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My Descent Into Death: A Second Chance at Life
Not since Betty Eadie’s Embraced by the Light has a personal account of a Near-Death Experience (NDE) been so utterly different from most others—or nearly as compelling.
"This is a book you devour from cover to cover, and pass on to others. This is a book you will quote in your daily conversation. Storm was meant to write it and we were meant to read it." —from the foreword by Anne Rice
In the thirty years since Raymond Moody’s Life After Life appeared, a familiar pattern of NDEs has emerged: suddenly floating over one’s own body, usually in a hospital setting, then a sudden hurtling through a tunnel of light toward a presence of love. Not so in Howard Storm’s case.
Storm, an avowed atheist, was awaiting emergency surgery when he realized that he was at death’s door. Storm found himself out of his own body, looking down on the hospital room scene below. Next, rather than going “toward the light,” he found himself being torturously dragged to excruciating realms of darkness and death, where he was physically assaulted by monstrous beings of evil. His description of his pure terror and torture is unnerving in its utter originality and convincing detail.
Finally, drawn away from death and transported to the realm of heaven, Storm met angelic beings as well as the God of Creation. In this fascinating account, Storm tells of his “life review,” his conversation with God, even answers to age-old questions such as why the Holocaust was allowed to take place. Storm was sent back to his body with a new knowledge of the purpose of life here on earth. This book is his message of hope.
"This is a book you devour from cover to cover, and pass on to others. This is a book you will quote in your daily conversation. Storm was meant to write it and we were meant to read it." —from the foreword by Anne Rice
In the thirty years since Raymond Moody’s Life After Life appeared, a familiar pattern of NDEs has emerged: suddenly floating over one’s own body, usually in a hospital setting, then a sudden hurtling through a tunnel of light toward a presence of love. Not so in Howard Storm’s case.
Storm, an avowed atheist, was awaiting emergency surgery when he realized that he was at death’s door. Storm found himself out of his own body, looking down on the hospital room scene below. Next, rather than going “toward the light,” he found himself being torturously dragged to excruciating realms of darkness and death, where he was physically assaulted by monstrous beings of evil. His description of his pure terror and torture is unnerving in its utter originality and convincing detail.
Finally, drawn away from death and transported to the realm of heaven, Storm met angelic beings as well as the God of Creation. In this fascinating account, Storm tells of his “life review,” his conversation with God, even answers to age-old questions such as why the Holocaust was allowed to take place. Storm was sent back to his body with a new knowledge of the purpose of life here on earth. This book is his message of hope.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
211 people are currently reading
1418 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews
May 17, 2017
A frightening experience becomes a blessing and a second chance at living as a true Christian should, while trying to find the ability to return to his earth life after where he had gone...I couldn't put this book down from the moment I began. Hands down, one of the most persuasive NDE books I've read.
It's wonderfully written and a keeper.
5*****
It's wonderfully written and a keeper.
5*****
October 21, 2017
My Descent Into Death: A Second Chance at Life
by Howard Storm. ©2005. Published by Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. 3 Stars. The NDE of a Christian convert. Foreword by novelist Anne Rice. A rare account of a non-believer who first went to a type of hell after grave illness due to his previous materialistic nature, then was saved by Jesus. The author’s experience of his salvation is touching and resonates with truth. There are many wonderful passages in this book:
“Imagine contemplating yourself from all the points of view of everyone in the universe. It’s God being God through God’s creation.”
“God will erase your mistake from the collective of your life if, and only if, you are genuinely ready to be forgiven.”
The drawback of this book is that large parts of it seem elementary and preachy. Though there is much universal truth contained within, it seems bogged down with long-winded dogmas and a belief in the Christian ownership of salvation. Yet I honor the positive experiences of everyone else’s journey.
Thanks to the local library in Prescott Valley, AZ for the loan of this book.
May 17, 2009
This book was amazing. It rises above every other Near Death Experience book that I've ever picked up, in that the author - who was an atheist when he died- came to love and accept totally the person of Jesus Christ through his experience. This is what makes me inclined to believe the claims he makes about the worlds after death. Having said that, I can't imagine any of the Christians I know who would like or accept the things he says, as he goes far out of the box of traditional thinking. You'll have to read it for yourself, and hold it up against Scripture to see whether you want to believe the things he says for yourself. It's an easy, single-afternoon read, and I can't recommend it enough.
April 5, 2009
This is the book that made me cross over finally from being an agnostic to a believer. I think it was a review from Ann Rice (included in the intro) that hooked me. She says "Storm was meant to write it and we were meant to read it".
After reading it, I have to say I believe she's right.
And I never thought I'd find myself reading, much less believing, a near-death experience book. I was pretty skeptical for a good 20 years there (teens through mid-30's).
After reading it, I have to say I believe she's right.
And I never thought I'd find myself reading, much less believing, a near-death experience book. I was pretty skeptical for a good 20 years there (teens through mid-30's).
July 5, 2013
This is one of the books I had mixed feelings about. I'd rate it 3.5 stars if I could.
I liked the author's emphasis on the importance of love, seeking God's will and that Christ is the only way to the Father. His testimony shows a man that was truly changed from the inside out during his near death experience. He went from being an Atheist who believed that we all cease to exist after death to a passionate Christian who testifies with unshakable authority that there is life after death and we need to live in such a way to prepare for eternity. Unlike before his NDE, he has come to loves Jesus, his family, and his fellowman. He went from pursuing fame in the art world to becoming a pastor and his moral values and perspective on what's really important totally changed. I think being tormented in hell or purgatory, (not exactly sure which), and having Jesus come to your rescue and then spent some time with you in another place will do that to you.
He has some extraordinary predictions about the future which seemed "far out" and rather strange, and at this point, most look impossible. I'm not exactly sure if I believe all he says but with God anything is possible. However, if his predictions are true, life here on this planet will look substantially different in 200 years from what it is like now. If you want to know more, you can get the book or look him up online. :)
I did struggle with a few things he said and am unsure if they are theologically accurate. It's beyond me.
Overall it was a good book. Calvinists probably won't like it nor will anyone afraid of aliens. I'm glad I read it as it strongly reminded me of just how important it is to love people and how important it is to finish the race.
I liked the author's emphasis on the importance of love, seeking God's will and that Christ is the only way to the Father. His testimony shows a man that was truly changed from the inside out during his near death experience. He went from being an Atheist who believed that we all cease to exist after death to a passionate Christian who testifies with unshakable authority that there is life after death and we need to live in such a way to prepare for eternity. Unlike before his NDE, he has come to loves Jesus, his family, and his fellowman. He went from pursuing fame in the art world to becoming a pastor and his moral values and perspective on what's really important totally changed. I think being tormented in hell or purgatory, (not exactly sure which), and having Jesus come to your rescue and then spent some time with you in another place will do that to you.
He has some extraordinary predictions about the future which seemed "far out" and rather strange, and at this point, most look impossible. I'm not exactly sure if I believe all he says but with God anything is possible. However, if his predictions are true, life here on this planet will look substantially different in 200 years from what it is like now. If you want to know more, you can get the book or look him up online. :)
I did struggle with a few things he said and am unsure if they are theologically accurate. It's beyond me.
Overall it was a good book. Calvinists probably won't like it nor will anyone afraid of aliens. I'm glad I read it as it strongly reminded me of just how important it is to love people and how important it is to finish the race.
September 13, 2009
Another NDE book, but I really loved this one, I'm not sure why. I'm going to buy it. It has a similar message and similar experiences, the life review, the love of Jesus, the return and the difficult adjustment to 'real' life. However, parts of it were so touching and the way he has drastically changed his life (from atheist to Christian minister) seems profound. What I learned from this book: I guess I learned what I learn from every NDE book I read except it came across very powerfully with this one. It made me look more closely at myself and want to be more fully present with my loved ones, esp. my kids and husband. It made me realize that all life is made up of is small moments and if you try to choose love in each moment despite what stresses you are experiencing then you will have led a successful life. (I know, I know I just wrote a bunch of meaningless New Age cliches...words fail) Harold Storm, the author, was a college professor and a sculptor and an atheist, but when he died and watched his life review with the angels and Jesus, he learned things that made him change his life. Now he is a Christian minister. The life review was illuminating in what was shown to him and what was eliminated. The parts that they watched were how his relationships with other people played out. The family he was born into and how they shaped him and then his own family and how his choices affected them. His career as an artist was not important. Jesus told him his job here on earth was simply to love the people he came in contact with. There are a lot of neat descriptions of what heaven is like. Also, a description of life on earth when Christ returns, which the angels told him won't happen for another 200 years, by the way. Personally I was rooting for 2012.
Check out the other reviews of this book, most people loved it as much as I did.
Check out the other reviews of this book, most people loved it as much as I did.
August 15, 2008
Very well written for a Near Death Experience. Actually made me laugh uncontrollably in places. The man comes across as believable, whether you believe in an afterlife (and that we can “visit” it) or not he does make a convincing argument for changing ones life. He changed so profoundly that it is hard to believe his experience was not true.
His change was for the better and his videos that are on-line now tell of prophecies including the predicted almost certain fall of the United States. Not an original idea but he sited some truths that I had forgotten. Such as, there is more than enough food to feed every man, woman and child on the plant with much to spare but that Americans consume the hugest portion. He also pointed out that we have turned the U.S. into a corrupt, greed-based nation that has little to do with what the Founding Fathers intended. Living in Washington, DC I could not agree more.
It is staying on my bookshelf for re-reads and reference.
His change was for the better and his videos that are on-line now tell of prophecies including the predicted almost certain fall of the United States. Not an original idea but he sited some truths that I had forgotten. Such as, there is more than enough food to feed every man, woman and child on the plant with much to spare but that Americans consume the hugest portion. He also pointed out that we have turned the U.S. into a corrupt, greed-based nation that has little to do with what the Founding Fathers intended. Living in Washington, DC I could not agree more.
It is staying on my bookshelf for re-reads and reference.
November 25, 2009
Bait and switch. Big time. This book is pitched as a story about a man's near death experience. It turns out that it's really a synopsis of his theology. Once I got over the anger, I did read it for what it is. It took a big mindset change, however. Each paragraph was like a mini sermon related to some aspect of Storm's theology. For a brief rundown on one Christian's theology, it was very clear, concise, and thorough. There were some beliefs that I found interesting and thought-provoking. The story did make me curious about NDEs of peoples without a Western background and whether their NDEs have the same imagery. Not sure I'll ever be curious enough to find out, but I guess one day I'll know.
September 23, 2019
My Descent Into Death by Howard Storm is an amazing story of one man’s journey through death. It personally made me really think about my life and how I’m living it. I liked this book because it showed the conversion of a man who wanted nothing to do with religion into someone completely different. The impact his near-death experience had on his life was revolutionary and continually opens the reader's eyes to the great, infinite love of God.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2017
I've always been fascinated by NDE's and have read up on many, many cases. This man's NDE claim was interesting, but when he veered off into his supposed talks with Jesus and the angels, he lost a lot of credibility with me. Much of his doctrinal beliefs are flawed and unBiblical. We know that God does not contradict Himself and He is not the author of confusion. This account shows Storm's proclivity to Universalism, which is unscriptural in every sense of the word. While I agreed with some of his assertions, there's just too much here that contradicts Scripture for me to lend any credence to his story.
July 3, 2008
Because my Grandma Beatrice told me of her own near-death experience (NDE) just months before her actual passing when I was 9 years old, I have always been interested in NDEs and the afterlife. This book recounts a not-so-typical NDE--an atheist's descent into hell and his subsequent theological and philosophical life changes when he is given a second chance at life. It was riveting, thought-provoking...I couldn't put it down.
February 5, 2009
A surprising 4 stars. As an initial skeptic, I got so much out of the author's religious journey and his religious epiphany. His commentary on his near death experience was so powerful and answered so many lingering questions and did so in a straightforward manner. For anyone that struggles with their faith, this is a must read.
June 14, 2009
After reading this book I decided that when I die if people I don't know start calling my name and telling me to go with them I'm running the other way!
This book was one of the best near death experience books I have ever read! I'm so glad that he didn't stay in hell! The fact that he went to hell is terrifying, but then we are given hope when he is taken into heaven.
This book was one of the best near death experience books I have ever read! I'm so glad that he didn't stay in hell! The fact that he went to hell is terrifying, but then we are given hope when he is taken into heaven.
October 10, 2018
This book changed my life. Literally. Wow. For so long I have been stuck in a religious rut of Christianity. Nothing wrong with Christianity; but I learned that God loves us no matter what religion. In his words, “religions are a vehicle to take you to a destination. The purpose of religion is to help you have a personal relationship with God.” Just....wow
October 15, 2012
I have been fascinated by Howard Storm and his experience for around a year and so I finally got round to buying this book.
Howard is an immediately likable guy who does indeed seem to have had a life changing Near Death Experience that he wants to pass on to people from the best of motives. Howard's experience is consistent with what many people report particularly with regard to the descriptions of Eight foot tall light beings and the process of a "life review" which is remarkably similar to the work of Delores Cannon. Howard has said many times that he spent what seemed like years in the company of these Light Beings so it was with eager anticipation that I wanted to find out more about what they actually said to Howard and what they showed to him...
Unfortunately though this book has left me personally dissatisfied and if I'm honest feeling a little angry and mislead. At best I found what he is saying to be obscure and unclear but most of the time is contradictory and confusing. The actual details of the Near Death experience itself are kept to a bare minimum with the majority of the contents in this book being essentially a hard sell for fundamentalist christianity.
Yes, this book is very, VERY preachy. INCREDIBLY preachy in fact. Far from being an account of his experience and insight into the world beyond physical death it left me with the distinct feeling of being bashed over the head with a very heavy bible........and bashed, and bashed and bashed.
Indeed, it seems that Howard has deliberately held back on the details of his experience in order to force it into the very narrow box of fundamentalist christianity which is very off putting for people who are genuinely searching for spirituality and meaning in their lives.
He states that what is most important to God is love and compassion NOT any One particular religion over another but then proceeds to ram fundamentalist christianity down our throats in a heavy handed way, this caused me to almost give up at the half way point.
To add to the confusion he makes the comment that all religions are inspired from the same source and ultimately lead to God in equal measure and then immediately follows it up with page after page after page of how superior and unique the bible is without so much as a mention of other beliefs and why he thinks they are inferior to the bible.
Personally speaking I find few things more cringe inducing than when christian apolagists try to force meaning from the brutality, the twisted morality and the needless suffering of the innocent contained in the pages of the bible and say it is really about love - cruely is cruelty and it can never be seen in any other way.
Adding further still to the confusion he lays down the principle of fundamentalist christianities "Salvation through faith Jesus Christ" very heavily but then says that everyone is brought closer to God through a process of reincarnation on other planets as human or other life forms.
In conclusion I would recommend this book to anyone who has no previous knowledge of Howard or his Near Death Experience but if you are looking for a greater understanding of the experience itself then it is not here.
What we have here is an annoying attempt to make by force a truly mystical and life changing experience fit into the mould of what I find to be one of the most deceitful, bigoted and dangerous religions of all time, that being fundamentalist christianity.
He also quotes bible verse after bible verse from the New Testiment seeming not to realise that so much of it was never actually in the Greek manuscripts (or the Aramaic oral tradition from where it came) but was rather very much a constructed religion for political reasons that borrowed bits and pieces from the popular belief systems of the time.
On the plus side even though there is very little of what he actually heard and saw in "The Afterlife" the account of his Near Death Experience itself is compelling and fascinating with the underlying principle and message being that love and compassion are all that is required of us by God, no more no less.
I realise that these words might be somewhat harsh to the eyes of some so please consider the context in which they were written. People who buy this book because of a genuine interest in what he saw and heard will probably be dissapointed at what is actually in these pages.
Howard often talks about life on other planets and even alternate dimentions which is why people have taken such an interest in his story. This book contains almost none of this and instead for the most part is another "ram christisnity down our throat" book of which there are thousands.
Sorry Howard but this is not what we bought it for and I hope that you will consider expanding on the actual details of the experience you had in the near future. Thank you for reading.
Howard is an immediately likable guy who does indeed seem to have had a life changing Near Death Experience that he wants to pass on to people from the best of motives. Howard's experience is consistent with what many people report particularly with regard to the descriptions of Eight foot tall light beings and the process of a "life review" which is remarkably similar to the work of Delores Cannon. Howard has said many times that he spent what seemed like years in the company of these Light Beings so it was with eager anticipation that I wanted to find out more about what they actually said to Howard and what they showed to him...
Unfortunately though this book has left me personally dissatisfied and if I'm honest feeling a little angry and mislead. At best I found what he is saying to be obscure and unclear but most of the time is contradictory and confusing. The actual details of the Near Death experience itself are kept to a bare minimum with the majority of the contents in this book being essentially a hard sell for fundamentalist christianity.
Yes, this book is very, VERY preachy. INCREDIBLY preachy in fact. Far from being an account of his experience and insight into the world beyond physical death it left me with the distinct feeling of being bashed over the head with a very heavy bible........and bashed, and bashed and bashed.
Indeed, it seems that Howard has deliberately held back on the details of his experience in order to force it into the very narrow box of fundamentalist christianity which is very off putting for people who are genuinely searching for spirituality and meaning in their lives.
He states that what is most important to God is love and compassion NOT any One particular religion over another but then proceeds to ram fundamentalist christianity down our throats in a heavy handed way, this caused me to almost give up at the half way point.
To add to the confusion he makes the comment that all religions are inspired from the same source and ultimately lead to God in equal measure and then immediately follows it up with page after page after page of how superior and unique the bible is without so much as a mention of other beliefs and why he thinks they are inferior to the bible.
Personally speaking I find few things more cringe inducing than when christian apolagists try to force meaning from the brutality, the twisted morality and the needless suffering of the innocent contained in the pages of the bible and say it is really about love - cruely is cruelty and it can never be seen in any other way.
Adding further still to the confusion he lays down the principle of fundamentalist christianities "Salvation through faith Jesus Christ" very heavily but then says that everyone is brought closer to God through a process of reincarnation on other planets as human or other life forms.
In conclusion I would recommend this book to anyone who has no previous knowledge of Howard or his Near Death Experience but if you are looking for a greater understanding of the experience itself then it is not here.
What we have here is an annoying attempt to make by force a truly mystical and life changing experience fit into the mould of what I find to be one of the most deceitful, bigoted and dangerous religions of all time, that being fundamentalist christianity.
He also quotes bible verse after bible verse from the New Testiment seeming not to realise that so much of it was never actually in the Greek manuscripts (or the Aramaic oral tradition from where it came) but was rather very much a constructed religion for political reasons that borrowed bits and pieces from the popular belief systems of the time.
On the plus side even though there is very little of what he actually heard and saw in "The Afterlife" the account of his Near Death Experience itself is compelling and fascinating with the underlying principle and message being that love and compassion are all that is required of us by God, no more no less.
I realise that these words might be somewhat harsh to the eyes of some so please consider the context in which they were written. People who buy this book because of a genuine interest in what he saw and heard will probably be dissapointed at what is actually in these pages.
Howard often talks about life on other planets and even alternate dimentions which is why people have taken such an interest in his story. This book contains almost none of this and instead for the most part is another "ram christisnity down our throat" book of which there are thousands.
Sorry Howard but this is not what we bought it for and I hope that you will consider expanding on the actual details of the experience you had in the near future. Thank you for reading.
April 3, 2015
I found this to be an excellent book about life after death and the lessons the author returned with. Particularly, of course, it was interesting because he went to Hell, whereas most of those having a near-death-experience report on having gone to Heaven. (And Howard did go there, subsequently.)
Howard suddenly developed acute pains in his stomach when holidaying in Paris. He had perforated his duodenum and needed an immediate operation, but time passed in hospital and the doctors didn´t do anything.
Then Howard found himself standing outside his body. Everything felt very real. He thought it must be a wax replica of his body that he was looking at (the only feasible explanation, he thought).
Then some people kept pressing him to follow them off into a fog. They said his troubles would end if he followed them, so he did. Eventually they began to push and shove him about. There were hundreds of people attacking him and they began to tear off pieces of his flesh. They were “a mob of beings totally driven by unbridled cruelty”. He became torn apart and lay in darkness.
A voice then told him to pray to God. Howard had never prayed and didn´t believe in God. But he began to pray and noticed that doing so made the cruel beings back away. He had previously had much anger inside him, and when he got angry he raged and destroyed things. He didn´t believe in life after death. He believed that death was the end of one´s existence, just darkness. Now he was in that darkness, “beyond life, and it was Hell”.
He yelled “Jesus, save me”. He saw a pinpoint of light moving towards him, a light more intense and more beautiful than anything he had ever seen. It was a living being, a luminous being. He was lifted up into the light and his body was miraculously healed; the despair and pain were replaced by love. This being was “Christ Jesus the Saviour”. Howard experienced love in such intensity that it compared to nothing he had ever known before.
He met the saints and angels, and he asked them lots of questions and received answers, He wanted to continue to Heaven, but was told he had to return to the world.
The book includes a chapter about what Howard was told about the past and future, one about his life review, one about the angels and one with answers to specific questions.
He saw that in the future all people will be able to communicate telepathically and have relationships with intelligent beings in other worlds. In two hundred years people will live in simplicity and harmony with no want. There will be no conflict.
Apparently, Jesus´ influence and activities are not confined to this world, since he said that he had been to “every world in every time and space”. Though I have much respect for the Christ as a high being, there are other high beings too, but according to Howard´s experience, as I understood it, at least, Christ is above all others, in fact at times it seemed to me he regards Christ and God as one and the same (which I do not).
At first I was going to award the book only four stars, because, among other things, I found it a bit too “churchy”, but when looking through it again for purposes of writing this review, I realized it absolutely deserved five stars. In my view, it contains much valuable information.
I highly recommend everyone to read this enlightening work. You will learn much, particularly if you are a “non-believer”.
Howard suddenly developed acute pains in his stomach when holidaying in Paris. He had perforated his duodenum and needed an immediate operation, but time passed in hospital and the doctors didn´t do anything.
Then Howard found himself standing outside his body. Everything felt very real. He thought it must be a wax replica of his body that he was looking at (the only feasible explanation, he thought).
Then some people kept pressing him to follow them off into a fog. They said his troubles would end if he followed them, so he did. Eventually they began to push and shove him about. There were hundreds of people attacking him and they began to tear off pieces of his flesh. They were “a mob of beings totally driven by unbridled cruelty”. He became torn apart and lay in darkness.
A voice then told him to pray to God. Howard had never prayed and didn´t believe in God. But he began to pray and noticed that doing so made the cruel beings back away. He had previously had much anger inside him, and when he got angry he raged and destroyed things. He didn´t believe in life after death. He believed that death was the end of one´s existence, just darkness. Now he was in that darkness, “beyond life, and it was Hell”.
He yelled “Jesus, save me”. He saw a pinpoint of light moving towards him, a light more intense and more beautiful than anything he had ever seen. It was a living being, a luminous being. He was lifted up into the light and his body was miraculously healed; the despair and pain were replaced by love. This being was “Christ Jesus the Saviour”. Howard experienced love in such intensity that it compared to nothing he had ever known before.
He met the saints and angels, and he asked them lots of questions and received answers, He wanted to continue to Heaven, but was told he had to return to the world.
The book includes a chapter about what Howard was told about the past and future, one about his life review, one about the angels and one with answers to specific questions.
He saw that in the future all people will be able to communicate telepathically and have relationships with intelligent beings in other worlds. In two hundred years people will live in simplicity and harmony with no want. There will be no conflict.
Apparently, Jesus´ influence and activities are not confined to this world, since he said that he had been to “every world in every time and space”. Though I have much respect for the Christ as a high being, there are other high beings too, but according to Howard´s experience, as I understood it, at least, Christ is above all others, in fact at times it seemed to me he regards Christ and God as one and the same (which I do not).
At first I was going to award the book only four stars, because, among other things, I found it a bit too “churchy”, but when looking through it again for purposes of writing this review, I realized it absolutely deserved five stars. In my view, it contains much valuable information.
I highly recommend everyone to read this enlightening work. You will learn much, particularly if you are a “non-believer”.
October 18, 2014
I DO belive he had the experience and he describe it well, there are many good things and accounts in it but around chapters 7 and 8 he toatlly becomes a preacher and starts preaching what apparently he learned in seminary school, becomes very polarized, you are going to heaven or hell, no middle ground. You dont accept God's love? Hell. You doubt God? Hell. Dont want to accept Jesus? Hell. Later he becomes more moderate, but I will not recomend this book to non-christians or to someone that is starting in this topic or recently lost someone because it will make you afraid that maybe your love one went to hell. I will first reccomend the NDE books of Mary C. Neal, Anita Moorjani, Dr. Eden Alexandre and Dr. Raymond Moody. Nevertheless I enjoyed the book.
March 3, 2020
I read this account by Howard Storm many years ago. Since then I have read perhaps thousands of near death accounts. While many of these accounts are not very complete and have only a brief glimpse of how the soul continues on after death, Howard's was a very in depth experience.
Basically he suffered a health emergency while in France and was not attended to in time. His stomach had ruptured and the acids of his stomach started digesting his internal organs, yet no surgeon showed up. No one from the ER followed up on him and he was basically forgotten in the hospital.
Howard passed on after hours of fighting to stay alive. He was an atheist and not a very nice person. Howard experienced going down into the pit, the one spoken of many times in the Holy Bible. He was cruelly tormented by the creatures in the pit. Basically, Howard went to the place that spiritually matched his inner self.
There are quite a few people who experience hell in their near death episodes, yet there is a significant number of people who ignore these accounts and say there is no hell or explain it away as temporary. I wonder how many more accounts are out there, but people will not talk about them due to shame or the trauma of what they experienced.
All the people who talk about dying and going to the pit say that the overwhelming feeling in the pit is one of eternity and the absolute justness of their presence there. They lose all hope. There is no escape. Demons are real and they hate humanity, which was created by God with his image. These souls understand that whatever their beliefs were before, they no longer matter in the face of the absolute Truth. God is real. They know the pit was not created for human souls, but for a special class of spiritual beings who have given themselves over to evil, cruelty, lies, and destruction. Yet they end up there far, far away from God.
Also recounted by these nde experiencers is that there is no more repentance after death, your spiritual state is fixed and there is no more contact with anyone outside this place. This has been maintained by the Orthodox church for centuries, and is why we pray for the departed, they can no longer help themselves.
Fortunately, Howard was given a second chance to improve himself and has done so for many years now.
Not so fortunately, Anne Rice, who wrote the forward to this book, returned to the faith, but then fell away after a series of encounters with fellow Roman Catholics in an Amazon Christianity forum which was an atheist hang out where they could bait people professing the Christian faith. Fighting on the internet about religion is really pointless and can do more damage than good. I actually watched her fall away during those years as I would sometimes read there. It was truly saddening to see how horrible people can be to each other.
Howard's account reminds me of one of the six Morning Psalms that are part of a regular rule of prayer:
While Christians follow Christ and understand that God does not have human temporal emotions like "wrath" we can very much experience that feeling when God turns his face from us according to our free will desire.
Fortunately God heard Howard's cries from the pit and yet another Morning Psalm perfectly describes what transpired:
Basically he suffered a health emergency while in France and was not attended to in time. His stomach had ruptured and the acids of his stomach started digesting his internal organs, yet no surgeon showed up. No one from the ER followed up on him and he was basically forgotten in the hospital.
Howard passed on after hours of fighting to stay alive. He was an atheist and not a very nice person. Howard experienced going down into the pit, the one spoken of many times in the Holy Bible. He was cruelly tormented by the creatures in the pit. Basically, Howard went to the place that spiritually matched his inner self.
There are quite a few people who experience hell in their near death episodes, yet there is a significant number of people who ignore these accounts and say there is no hell or explain it away as temporary. I wonder how many more accounts are out there, but people will not talk about them due to shame or the trauma of what they experienced.
All the people who talk about dying and going to the pit say that the overwhelming feeling in the pit is one of eternity and the absolute justness of their presence there. They lose all hope. There is no escape. Demons are real and they hate humanity, which was created by God with his image. These souls understand that whatever their beliefs were before, they no longer matter in the face of the absolute Truth. God is real. They know the pit was not created for human souls, but for a special class of spiritual beings who have given themselves over to evil, cruelty, lies, and destruction. Yet they end up there far, far away from God.
Also recounted by these nde experiencers is that there is no more repentance after death, your spiritual state is fixed and there is no more contact with anyone outside this place. This has been maintained by the Orthodox church for centuries, and is why we pray for the departed, they can no longer help themselves.
Fortunately, Howard was given a second chance to improve himself and has done so for many years now.
Not so fortunately, Anne Rice, who wrote the forward to this book, returned to the faith, but then fell away after a series of encounters with fellow Roman Catholics in an Amazon Christianity forum which was an atheist hang out where they could bait people professing the Christian faith. Fighting on the internet about religion is really pointless and can do more damage than good. I actually watched her fall away during those years as I would sometimes read there. It was truly saddening to see how horrible people can be to each other.
Howard's account reminds me of one of the six Morning Psalms that are part of a regular rule of prayer:
While Christians follow Christ and understand that God does not have human temporal emotions like "wrath" we can very much experience that feeling when God turns his face from us according to our free will desire.
O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried by day and in the night before you.
Let my prayer come in before you; incline your ear to my supplication O Lord.
For my soul is filled with troubles and my life has drawn near to hades.
I have been counted with those who go down into the pit; I became as a man without help.;
Free among the dead, as the slain ones cast out, who sleep in the tomb; whom you remember no more; and they are rejected from your hand.
They laid me in the lowest pit, in dark places and in the shadow of death.
Your wrath has pressed heavily upon me and you have engulfed me with all your smoke.
You have removed my acquaintances far from me; they have made me an abomination to themselves; I have been delivered up and have not gone forth.
My eyes are dimmed from poverty; but I cried to you, O Lord, all the day; I spread forth my hands to you.
Will you work wonders for the dead? Or shall physicians raise them up, so they may praise you?
Shall anyone declare your mercy in the tomb? And your truth in destruction?
Shall your wonders be known in darkness? And your righteousness in a forgotten land?
But I cried to you, O Lord, and in the morning shall my prayer be presented to you.
Why then O Lord to you reject my prayer and turn your face away from me?
I am poor and in troubles from my youth; and having been exalted I was brought low and into despair.
Your wrath has passed over me; and your terrors have greatly distressed me.
They surrounded me like water; all the day they beset me together.
You have put far from me every friend and my acquaintances because of my wretchedness.
Psalm 87 LXX
Fortunately God heard Howard's cries from the pit and yet another Morning Psalm perfectly describes what transpired:
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his praises.
Who forgives all your transgressions, who heals all your diseases;
Who redeems your life from corruption; who crowns you with mercy and compassion.
Who satisfies your desire with good things: so that your youth shall be renewed like that of the eagle.
The Lord executes mercy and judgment for all that are injured.
He made known his ways to Moses, his will to the children of Israel.
The Lord is compassionate and merciful, longsuffering and full of mercy.
He will not always be angry, neither will he be wrathful forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor repaid us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so has the Lord increased his mercy toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children, the Lord pities those who fear him.
For he knows our frame, remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field so shall he flourish.
For the wind passes over it and it shall not be, it shall know its place no more.
But the mercy of the Lord is from generation to generation up those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children;
To those who keep his covenant and remember his commandments to do them, the Lord has prepared his throne in the heaven; and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the Lord, all you his angels, mighty in strength, who perform his bidding, ready to hearken to the voice of his words.
Bless the Lord, all you his hosts; his ministers that do his will.
Bless the Lord, all his works, in every place of his dominion, bless the Lord, O my soul!
Psalm 102 LXX
August 19, 2020
Really amazing story of an atheist who meets Jesus! I think this would be a great book for a seeker; it clearly lays out the gospel in a digestible and relatable way.
January 23, 2025
This is a NDE account like nothing I've ever read. Some of the author's theology, however, is questionable.
February 17, 2024
I have some questions and concerns.
June 17, 2024
HOW A NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE LED AN ATHEIST TO THE MINISTRY
Howard Storm was a professor of Art at Northern Kentucky University for twenty years. He was ordained in 1992, and has since served as minister in two United Church of Christ parishes.
He wrote in the first chapter of this 2005 book that, as he lay in a Paris hospital room, “Saying to myself, ‘Let it end now,’ I closed my eyes… The idea of any kind of life after death never entered my mind because I didn’t believe in that kind of thing. I knew for certain that there was no such thing as life after death. Only simpleminded people believed in that sort of thing. I didn’t believe in God, or heaven, or hell, or any other fairy tales. I drifted into darkness, a sleep into annihilation.” (Pg. 9)
He continues, “I was standing up… ‘Could this be a dream?’ I kept thinking… But I knew that it wasn’t… I felt more alert, more aware, and more alive than I had ever felt in my entire life…. There was an object in the bed under the sheet… No, it wasn’t me lying in the bed, it was just a thing that didn’t have any importance to me… I heard voices calling me… ‘Come out here,’ they said. ‘… We’ve been waiting for you for a long time.’ … I stepped out into the hall, full of anxiety… I followed them, shuffling along in my bare feet… Every time I hesitated, they demanded that I keep up… They became increasingly angry and sarcastic… What was increasingly clear to me was that they were deceiving me.” (Pg. 10-15)
He goes on, “Now I was being forced by a mob of unfeeling people toward some unknown destination in the encroaching darkness… A terrible sense of dread was growing within me… When I looked around I was horrified to discover that we were in complete darkness. The hopelessness of my situation overwhelmed me… I told them …that they were liars… they began to push and shove me about. I began to fight back… They began to tear off pieces of my flesh… These creatures were once human beings… They had very long, sharp fingernails…” (Pg. 16-17)
He adds, “a voice emerged from my chest… The voice… said, ‘Pray to God.’ … Pray how? … I hadn’t prayed at any time in my entire adult life… I tried to remember prayers from my childhood experiences in Sunday school… Tentatively, I murmured a few lines… TO my amazement, the cruel, merciless beings tearing the life out of me were incited to rage by my ragged prayer… they retreated back into the distant gloom… I was alone, destroyed, and yet painfully aware in this revoltingly horrible place.” (Pg. 19-20)
He says, “It dawned on me that I was not unlike these miserable creatures that had tormented me. Failing truly to love, they had been led into the outer darkness where their only desire was to inflict their inner torment onto another… These debased people … had missed the most important thing of all, and now were reaping what they had sown… I didn’t believe in a life after death. When you died… [it was] just darkness. Now I was in that darkness, beyond life, and it was hell… and it was more horrible than anything I could possibly have imagined… I wasn’t far from becoming like one of my own tormenters for all eternity.” (Pg. 22-23)
Then, “I desperately needed someone to love me… A ray of hope began to dawn in me… For the first time in my adult life I wanted it to be true that Jesus loved me… I yelled out into the darkness, ‘Jesus, save me.’ … I have never meant anything more strongly in my life. Far off in the darkness I saw a pinpoint of light… This was a living being, a luminous being approximately eight feet tall… All my wounds vanished and I became whole and well … the despair and pain were replaced by love. I had been lost and now was found.” (Pg. 24-25) He goes on, “I experienced love in such intensity that nothing I had ever known before was comparable... Jesus indeed DID love me… Simply, I knew that God loved me, that God loved creation, that God is love… I began to be aware of my separate self, and I became very ashamed and afraid. How many times in my life had I denied and scoffed at the reality before me?.. I was terribly ashamed to go closer.” (Pg. 26-27) He adds, “Then Jesus called out … to some of the luminous entities radiating from the great center… These were the saints and angels. They knew everything I was thinking… I was both embarrassed and relieved.” (Pg. 28)
The angels conducted a ‘life review’ for him: “They showed me how God had given us the opportunity to learn love by having children and raiding them to be loving… I had to turn away numerous times when I saw myself treating my children in unloving ways… The emotional abandonment of my children was devastating to review. It was horrifying to see how I had become so much like my father, putting status and success above everything else.” (Pg. 34-35)
He explains, “In my conversation with Jesus and the angels, they told me about God… and they told me this: God knows everything that will happen… God doesn’t control or dictate the outcome of every event, which would be a violation of God’s creation. This is because every … living creature has its own will that must be expressed… Whether we humans understand why things happen or appreciate how things happen is unimportant because we are not in control of creation… God has given humans a divine image and likeness in order to comprehend our role in the divine plan… The Supreme Being sees our right decisions and enjoys the knowledge that we have taken another step closer to God… God wants an end to war, killing, violence, and dominance now. God wanted an end to war thousands of years ago… God wants you to understand the reasons for your differences and to resolve your problems with love and support for one another.” (Pg. 38-40)
He continues, “Our purpose is to know and do God’s will in this life, and we do this when we love one another as God loves us. Every person without exception needs to be loved by us. This is the most difficult and important lesson of our life… We have failed to learn this fundamental lesson that God has been teaching us from most religious traditions since the beginning of human consciousness. Every religion began with revelations of God, and in time we perverted these revelations and created religious traditions to serve our worst instincts… When we pervert God’s will by constructing religious traditions that demean other people… This grieves God beyond anything else that we do. This is the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit.” (Pg. 41-42)
He recounts, “The future that I was being shown was completely different from what I expected. People lived in extreme simplicity and harmony. There was no want. Everyone was happy. There was no want. There was no conflict. I asked, ‘When will this come about?’ They said, ‘In two hundred years… This is the future that God wants for humanity, and it will happen… ‘How will it happen?’ I asked. They answered, ‘God is changing the world now. God wants worldwide conversion… Those who accept God’s will shall flourish, and those who deny God’s love shall perish.” (Pg. 46-47)
He asserts, “When a loving person dies, God sends angels to escort them on their journey to heaven… They will take you from the reality of this physical universe and transport you to a new reality … Each person is escorted toward heaven according to his or her life, culture, and spiritual level…. A person devoid of the love of God cannot be welcomed into the journey to heaven. They are left on their own. They are not alone in life after death. They have kindred spirits… who are waiting for them… For every individual there is a unique journey into the abyss… On this journey a person embarks on an unending life without God. Hell is separation from God… God respects our freedom to choose. For some people this may culminate in the ultimate annihilation of their being, if … they still do not seek their way back to God. For others there is the possibility of salvation. In the Christian tradition, Jesus Christ journeyed into the depths of hell and saved lost souls…. But the terrible truth is that … Many desire annihilation as relief from the torment of hell.” (Pg. 51-53) Later, he adds, “Why would anyone choose hell?... The answer is, because we can. God gave us the godlike ability to create and destroy.” (Pg. 63)
In the Question and Answer section, he states, “There is no such thing as atheism. It is impossible to believe in nothing. God is the source of everything. So to say that you don’t believe in God is just foolishness.” (Pg. 73-74)
He recalls, “After my experience, I quit drinking. The primary reason was I was happy and knew that alcohol would rob me of my happiness… My experience … removed the need to drink. What kind of hallucination heals the soul?... If my experience was a hallucination, and I shared the same beliefs with a billion living Christians and billions who had lived and believed before our time, then we all had the same hallucination. So be it.” (Pg. 103) Later, he adds, “Another reason I trusted the validity of my Near-Death experience is the numerous encounters with supernatural beings in my years since. I have mentioned a few of these visitations in other chapters. Their timely help has kept me on the right path and safe from harm.” (Pg. 105)
He acknowledges, “before I was able to drive again… I asked my wife to take me to a bookstore… I bought the Bhagavad Gita, The Way of the Tao, the Buddhist Bible, the Koran, and a concordance to the Bible. I had been reading the Bible exclusively and I had to be certain that I wasn’t missing something. So I read the primary sources of other world religions. Even though I found inspired writing in all of these sources, they did not speak to me like the Bible did. When I read the bible … prayerfully… it was like having a conversation with God.” (Pg. 109)
He concludes, “Telling my story if part of a global spiritual revolution… The signs of the times are everywhere around us… The enthusiasm for direct experience of God’s spirit is changing the style of worship across America and the world. Traditions of passive participation in worship are dying… Many religious leaders are expressing tolerance and respect for differing religions… Near-Death Experiences are one small component in the great transformation taking place in the world today… The message is how much God loves us and cares about us… I give you my story in the hope that you will find or more fully appreciate where God is in your story… God wants us to come home.” (Pg. 128-129)
This book will be of keen interest to those (particularly Christians, from ‘mainline’ backgrounds) studying Near-Death Experiences.
Howard Storm was a professor of Art at Northern Kentucky University for twenty years. He was ordained in 1992, and has since served as minister in two United Church of Christ parishes.
He wrote in the first chapter of this 2005 book that, as he lay in a Paris hospital room, “Saying to myself, ‘Let it end now,’ I closed my eyes… The idea of any kind of life after death never entered my mind because I didn’t believe in that kind of thing. I knew for certain that there was no such thing as life after death. Only simpleminded people believed in that sort of thing. I didn’t believe in God, or heaven, or hell, or any other fairy tales. I drifted into darkness, a sleep into annihilation.” (Pg. 9)
He continues, “I was standing up… ‘Could this be a dream?’ I kept thinking… But I knew that it wasn’t… I felt more alert, more aware, and more alive than I had ever felt in my entire life…. There was an object in the bed under the sheet… No, it wasn’t me lying in the bed, it was just a thing that didn’t have any importance to me… I heard voices calling me… ‘Come out here,’ they said. ‘… We’ve been waiting for you for a long time.’ … I stepped out into the hall, full of anxiety… I followed them, shuffling along in my bare feet… Every time I hesitated, they demanded that I keep up… They became increasingly angry and sarcastic… What was increasingly clear to me was that they were deceiving me.” (Pg. 10-15)
He goes on, “Now I was being forced by a mob of unfeeling people toward some unknown destination in the encroaching darkness… A terrible sense of dread was growing within me… When I looked around I was horrified to discover that we were in complete darkness. The hopelessness of my situation overwhelmed me… I told them …that they were liars… they began to push and shove me about. I began to fight back… They began to tear off pieces of my flesh… These creatures were once human beings… They had very long, sharp fingernails…” (Pg. 16-17)
He adds, “a voice emerged from my chest… The voice… said, ‘Pray to God.’ … Pray how? … I hadn’t prayed at any time in my entire adult life… I tried to remember prayers from my childhood experiences in Sunday school… Tentatively, I murmured a few lines… TO my amazement, the cruel, merciless beings tearing the life out of me were incited to rage by my ragged prayer… they retreated back into the distant gloom… I was alone, destroyed, and yet painfully aware in this revoltingly horrible place.” (Pg. 19-20)
He says, “It dawned on me that I was not unlike these miserable creatures that had tormented me. Failing truly to love, they had been led into the outer darkness where their only desire was to inflict their inner torment onto another… These debased people … had missed the most important thing of all, and now were reaping what they had sown… I didn’t believe in a life after death. When you died… [it was] just darkness. Now I was in that darkness, beyond life, and it was hell… and it was more horrible than anything I could possibly have imagined… I wasn’t far from becoming like one of my own tormenters for all eternity.” (Pg. 22-23)
Then, “I desperately needed someone to love me… A ray of hope began to dawn in me… For the first time in my adult life I wanted it to be true that Jesus loved me… I yelled out into the darkness, ‘Jesus, save me.’ … I have never meant anything more strongly in my life. Far off in the darkness I saw a pinpoint of light… This was a living being, a luminous being approximately eight feet tall… All my wounds vanished and I became whole and well … the despair and pain were replaced by love. I had been lost and now was found.” (Pg. 24-25) He goes on, “I experienced love in such intensity that nothing I had ever known before was comparable... Jesus indeed DID love me… Simply, I knew that God loved me, that God loved creation, that God is love… I began to be aware of my separate self, and I became very ashamed and afraid. How many times in my life had I denied and scoffed at the reality before me?.. I was terribly ashamed to go closer.” (Pg. 26-27) He adds, “Then Jesus called out … to some of the luminous entities radiating from the great center… These were the saints and angels. They knew everything I was thinking… I was both embarrassed and relieved.” (Pg. 28)
The angels conducted a ‘life review’ for him: “They showed me how God had given us the opportunity to learn love by having children and raiding them to be loving… I had to turn away numerous times when I saw myself treating my children in unloving ways… The emotional abandonment of my children was devastating to review. It was horrifying to see how I had become so much like my father, putting status and success above everything else.” (Pg. 34-35)
He explains, “In my conversation with Jesus and the angels, they told me about God… and they told me this: God knows everything that will happen… God doesn’t control or dictate the outcome of every event, which would be a violation of God’s creation. This is because every … living creature has its own will that must be expressed… Whether we humans understand why things happen or appreciate how things happen is unimportant because we are not in control of creation… God has given humans a divine image and likeness in order to comprehend our role in the divine plan… The Supreme Being sees our right decisions and enjoys the knowledge that we have taken another step closer to God… God wants an end to war, killing, violence, and dominance now. God wanted an end to war thousands of years ago… God wants you to understand the reasons for your differences and to resolve your problems with love and support for one another.” (Pg. 38-40)
He continues, “Our purpose is to know and do God’s will in this life, and we do this when we love one another as God loves us. Every person without exception needs to be loved by us. This is the most difficult and important lesson of our life… We have failed to learn this fundamental lesson that God has been teaching us from most religious traditions since the beginning of human consciousness. Every religion began with revelations of God, and in time we perverted these revelations and created religious traditions to serve our worst instincts… When we pervert God’s will by constructing religious traditions that demean other people… This grieves God beyond anything else that we do. This is the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit.” (Pg. 41-42)
He recounts, “The future that I was being shown was completely different from what I expected. People lived in extreme simplicity and harmony. There was no want. Everyone was happy. There was no want. There was no conflict. I asked, ‘When will this come about?’ They said, ‘In two hundred years… This is the future that God wants for humanity, and it will happen… ‘How will it happen?’ I asked. They answered, ‘God is changing the world now. God wants worldwide conversion… Those who accept God’s will shall flourish, and those who deny God’s love shall perish.” (Pg. 46-47)
He asserts, “When a loving person dies, God sends angels to escort them on their journey to heaven… They will take you from the reality of this physical universe and transport you to a new reality … Each person is escorted toward heaven according to his or her life, culture, and spiritual level…. A person devoid of the love of God cannot be welcomed into the journey to heaven. They are left on their own. They are not alone in life after death. They have kindred spirits… who are waiting for them… For every individual there is a unique journey into the abyss… On this journey a person embarks on an unending life without God. Hell is separation from God… God respects our freedom to choose. For some people this may culminate in the ultimate annihilation of their being, if … they still do not seek their way back to God. For others there is the possibility of salvation. In the Christian tradition, Jesus Christ journeyed into the depths of hell and saved lost souls…. But the terrible truth is that … Many desire annihilation as relief from the torment of hell.” (Pg. 51-53) Later, he adds, “Why would anyone choose hell?... The answer is, because we can. God gave us the godlike ability to create and destroy.” (Pg. 63)
In the Question and Answer section, he states, “There is no such thing as atheism. It is impossible to believe in nothing. God is the source of everything. So to say that you don’t believe in God is just foolishness.” (Pg. 73-74)
He recalls, “After my experience, I quit drinking. The primary reason was I was happy and knew that alcohol would rob me of my happiness… My experience … removed the need to drink. What kind of hallucination heals the soul?... If my experience was a hallucination, and I shared the same beliefs with a billion living Christians and billions who had lived and believed before our time, then we all had the same hallucination. So be it.” (Pg. 103) Later, he adds, “Another reason I trusted the validity of my Near-Death experience is the numerous encounters with supernatural beings in my years since. I have mentioned a few of these visitations in other chapters. Their timely help has kept me on the right path and safe from harm.” (Pg. 105)
He acknowledges, “before I was able to drive again… I asked my wife to take me to a bookstore… I bought the Bhagavad Gita, The Way of the Tao, the Buddhist Bible, the Koran, and a concordance to the Bible. I had been reading the Bible exclusively and I had to be certain that I wasn’t missing something. So I read the primary sources of other world religions. Even though I found inspired writing in all of these sources, they did not speak to me like the Bible did. When I read the bible … prayerfully… it was like having a conversation with God.” (Pg. 109)
He concludes, “Telling my story if part of a global spiritual revolution… The signs of the times are everywhere around us… The enthusiasm for direct experience of God’s spirit is changing the style of worship across America and the world. Traditions of passive participation in worship are dying… Many religious leaders are expressing tolerance and respect for differing religions… Near-Death Experiences are one small component in the great transformation taking place in the world today… The message is how much God loves us and cares about us… I give you my story in the hope that you will find or more fully appreciate where God is in your story… God wants us to come home.” (Pg. 128-129)
This book will be of keen interest to those (particularly Christians, from ‘mainline’ backgrounds) studying Near-Death Experiences.
November 8, 2019
quick read, and interesting but after I researched the author and saw him speak on youtube, my thoughts of him being crazy were confirmed. Most of the book talks about his near-death experience when he was waiting in a hospital bed to have surgery after an unexpected injury.
I became interested in this author because a friend recommended it to me and told me that Howard Storm was an atheist but then turned into a Christian after this experience. I was under the impression that this man had no knowledge of Jesus or God and then discovered him when he had this near death experience.
This was not true, he was raised as a Christian, and then rejected the faith and told people he was an atheist and also suffered from alcoholism. I do not discredit the author in saying that he is lying, but I think that what happened could have been an effect of the medications and anesthesia he was on when he had this experience.
During parts of the book, I remember thinking, "ok, this guy is on some serious sh*t". The way he wrote and talked about Jesus's love was like listening to someone who just took a heavy dose of molly describe how amazing the world is. Or listening to someone tell you how awesome their acid trip was. Maybe the Dr.s in Paris give their patients LCD to calm them down? I dont know.
He talks about seeing and hearing angels during his hospital stay and says that he continues to hear angels talk to him. Wouldn't this be considered Schizophrenic? Or maybe its not because the voices apparently do not tell him to do anything of harm.
Whether this man is mentally ill or on drugs doesn't really matter. What he experienced was real to him and I think that he can call it whatever he wants but I cant help to feel a bit skeptic. Overall it is a decent book if you are interested in learning about the paranormal/supernatural.
I became interested in this author because a friend recommended it to me and told me that Howard Storm was an atheist but then turned into a Christian after this experience. I was under the impression that this man had no knowledge of Jesus or God and then discovered him when he had this near death experience.
This was not true, he was raised as a Christian, and then rejected the faith and told people he was an atheist and also suffered from alcoholism. I do not discredit the author in saying that he is lying, but I think that what happened could have been an effect of the medications and anesthesia he was on when he had this experience.
During parts of the book, I remember thinking, "ok, this guy is on some serious sh*t". The way he wrote and talked about Jesus's love was like listening to someone who just took a heavy dose of molly describe how amazing the world is. Or listening to someone tell you how awesome their acid trip was. Maybe the Dr.s in Paris give their patients LCD to calm them down? I dont know.
He talks about seeing and hearing angels during his hospital stay and says that he continues to hear angels talk to him. Wouldn't this be considered Schizophrenic? Or maybe its not because the voices apparently do not tell him to do anything of harm.
Whether this man is mentally ill or on drugs doesn't really matter. What he experienced was real to him and I think that he can call it whatever he wants but I cant help to feel a bit skeptic. Overall it is a decent book if you are interested in learning about the paranormal/supernatural.
September 16, 2015
Howard Storm reminds me of some of my loved ones who have given up on God. It was hope inspiring to hear that one woman, a nun, praying for him over the course of 13 years bore these fruits. I will continue to pray for my beloved atheists and anti-theists, knowing that with God nothing is impossible. My father, who works with addicts in recovery, has heard many stories like Howard's, of demons attacking and deriding, often in the wake of an overdose, on death's door. What is unique and beautiful is Howard's choice in the depths of hell to cry, "Jesus, save me!" From my own experience with spiritual things, I know how fast the power of that blessed name works to banish evil and envelope a person in perfect light and power. The entire account resonated with me and rang true to what I have learned in the spirit. I'm so grateful for multiple accounts such as these, multiple witnesses, to bolster my faith and my joy in having hope in Christ. I also loved his glimpse or vision of a future Zion society, though he doesn't give it that name. It represents a beautiful goal for humanity.
March 14, 2008
As the inside cover says, this book is very Betty Eadie-ish (Embraced by the Light) in its message about the experience after death. After suddenly and unexpectedly losing my mother, I have been keenly trying to answer many questions on this topic, but most 'after death experience' stories smack of ulterior motives and personal agendas. This book and Eadie's book are the exception. They are authentic and confirm things that I thought were true, and fill in many blanks. This book is also quick to say that everyone has the chance to go to heaven, no matter what your faith is on earth. A good, good read for anyone who ever wondered what exactly happens in the moments after your heart stops and your spirit departs.
September 2, 2016
I wish I had never picked this up and wasted my time reading it. The majority of this book is not about Storm's NDE account. He pushes his New Age beliefs for about 80% of the book. I agree with other reviewers (not all on this site) that stated this book is a bait and switch. He wants you to pick it up for the NDE story, so he can spend the majority of it detailing false doctrine.
There were some flags that went up from the beginning as the details around his death did not add up. I just figured he would come back to them later and give further explanation, but that never happened. Part of me doubts the plausibility of his "death" altogether. He may have had an agenda from the beginning and figured this would be a good vehicle to accomplish it.
There were some flags that went up from the beginning as the details around his death did not add up. I just figured he would come back to them later and give further explanation, but that never happened. Part of me doubts the plausibility of his "death" altogether. He may have had an agenda from the beginning and figured this would be a good vehicle to accomplish it.
August 4, 2012
This book chronicles Howard Storm's Near Death Experience (NDE). He writes plainly and humbly, imo, of an account so amazing and yet so real. I am totally convinced his experience was authentic and genuine. Wonderful explanations to all sorts of tough questions. I'm having trouble putting this review into words. I think this is a must-read for everyone on the planet. It's only 148 pages. Check your local library, I did. Although I think I'll be purchasing a copy soon.
May 31, 2017
I agree with other reviewers that this book is a bait and switch. At times it rings true. And at times his theology veers into universalism which caused me to doubt his story completely. Too many red flags and half truths or untruths for me to buy it. I was encouraged at times by his description of God's amazing love and then confused and discouraged when he contradicted himself and claimed all religions lead to Christ. I would caution readers to read this with discernment.
September 14, 2015
I really appreciated the fact that the author began his experience as an atheist. I love that he included paintings of his experience in heaven and that his conversations with God were in line with my own beliefs of God. I love that never once does the author give God a gender.
October 17, 2017
Offensively terrible. What a waste of good trees. Most of the book is some aberrant religious doctrine (I get it, Howard, being gay is akin to worshipping Satan), the first forty pages is a fever dream. I wouldn't waste my time on this.
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