Bill Vandenbush

This account of a soldier's near death experience on the battlefields of Vietnam in the 1960s is both harrowing and inspiring. The reader learns about the training regime and the psychological effects of being in a battle situation, including killing people and seeing people killed. This has an emotionally numbing effect, so soldiers eventually focus on their own survival, realising at the same time that they are no longer fully human. Is April 1969, the author took a direct hit from a piece of red-hot shrapnel and saw the remains of his right eye drop into his helmet. He lay down to die, and at that point had a near death experience where he encountered his grandfather and a Great Spirit. This sustained him through very dark times of his recovery, but this proceeded at an unexpected rate due to his inner state. There is an incredibly moving scene where a man he had previously not liked is fatally injured, and dies in his arms. Just afterwards, he is shot again in the chest, but tells the man in parting that he will go to a beautiful place. The book goes on to describe the author's life and challenges, recounting how he returns to the values of the light and follows the guidance of Spirit to keep his life on track. This involves embracing the whole of life and being of service – it is a familiar message from the NDE, but no less valuable for that.