An experience live with you until you die...
594721
First time reading Kawabata and is completely blown away by his very delicate but brutal handling of human emotions. A master craftmans's great creation.
3195211
See comments on "7 Lessons from Heaven".  Incredible survival and a NDE ( near death experience) which will shake you to your core.
4258545
In LIVE AGAIN, Giles takes you on a ride you're not likely to forget for a while. The ending stays with you, and, may I say, sneaks into your daydreams. I finished it a brightly lit room, full of people, yet found myself looking under the table, into dark corners...

Be careful reading this tale in the dead of night. You've been warned.

The story is told by the main character, Keith Lansing, a recent widower. Our hero... Scratch that. Keith has some good in him, but he's no hero. He does an awful thing. A terrible thing. He means well, but you where the road paved by good intentions leads, pretty much where LIVE AGAIN takes you.

You can understand why Keith does this very-bad-thing: he wants Adair back. Her doctor killed her, and Keith misses her terribly. He joins a small support group, Live Again, and soon comes to call the members friends. He heals a little. Starts to live a little more.

But Giles doesn't let you off that easy. A stranger befriends Keith in a bar, where he's gone to drown his sorrows. He plies Keith with strong drink, then carries him to his car when Keith's too drunk to stand on his own.

In the car, the stranger takes Keith's wallet, but leaves him with something: words. Words Keith would've been better off forgetting he'd ever heard. He wants to forget them, but he can't. Adair...

Days later, he thinks about her as he recites the words...

It doesn't happen right away, but soon bad things start to happen. Keith learns there's a steep price to pay for saying the words.

Giles's LIVE AGAIN moves along at a brisk pace and he paints a vivid picture with his words. If you like to be entertained, and scared, don't be afraid to read this short book.

But don't read it alone, or in the dark.
3724566
What if the life you have lived ended? What if you were told after "your Death" it was all a lie?
How would you feel if you were told that you were only part of a grand experiment ?
What if the love of your life refused to acknowledge you in this "afterlife"?
What if in order to survive you were given a choice to live again but with only two choices
t choose from? You will be shocked, surprised, and well pleased to see how the author
manages these dilemmas !
Read this book if only to compare your thoughts on these  questions.
Oh yeah...it has a Happy Ending/Beginning .
I did receive this book for an honest review.
Honestly if you enjoy really good Scifi with believable , in depth characters, Read this book!
4894818
I gave this book "Twelve Months" 5 Stars, because it hit home to me. Anyone "up in their years" or who have a terminal illness, should definitly read this. Makes you think it's high time to live your remaining life to the fullest, just don't sit around waiting to die.
2917316
For those who love life, or fear death, there is nothing more soothing than to imagine how mortals mock death. Saramago not only does that, but when the smile fade from our faces we will feel the chill of what it might be like were we to live forever. The essence of the book is crafted into the six words of the last line of the book. Do not peep - the magical effect of those words come alive only if you read through the story. For this alone, it is a work of genius; not to be missed.
1854845
What if, after your death, you could watch people on earth? Could you handle seeing your loved ones and what they are going through and see their lives go on without you? Could you just sit there and do nothing or tell no one about your killer? If you could customize your very own heaven, what would be like?

For Susie Salmon, she had to be able to handle all of this, watching her family go on without her, watch her killer, and her boyfriend. Susie's heaven is like the high school she imagined going into the next year. The air in her heaven smells faintly of earth and skunk, and every evening, friendly people and dogs sign her to sleep with beautiful music. When she wants to look back down to earth, she peers over the edge of a gazebo. From here she watches her family, her friends, and her killer.

Alice Sebold's, "The Lovely Bones" tells the story of the rape and murder of a fourteen year old girl. This dramatic story is told in the victim's voice, both from heaven and earth, her life's sudden end is merely the beginning of her new experience.

Through Susie, Sebold has created a way to express the past, present and future, and also in a way to view life from r. both the living and the dead. I was amazed of how quickly i was drawn in to the book. This is toucheing novel to readm especially if you like suspence, drama, love, and a little bit of sadness.

During the quest of Susie, she witnesses her mother wish to travel back in time to a life free of marriage and children, she watches her father struggle to maintain and hold the family together. She sees her younger sister, Lindsey live with the label, "the dead girl's sister" and experience all the feelings she has, including watching her have a boyfriend. She watches her three year old brother not realize what "dead" really means, and him stick to his fathers side no matter what. She laughs while her crazy grandmother, attempts to cheer the family with her. Susie also watches her used-to-be boyfriend, with whom she shared only a single kiss. And last, the killer. She watches him, too, while he tries to cover up any evidence he might have left behind.

This novel may should depressing as of right now, but the depressing subject matter has a twist by Susie's once-in-a-life-time ability to "jump into" a girls soul and feel how she feels. She feels joy when she is remembered fondly, and she gets to feel every butterfly and tingle when her sister falls in love. Susie sometimes is seen on earth through small objects by her family and friends.

I would recommend, "The Lovely Bones" to anyone. The characters range from young to old, from good to evil and from heaven and earth.
548476
A very thought-provoking take on what happens after we die, I would recommend this to almost anyone willing to suspend disbelief about a religious afterlife.

When fifteen-year-old Liz is killed in a hit and run accident, she finds out that the afterlife is just like life on Earth; you can have a job, get a drivers license even get married. Death really is just another stage of life, with one major hitch you age backwards until you are a baby again.
4851425
Dr. Eben Alexander, a prominent neurosurgeon at Harvard University, has written a fascinating book about his near-death experience.  At the age of 54, he contracted a severe form of E. Coli meningitis, which aggressively attacked his cortex, or the portion of the brain that supplies conscious, rational thought.  He slipped into a coma, but instead of experiencing nothing, like in deep sleep, Dr. Alexander describes a journey to heaven.

His experience began in a place of fluffy clouds.  Then he visualized beings soaring through the sky, beings that he describes as `higher forms.'  These beings made a joyful sound: one that he could feel, even more than hear.  He was then joined by millions of butterflies and a woman.  This woman gave him the following three messages: You are loved and cherished; You have nothing to fear; and There is nothing you can do wrong.  Her words are comforting and reassuring.

What sets this book apart is the fact that Dr. Alexander is a neurosurgeon with great knowledge of what makes up consciousness.  The parts of his brain that would create experiences like he underwent (such as in a dream state) were not functional at the time he experienced them.  He is also a man of science and a skeptic, who changed his views completely after experiencing this.  This transformation is interesting and notable.  His descriptions of heaven are vivid, uplifting, and fascinating.

If you enjoy this book, there are two books from physicians which I would highly recommend.&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/In-Stitches/dp/1451649762/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">In Stitches</a>&nbsp;by Dr. Anthony Youn is a lighter but highly entertaining coming-of-age story about one young man's struggles with parents, romance, medicine, God, and finding your place in the world.  It's especially recommended for people who struggle with who they are and why they're here. Dr. Youn's book is fun, uplifting, and an absolute joy to read.

Dr. Francis Collins'&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Language-of-God-A-Scientist-Presents-Evidence-for-Belief/dp/1416542744/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief</a>&nbsp;is an easy-to-read book about integrating Christian beliefs with modern science.  Collins, the head of the Human Genome Project, describes how belief in God and the Bible doesn't have to be in conflict with science and its findings.  As a physician, I've struggled with these conflicts ever since my college biology courses.  His book helped me immensely.
4411487
A beautiful book telling the story of a Doctors experience with Life after Death and coming back to talk about it.....a wonderful book for those doubting Thomas's
612496
Wonderful death after life stories from hundreds of people that are compared for their similarities.  I felt I had a further glimpse into the heaven I hope to see one day.  It made me feel that the son I lost to lukemeia is surely in a wonderful place and I will see him again someday.
738595
This was a very thought provoking story that intertwined life and death.  Each experience reminds us that we need the death experience to help us understand how life works through death.
2756936
I really enjoyed this book because astral projection for lack of a better description of what this book is, IS something I had experienced personally back in April 2006.  I could not talk about it for a very long time because a person had died and did not return.  I also died but was able to return.

I remember the "silver cord" it was coming out of my left boot as I was battling a shadow - an evil being of myself as I've figured it out over time.  This evil being wanted to cut my cord but for some reason, I didn't want that to happen so I fought him.  Imagine my surprise when I woke up to find myself in a sweat lodge completely naked with tribal elders ministering to me.  Thanks to whoever you are from the Flathead Rez!

Astral projection is something some might consider worthy of exploring but I'd be remiss if I believe the stories already floating out there about people having experiences with it.  You can NOT just recall putting yourself there.  It just HAPPENS.  You can not call it to you.  It comes to you of its OWN choosing.

This book is an excellent way of putting it in an "experience" format and yet, makes us feel like we are NOT crazy or mentally ill because what each of us goes through only belongs to us and to those who helps us through it.  This shadow, whoever he was actually HELPED me survive by forcing me to choose whether or not I wanted to live or not.

Good job Dr. Paul.
1714745
A truly awe inspiring glimpse into life once we leave our bodies behind. From previews of our next incarnations to the process of what happens once we die. Pleasantly chilling.
487769
Captivating and original, this book takes the reader on an exploration of the afterlife like none other.  Be prepared to re-assess everything you thought about life, death, and what comes afterward.  It will keep me thinking about it and it's premise forever, and with a peace of mind that I never had before.
4688553
Imagine discovering that you have the power to create a temporary copy of anyone in the world alive or dead-and they will be yours to command. You can make them desire you, work for you, tell you their deepest, darkest secrets. What would you do with such a gift? Or is it a curse?

This has become the reality for Michael Blasco, a mild-mannered research scientist. When he first conjures up a copy of his hunky gym instructor on a train platform, Michael fears for his sanity. He quickly realizes, however, that the copies are every bit as real as the original, complete with intelligence and awareness-at least while they exist. With just a thought, Michael can end their existence as easily as he brought them into being. Once they are gone, nothing remains of them except Michael's memories.

While he first sees it all as a sort of game for his own amusement, as time goes on, Michael begins to wonder why he has this strange ability. The book takes a more serious turn as Michael searches for answers and explores the morality of the situation.

What at first seems to be a wet-dream come true gradually turns into a nightmare as Michael realizes that there are consequences to his actions with the copies. His long-term relationship is crumbling, he neglects his research project, the originals seem to retain some memory of what their copies do, and not all copies appreciate being brought back from the dead.

Lust is an amazingly original and thought-provoking concept. It could have turned into a prurient tale in the hands of a lesser author, but Geoff Ryman's strong writing more than pulls it off. The story both entertains and causes us to think about the consequences of our actions. I had a little trouble getting into Ryman's style, but about a third of the way into the book it really takes off and I was left holding on for the rest of the ride. Ryman brings historic and well-known characters to life with shocking plausibility. I especially enjoyed the visits from Billie Holiday and Pablo Picasso. Knowing a bit about both of them, I believe Ryman truly caught their spirit in their portrayals.

Once you adjust to his style, Ryman's writing is simply stunning. His word-pictures are so accurate and vibrant that you feel as if you are seeing the story instead of just reading it. In turns humorous and touching, the book brings everything together by the end for a wonderfully satisfying read. I highly recommend this book.
433106
A door buster/eye opener of one's near death experience that was up close and personal that may be something that some of us may encounter further down the road of life god only knows...