What My Brother Knew: A Memoir

by Kristina Amelong

Overview

For readers who were inspired by Alua Arthur’s Briefly Perfectly Human, an emotional, eye-opening account of one woman’s journey from loss and abuse to healing and spiritual awakening.

As a boy, Jay Amelong predicted the accident that caused his death, down to the color of the car that hit him. “I will die young, while riding my bike,” he told friends and family repeatedly. “It won’t be much longer, I want you to be prepared.” These were baffling words to hear from the mouth of a content thirteen-year-old—but when Kristina Amelong was only seventeen, her brother’s tragic death unfolded exactly as he said it would, radically changing her life.

Propelled down a self-destructive path of drug addiction and reckless sex, Kristina spent much of her young adult years wanting to die. Once or twice she came close. Always, Jay’s bizarre story and his inexplicable acceptance of his own death lived in her body.

More than thirty years after losing Jay, Kristina embarks on a journey of discovery, seeking truth about herself, her brother, and the universe. The result of her investigation is a memoir that defies belief. Charting a life path from loss and abuse to healing and spiritual awakening, What My Brother Knew demonstrates the transformative power of facing the mystery of death head-on and our incredible ability, as humans, to do just that.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647429089
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	05/27/2025
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Kristina Amelong is the founder and owner of Optimal Health Network, a holistic health business. She is also the author of the self-published book Ten Days to Optimal Health: A Guide to Nutritional Therapy and Colon Cleansing, and a senior board member for the Center for World Philosophy and Religion, a nonprofit organization dedicated to a reweaving of the human story that will guide humanity through the current evolutionary crisis. She has a passion for photography, gardening, and pickleball. Kristina resides in Madison, Wisconsin, with her three dogs and a brood of chickens.

Editorial Reviews

“Amelong writes from the heart and has a gift for arresting imagery . . . A sincere and valiant attempt to understand the unfathomable.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Tormented by grief and haunted by her brother's chilling prophecy of his own death, Kristina Amelong stumbles along a dangerous path to addiction and self-destruction until she sets out on a journey to unravel the mystery of his uncanny foresight. Her relentless search for truth ultimately leads to her own healing and profound spiritual awakening. What My Brother Knew is a beautifully written, spellbinding memoir.” —Judy Reeves, author of When Your Heart Says Go

“A devastatingly tragic yet fierce memoir filled with gripping visuals of love, loss and death which open into an infinite portal beyond rational meaning and definition to preconscious, intuitive, and inter subjective realms of meaning and a reality where we no longer look at things but through them. Amelong vividly reveals a shockingly tender and gorgeous glimpse of the truth of reality and the eternity of Love.”—Kristina Kincaid, author of A Return to Eros

“It is said that ‘The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.’ Kristina Amelong reminds us that those days can be separated by a gulf of hurt, despair, and longing. The death of her younger brother at an early age, in an accident he had predicted, sent Amelong on a harrowing journey through this uncharted territory. Ultimately, she was brave enough and wise enough to turn the chaos of grief and uncertainty into a journey of self-examination—and a compelling memoir. For those who are searching, Kristina Amelong reveals that it is possible to "find out why" and, in so doing, to achieve renewal and, yes, joy.”—John Nichols, author of The Fight for the Soul of the Democratic Party

“Kristina Amelong’s unique, well-written story renders a powerful testament to the mysteries imbued in the lives we share, the things we know or think we know, and the ‘accidents’ that befall us. Her courageous testimony breathes renewed life into the eyes and soul of a boy who seemed to know what couldn’t be known—yet was at peace with his one brief flight.”—Bridget Birdsall, author of Double Exposure

“This is a searing memoir about a sister’s love for a younger brother who was brutally struck on a BMX bicycle by a green car that drug him to his death. Jay repeatedly described the event beforehand, likely because of an LSD opening, even asked that “Stairway to Heaven” be played at his funeral. The story explored in these pages made me weep. We are totally messed up . . . and we are perfect.”—Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else

“Amelong courageously enters outrageous pain and outrageous love, crafting a story that moves beyond the personal to resonate with the universal. Through her brother’s extraordinary foresight, she reveals a single, shimmering thread of the larger tapestry—a story within the Story of the continuity of consciousness itself. With radical candor and profound intimacy, Kristina illuminates the contours of life’s beauty and shadow, inviting readers into a communion that transcends individual narrative. . . . a testament to human resilience and the ever-evolving nature of love in a universe alive with purpose.”—Dr. Marc Gafni, author of A Return to Eros

“This is an incredibly beautiful memoir that shows how powerfully healing, love, and tears can be even when the grief and trauma someone experienced are immense. The writing is vivid and the story poignant. I didn’t want to put it down . . . this is a story of restoration and healing, mystery, discovery, and the endurance of a love connection beyond death.”—Jennifer Celeste Briggs, author of Watching Sarah Rise

From the Publisher