Glimpses of Heaven: True Stories of Hope and Peace at the End of Life's Journey

by Trudy Harris, John Burke (Foreword by)

Overview

Drawn from her decades of experience as a hospice nurse, Trudy Harris shares stories that offer an incredible glimpse at what lies beyond this world—ethereal music, colors that did not exist on earth, angels, and loved ones who have gone on before. She has been with hundreds of patients as they took their last breaths and knows the kinds of questions that both the dying and their loved ones ask: What happens when we die? What should I say to a loved one who is dying? How can I make a dying friend feel safe? The stories she shares will bring the reader comfort and peace even amidst pain.

Tender, heartbreaking, and eye-opening, this expanded edition of the New York Times bestseller offers more incredible windows into the world beyond and life after death.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780800728151
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/14/2017
Edition description:	Expanded Edition
Pages:	206
Sales rank:	106,055
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Trudy Harris, RN, is the New York Times bestselling author of Glimpses of Heaven and More Glimpses of Heaven, a former hospice nurse, and former president of the Hospice Foundation for Caring. Since retirement, Harris remains active in connecting the needs of terminally ill and dying people in her community with the hospice program she knows can best meet their need.

Table of Contents

Foreword 12

Acknowledgments 14

Introduction 17

Daddy "Martin said it's time to go" 21

Mary Anne "Why did God let me live longer than the doctors said I would?" 27

Grandfather "Who is the man standing down by the water?" 32

Frank "My son is here with me now; he said it's time to go" 37

Brian "You know I love you so much" 39

Gloria "I'm going to go now; bye-bye" 43

Joshua "You mean I don't have to stay, Peter?" 46

Sally "He wanted her to see herself as beautiful one last time" 49

Alex "I am ready to meet my Commander now" 52

Elliott "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground" 55

Dolly "Heal the brokenhearted, bring comfort to those in pain" 58

Henry "I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me in a way I had never experienced before" 61

Jack "I can see the tapestry of my life" 65

Karla "It is not good for man to be alone" 69

Marian "I have never known my mother to have such peace and calm" 73

Gerald and Mary "Walk on into heaven now, Jesus is waiting for you" 76

Jackson "Do you know how much God loves you?" 80

Hank "You didn't tell me, did you? How did you keep it a secret?" 82

Merideth "I can't die until I see Walter" 85

Ralph "My wife always wanted me to go to church with her, but I didn't. Just stubborn, I guess" 87

Carl "Soon you will be with Jesus in heaven" 91

Louis "He doesn't look like Daddy anymore" 94

Delia "You'll come to me when it's my time; I'll depend on you" 98

Krista "She loved him as deeply as Mary loved Jesus" 101

Robin "Love must be like this, and it must be good" 105

Tim "I have my peace now, Trudy" 110

Jess "I think he sees Jesus" 116

Johnny "But suppose I just don't believe in Him, what then?" 120

Father Jack "Yes, I remember you well" 124

Richard "What should I tell her? What will I say?" 128

Zach "He knows, he knows" 132

Eileen "Is it true that only Catholics can pray with Catholics?" 134

William "Can you stop by for a cup of coffee this morning?" 137

Lorrain "Every year in February one yellow rose blooms" 143

Joel "This is where God really lives" 145

Sam "He looked at her with about as much love as I have ever seen in one man's eyes" 148

Madeleine "Oh, ma mère" 150

Hannah "OK, I'm going; don't rush me" 155

Frederick "If I saw Jesus like you did, would I cry too?" 158

Aunt Helen "George, do you know a priest who will come to see me?" 162

Diane "What would you think if I told you that God has chosen to heal my soul and my spirit but not my body?" 166

Grandmother "The tail boat is here" 172

Mommy "George, take me to John now, please" 182

Maureen "Mommy is sitting on the foot of my bed right now" 192

Conclusion 203

Editorial Reviews

Veteran registered nurse Trudy Harris wasn't easily convinced about the miraculous qualities of near-death experiences. "In the early days," she writes, "I only smiled at such things, not really believing them. It took me thirty years of caring for dying people to know that those happenings are as real as anything you will ever experience in life." In Glimpses of Heaven, the former president of the Hospice Foundation for Caring shares breathtaking stories of visions that occurred after the heart stopped. Ethereal testimony vividly rendered.

As a hospice nurse and the former president of the Hospice Foundation for Caring, Harris has seen more than her share of death. In this collection of 44 real-life stories, she shares her own journeys with patients in their final days with an eye not only to what the dying experience, but what those last days, weeks and months may teach those of us who walk with them. Regardless of our lifelong faith, or lack thereof, Harris believes, most dying people come to experience God's unconditional love and his desire to welcome us home, a point illustrated by the book's stories. Many of the shorter two- or three-page stories lack enough detail or new information to be thought provoking or spiritually nurturing, but Harris's longer anecdotes, like those about her grandparents, are deeply touching and encouraging. Those attending a dying person will find examples of ways they may listen to and be helpful to them. Those who wonder about what their own journey toward death may be like will find in these stories a demystification of the last days of life on earth and future glimpses of heaven that offer comfort and hope. (Apr.)

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