About Becoming Starlight Becoming Starlight is a memoir about the process of grief and its relationship to the mysteries concerning the afterlife. This book will bring comfort to those who are feeling unrelenting sorrow over the loss of loved ones. This memoir is a story of surviving grief and mending the wounds of loss. Editorial Reviews " Becoming Starlight is truly sensational; everybody who is seriously interested in the question of life after death should read it." — Raymond Moody, M.D., Ph.D., author of Life After Life , Reunions , and Glimpses of Eternity "In Becoming Starlight , Dr. Sharon Prentice describes the deeply human losses and hurts that gave birth to a vision of our true identity and place in this universe. Her life-changing—and life-giving—encounter with the divine simply had to be shared. This book is a gift." —Seth J. Gillihan, Ph.D., author of A Mindful Year and The CBT Deck , and Psychology Today contributor “Dr. Sharon Prentice, in her book Becoming Starlight , assists all of humanity by transmuting our collective fear of death into love when she journeys to that mysterious place we call Heaven and returns to share her experiences with us. This messenger is worth listening to.” — Tim Miejan, editor of The Edge Magazine "In Becoming Starlight , the author teaches us the most important lesson of all—that love is the eternal fiber connecting all existence, living and beyond. Her extraordinary true story provides faith and ease to all who wonder what happens when our loved ones or we die." —Randi Fine, Author of Close Encounters of the Worst Kind , Podcast Host of A Fine Time for Healing "A magnificent reckoning with love, death, God, and the unexplainable universe that surrounds us all. From living through devastating heartbreak to cracking wide open with indescribable awe, Becoming Starlight is a deeply personal story on where we can find peace, solace, and stillness in the world of grief." —Shelby Forsythia, Intuitive Grief Guide and Podcast Host of Coming Conversations on Life After Loss "Sharon's experience is probably the most extensive and beautiful shared-death experience I've come across. And the struggles she experienced in her life demonstrate that no matter how hopeless life seems, all of us are loved by God, infinitely. Becoming Starlight is more than just the missing link in near-death literature (which it is), and more than just powerful evidence of the afterlife (which it also is), it's a testament to the power, potential, and infinite worth of the human soul.” —Chas Hathaway, Host of the Near-Death Experience Podcast About the Author Dr. Sharon Prentice is a psychotherapist and spiritual counselor whose work focuses on helping patients process the grief of losing a loved one. Becoming Starlight is her memoir of healing from the devastating loss of her daughter and husband. She experienced a unique spiritual experience, known as a Shared Death Experience (SDE) which gave her a peek into foreverness and a sense of peace that was otherworldly.
Although I only read parts of Becoming Starlight by Sharon Prentice, I wanted to share the book with you. It seems that currently there are a plethora of books about grief and the death of spouses and partners. Frankly, I was burned out before Becoming Starlight came from the publicist. I just couldn't relive my own grief journey again. This book, however, appears to be particularly meaningful. The theme of Prentice's memoir is grief as a spiritual journey. Prentice has a “shared death” experience at the moment of her husband’s death. Here is a summary of the book.
“Becoming Starlight is the true story of one woman’s tumultuous relationship with God during the soul-wrenching deaths of her daughter and husband, and her eventual redemption as her soul slipped over to another framework of existence—a realm of pure love and light—by means of a Shared Death Experience (SDE) at the moment of her husband’s death.
The little known Shared Death Experience—a profound transcendent consciousness—afforded the author a peek into forever-ness, a lifting of the veil between this life and the next.
Deeply embedded in Becoming Starlight is a life-and-death struggle with Spiritual darkness and loss of faith. It’s a story brimming with the stuff of life—tremendous love, agonizing loss, quiet rage, inconsolable sorrow, and a complete fall from Grace. At the heart of it is a war between who lives and dies, a battle that brings us face to face with our own mortality.”
As well as telling the story, the concept of shared death is explored and many examples are given from Prentice’s life experience. In my own experience with death, I know that there are people who wish to die in the presence of family, thus sharing the experience. I also know that there are people who choose to die when they are alone—making death a singular experience. This would be the case for my father, who waited until it was quiet and he was alone. My husband waited until his whole family was in the room. I said, “You can go now. Everyone is here.” And everyone in the room saw and felt his spirit leave his body in a whoosh. This is the type of experience Prentice describes in great detail in her memoir.
If this book has resonance for you, here are some other books that I have read and written about—these are the most recent.
· Waiting for You at Midnight by Vicki Salloum · You Are Not Alone by Debbie Augenthaler · Grief Works by Julia Samuel
When not working, I listen to music and recently visited with family I hadn't seen in years. While we enjoyed catching up with one another, a topic of discussion was memories of those that are no longer here with us.
This made me think about a memoir I recently received in the mail from Anna Sacca, Senior Publicity Manager, at FSB Associates. It's titled Becoming Starlight Surviving Grief and Mending the Wounds of Loss by author Sharon Prentice, Ph.D. It's a book about the emotional turmoil of losing a loved one and the courage it takes to go on without them and about recognizing a part of them is always with us.
Dr. Prentice is a psychotherapist and spiritual counselor whose work focuses on helping patients process the grief of losing a loved one.
I have not experienced a near death experience or a shared death one. Yet, I am intrigued like many people by what these experiences are like. Which, these two are different in ways. With near death, the sole person is experiencing the journey themselves. However, with shared death, you are sharing the experience with someone; whether it be a loved one or a friend.
While, I found author, Sharon's experiences interesting, for some reason I was not as drawn into this book as I had hoped. In fact, I found myself struggling to have a connection to Sharon. Thus, no matter how interesting this book was on the subject matter, I could not get what I read reading to stay in my head. Yet, I seem to be the minority, so don't take my thoughts at heart and try this book for yourself.
Becoming Starlight by author Sharon Prentice, Ph.D., is the story and a wonderful explanation of the spiritual experience of a Shared Death Experience. I can hardly believe this is the authors first published book. It is very well written with a feeling of honesty and a depth of knowledge regarding her faith. Sharon's world and faith were shattered by an event which crushed her spirit. Later, her husband became ill and suffered through misdiagnosis for his condition. Once I started reading this book, I could not stop. There are so many rich nuggets of shared truths about accepting God and his love. No, it is not a "preachy' book, but if you have ever asked questions such as "Is God really out there?" or Does God really care about me?" then I think you will find the authors gentle guidance a breath of fresh air. As I read about the SDE as her spirit joined her husband as he was dying, I could not help by shed tears. I could only imagine the wonder of such a magnificent feeling and the wondrous glimpse of beauty beyond the scope of our earthly lives. The author explains she did not understand what was happening but knew immediately she had been allowed to experience a spiritual awakening which would turn her life around. Just his week my mom who is in Hospice care and has limited time left, told me she had seen the face of her brother that morning. She told me he looked into her eyes and then was gone. I nearly broke down because I could not tell her that at that same time her only brother had been taken off life support. She did not know he had a heart attack and never recovered. They live 300 miles apart. Was that an SDE? I don't know, but I do believe the spirit of a soul has an energy of its own. God allows unusual experiences at times in order to encourage people, I think. I will be purchasing this book for my sisters this year. Publication Date: May 8, 2018
"Becoming Starlight" is a great redemption story. Sharon describes her descent into a horrible, cruel and thoroughly undeserved world of hurt. Suffering illness and loss at an age when one's hopes and dreams should be flourishing rather than being trampled on by a seemingly blind and malevolent fate. It's a very personal account and the somewhat naive tone of the writing is a help not a hindrance. I think it may have been Truman Capote who said that the first three rules of editing are "cut, cut, cut" and I think this story may have benefitted from that advice. That said, the book is fairly short and does offer many pearls of wisdom regarding the "gifts" which extreme hardship may confer on a life when one sees the light, or, in this case, the Starlight. Much of the wisdom is Sharon's own but it is augmented by the quotes of many other 'lightworkers'; the product of the extensive study and research which she has undertaken. The Shared Death Experience is difficult terrain to cover if you feel you're writing for those who have not been there. Sharon has done a great job of that. Those who have been there, and there are millions of us, will understand immediately and easily. Nice work.
Dr. Prentice's book is in a class of its own for consciousness expansive work as well as within the Shared Death Experience. She provides an immeasurably valuable book that leads itself into a glimpse of not only her profound spiritual awakening that occurred during her shared death experience but also her ability to process and integrate it. Her own shared vulnerability during her trials and tribulations with loss gives a strength and healing capabilities to many others who have struggled with grief and or questions of the life after death. Her credentials as a clinical Psychologist places her work in rare company from someone who has gone through a powerful transformation in a guided manner that transcended life after death and ability to live a beautiful life past her setbacks. I would highly recommend reading this honest, brilliant, groundbreaking and inspiring heartfelt book written by a reputable professional clinician and wonderful soul. It will elevate and provide safety to questions of the nature of consciousness past death and provide possibilities of transcending death, dying and assist with anyone's understandable pain from
This lady, has had some horrendous losses, in her life. Her child, husband and father. She moved all over the country, with her husbands military career. Once her husband got ill, he was let go from the service. When she was at the hospital, when he passed, she ended up going to Heaven. The book, explains all that transpired.
Becoming Starlight: Surviving Grief and Mending the Wounds of Loss is an insightful and heartfelt book. A heartbreaking story by Sharon Prentice of healing from the devastating loss of her daughter and husband. An emotional story on where we can find peace, solace, and stillness in the world of grief. Becoming Starlight is a book that anyone who has experienced loss should read.
What a beautiful reading experience! I am not a religious person but I would consider myself spiritual and this brought me to tears on a number of occasions. While there is talk of God, it's a more generic God which is good because it didn't feel overly preachy to me.
Becoming Starlight would be a good gift for someone struggling with the very questions discussed in its' pages. Is there more to this than just our mortal lives on earth? Is there a "heaven"? Should we fear death? For people open to the spiritual, it would be a reassuring read and could provide great comfort, especially while grieving the loss of a loved one.
Thank you, NetGalley for this e-book in exchange for my honest review!