, but I thought it interesting to hear what this man saw in his eight minutes of death. Strangely, it all seemed to make sense. I believe what he says he saw was the afterlife.

What I particularly liked about the book, though, was the feelings he felt in the presence of Christ and how he could feel that again in people who had Christ in them. Makes me want to try to be a better person--and see other people that way as well.

[Alexandra Olsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm stumped to write a review. Let's see... liked it, and was easy to read. Didn't love it. I found the writer's description of his life (alive) more engaging than his description of his experience while 'dead'. I found the description of the 'dead' experience confusing, a bit scary, more unpleasant than pleasant, and to be honest, not particularly enlightening, and not life changing.

[Beth Champion · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this book. I would highly recommend it and will read it again and again. I've always been fascinated with stories of near-death experiences (partially because my mom had one), but this is the most unusual and moving one I've read.

[Tim Malone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the few books I will mark as absolutely loved it. Because of the unique things it reveals, it has been one of the most influential books in my life. This was the first NDE book I ever read. I am so glad that Dr. Ritchie got professional help from Elizabeth Sherrill to make it into the wonderful book that it is. You will be fascinated by the story. I know I was. I also learned so much from it about the spirit world that has been confirmed over and over by others who have also had NDEs and wrote about them. Thanks you George Ritchie for such a wonderful book. I wrote a review on one of my blogs many years ago. Here are excerpts:

One of my favorite books on the subject of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) is 'Return from Tomorrow' by George Ritchie. I first read it in 1993 after being introduced to it by a friend. It was written and published in 1978. Dr. Ritchie is a retired psychiatrist who had a remarkable experience when he was a 20-year-old private during WWII in 1943. He died while in an army hospital.

Nine minutes later he returned to life. What happened during those nine minutes is the subject of the book. I have known people who have died and been resuscitated. None of them have claimed any memories of what happened to them during their near-death experiences. Dr. Ritchie's NDE is not unique but it is one of the most profound, complete and telling experiences ever related and documented.

Did George Ritchie really die? I don't know but I loved his book. Now admittedly he had help crafting it. Elizabeth Sherrill is a best-selling Christian author who wrote the Hiding Place which is the story of Corrie Ten Boom and the Cross and the Switchblade. The story is compellingly told and is an easy one-evening read at 124 pages. I was fascinated from the beginning and could not put it down.

I have reread it several times and refer to it often to refresh my memory of some of the sections that contain unique insights into things that he saw on his journey that I have found nowhere else in literature. Some have dismissed the book as fiction, and others as fantasy but I am compelled to believe Dr. Ritchie's story although some of his interpretations of the events that happened to him may be open to question.

I'll just share one point from the book that introduces a theme of future discussion for this blog. On page 59 of the paperback edition Dr. Ritchie is relating some of the early scenes of his journey while out of his body. He is observing some differences in the beings that he is seeing before him: "Gradually I began to notice something else.

"All of the living people we were watching were surrounded by a faint luminous glow, almost like an electrical field over the surface of their bodies. This luminosity moved as they moved, like a second skin made out of pale, scarcely visible light." In the next scene of his journey he finds himself inside a dingy bar and grill near a naval base observing men standing at a bar drinking and relates what he sees.

"Then I noticed a striking thing. A number of the men standing at the bar seemed unable to lift their drinks to their lips. Over and over I watched them clutch at their shot glasses, hands passing through the solid tumblers, through the heavy wooden counter top, through the very arms and bodies of the drinkers around them. And these men, every one of them, lacked the aureole of light that surrounded the others." He concluded that the cocoon of light that he saw must be a property of physical bodies only. Then he relates something very interesting.

"I watched one young sailor rise unsteadily from the stool, take two or three steps, and sag heavily to the floor. Two of his buddies stooped down and started dragging him away from the crush [of drinkers at the bar]. But that is not what I was looking at. I was staring in amazement as the bright cocoon around the unconscious sailor simply opened up.

"It parted at the very crown of his head and began peeling away from his head, his shoulders." What is this cocoon that Dr. Ritchie is describing? Do you conclude as I do that it is some sort of protection or shield that is given to all mortals? Perhaps it is some sort of electrical energy that many have claimed to have discovered and documented over the years - the energy fields of the body.

What do you think - does the human body have energy fields and if so, can it be scientifically proven? If you can, James Randi will give you a million dollars. I doubt that anybody will ever be able to prove that the human body has energy fields. I also doubt that anybody will ever be able to prove that there is a spirit within the human body. Not being able to prove something scientifically may stop others from believing it but I choose to believe. Of course, I'm very careful about what I choose to believe.

When we left George Ritchie he was watching in astonishment as the cocoon of light that surrounded one of the mortals he saw in his journey crack and open up as he passed out drunk. The protective shield peeled away from his head and his shoulders.

Continuing with the narrative on page 60-61 of the book, Return From Tomorrow, we read: "Instantly, quicker than I'd ever seen anyone move, one of the insubstantial beings who had been standing near him at the bar was on top of him. He had been hovering like a thirsty shadow at the sailor's side, greedily following every swallow the young man made. Now he seemed to spring at him like a beast of prey." What in the world is he describing?

"In the next instant, to my utter mystification, the springing figure had vanished. It all happened even before the two men had dragged their unconscious load from under the feet of those at the bar. One minute I'd distinctly seen two individuals. By the time they propped the sailor against the wall, there was only one. Twice more, as I stared, stupefied, the identical scene was repeated. A man passed out, a crack swiftly opened in the aureole round him, one of the non-solid people vanished as he hurled himself at that opening, almost as if he had scrambled inside the other man." Was this man somehow being momentarily possessed by a disembodied spirit?

"Was that covering of light some kind of shield, then? Was it a protection against...against disembodied beings like myself? Presumably these substance-less creatures had once had solid bodies, as I myself had had. Suppose that when they had been in these bodies they had developed a dependence on alcohol that went beyond the physical. That became mental. Spiritual, even. Then when they lost that body, except when they could briefly take possession of another one, they would be cut off for all eternity from the one thing they could never stop craving." Or at least not until they were healed sometime in the future.

In my opinion, what George Ritchie is describing is the act of being possessed, if only for a limited period of time, by another spirit being. There can be no other explanation. What do you think is the significance of what he witnessed? It's a fantastic claim, there can be no doubt about that. How do you suppose this momentary possession would have affected the man?

And who is to say how long that possession would have lasted? Could the other being have continued with him for a period of time that extended into days, weeks, months or even years? Have not alcoholics described their condition as being tormented by devils and demons? Could this not be an explanation for addiction and a feeling of being out of control, if only for a time?

Some who read this dismiss it immediately as utter nonsense. They may say such things as, "There is no such thing as a disembodied spirit being, let alone being possessed by such. George Ritchie made the whole thing up. He simply has a very fertile imagination." Maybe. Maybe not. Has anyone ever interviewed George Ritchie and asked some hard questions?

Dr. Raymond Moody, author of Life After Life has interviewed George Ritchie and asked many of those questions. He has interviewed hundreds of people who claimed to have died and then were brought back to life. He called Dr. Ritchie's account, "one of the three or four most fantastic and well-documented dying experiences known to me." He said Dr. Ritchie's story was 'startling' and yet remarkably similar to what hundreds and hundreds of others have described.

So what do you think? Is it really possible that what George Ritchie saw and described can really happen? Can a disembodied spirit enter into the body of a mortal even if just for a little while? And if they can, what kind of an effect do they have on that mortal? Is it possible that there may be an influence left behind when they leave? Do some never leave?

Source: http://holisticresearch.blogspot.com/...

[Jamie Eskelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super short read, this book tells the true story of a young man who has an out of body experience during WW2. I've often been a little bit put off by some of the "near-death-experience" books that I've read in the past. They tend to be lacking in description, seem a bit far fetched, and focus on promoting the writer through the experiences they had. That was not the case in this book. What I loved most about it was the after thoughts and philosophies the writer develops through out his life, because of the experience he had. How the experience changed him for the better and put his feet on the path of true devotion to God. I absolutely loved it and found my self underlining much of the last half of the book. A couple of favorite quotes...

"...in caring for someone else, I had lost sight of myself and in losing myself I had discovered Christ. I wondered if we always had to die...some stubborn part of us, before we could see more of Him."

"I knew that if I wanted to feel the nearness of Christ, I would have to find it in the people that He put before me each day."

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as an ebook

3 stars as it was filled with Jesus etc
4 stars as it was about this man dying and experiencing the other side
I personally find religion off putting on such a profound experience however the take home experience is just act in goodness and love

Warning - suicide is mentioned and judgementally so, ignore what it says and the christian belief of purgatory is total nonsense personally

Many faith based readers will soak up this book however after being in medical practice people who come back from the dead/other side just say it’s love and no religion

[Kristoph Kosicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

My spiritual journey continues, and of all the Christian/religious literature I've read so far, this one was easily the best. I don't know if the vision this guy had of the after life was real after being clinically dead. But regardless, the person who emerged afterwards, emerged with a profound change of heart.

The book is easy to read because it's like you're sitting in a room with the author. It's a simple message in the end, of letting go, and finding Christ in others.

His experiences during world war two and with his patients, were really moving. I love it when a book makes me take a little bit of self inventory, as I now have to reconcile some of my own selfish pursuits.

[Hope Elias · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another book I have found because of Imagine Heaven by John Burke. It's also available on KindleUnlimited but my mom loved it so much she got a physical copy 😝
Deep, thought provoking, inspiring... so so good. Quite short so it's a very easy read.
And Wild Bill reminded me of Betsie Ten Boom which warmed my heart. I bet they're good friends in Heaven.

[Kelly Fines · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was awful. I have no idea what I was thinking. :(

[Deanna Dickerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read about a man and his life after death experiences. I loved his perspectives on heaven and hell and Christ. It was a great reminder and redirection to focus on what is most important

[Elyse · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was one of the best books I've ever read. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.

[Michael Abbassi · Rating 1 out of 5]

homie said he saw jesus 💀💀💀💀

[Margie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what I think. A story of what one man experienced when he died and then came back to life. He seemed to be sad throughout his telling of what happened.

[Breeana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how the descriptions of George Ritchie's experience went beyond what one can see with the physical eye and opened up to the deeper meaning. This book was incredibly inspiring!