A few years before
Embraced By The Light was published, Betty J. Eadie began
sharing her story with small gatherings of people and with patients at
local hospitals. Her words filled listeners with hope and comfort. Betty
knew that God wanted her to share her story with the world, but she waited
for the right moment and for the right people to help her. Summary and sample:
"It was November 27, 1973. I lay in a Seattle hospital bed, recovering from a partial hysterectomy.
The surgery had gone well, yet feelings of foreboding settled heavily upon me. A dark feeling was
in my room. Death seemed to swirl everywhere around me.
In 1992, Betty
met Curtis Taylor of Gold Leaf Press, a small publisher with offices in
Placerville, California and Carson City, Nevada, and she felt prompted
by God that the right time had come. With Taylor's help, Betty immediately
began preparing her story for publication. By the end of summer, 1992,
Embraced By The Light was complete and ready for the press.
Upon its release,
the book met with instant success. In less than a year, it sold a million
copies. People who read Embraced By The Light were so touched
by it, they purchased multiple copies for family and friends. In September,
1993, after 17 weeks climbing the charts, the book reached #1 on the New
York Times bestseller list. It stayed there for over a year.
"People seem
to have a hunger for spirituality," Betty said during a press interview
that year. "Not everyone likes what my experience reveals, but everyone
seems driven by an increasing desire for spiritual knowledge."
As evidence,
perhaps, of that desire, today Embraced By The Light has
sold more than 6-million copies and has been translated into 27 languages.
Readers all over the world have been touched by its story, and lives have
been changed for the good.
Betty, however,
gives credit only to God. "He gave me this near-death experience.
I don't know why. It's he who touches people as they read Embraced
By The Light, not me. He touches each person differently as they
read because he loves us and knows us perfectly. I'm amazed and humbled
to see how much love and hope he has given to so many through this one,
simple book."
"Questions about death filled my mind. What was death like? What awaited me there on the other
side? If it were God waiting, I was sure I did not want to go there. I did not want to meet God. I had
been taught he was vengeful and hated sinners, and I knew I had not lived a perfect life.
As the night deepened, I felt more fearful and more alone. The dread of facing God's anger on
Judgement Day pressed heavily upon my heart.
"But what of the time between dying and the Final Judgment? Where would I go to wait? Not to
heaven, I knew. Not to a beautiful place of light and love. I had been taught my soul would remain
in the dark grave until resurrection. How I feared the dark. How I hated being alone. Since
childhood, I had suffered from claustrophobia. The thought of being buried underground terrified
me.
"Not the grave! I thought. Not the awful blackness of the grave...
"The night closed in on me. Time seemed to slow. I began feeling chilled to the bone and weaker than
I had ever felt before. My body was failing me.
"Sudden instincts warned me of mortal danger. I reached for the cord near the bed to call the nurse.
But I could not make myself move. I lay there paralyzed, a terrible sinking sensation spreading
through my body. It felt as though the very last drops of my blood were draining from me.
"A buzzing sound began in my head. I sank faster. My senses were fading quickly, though my
awareness remained. I noticed my body becoming hollow and still. Too soon, the last bit of my life's
energy slipped away from me.
"Then I felt a pulse of new energy surge through me and my spirit was suddenly drawn out through
my chest and pulled upward, as if by a giant magnet, towards the ceiling. I felt free, unrestrained,
unconfined. Every pain from my surgery had disappeared.
"I hovered above my bed, looking down at my own body. I felt sorry for it. I had put it aside so easily
like an unwanted piece of clothing. It still had a lot of use left in it. But, I felt whole and perfectly
fine without it.
"I thought, This is who I really am...
"Three men--spirit beings--appeared at my side. They wore brown hooded robes and gold braided
belts. I was not afraid. Their bodies glowed with a soft light, and their faces radiated intelligence that
seemed ages-old. Because of their dress and the wisdom I sensed in them, I began to think of them
as "monks"--three old and kindly monks.
"My mind opened to a time before I was born on Earth. I had known these beings then. I recognized
them now. They were my friends from eternities past--my guardian or ministering angels. They had
always been with me and had watched over me during my life. I sensed their deep love for me, and
this filled me with joy.
"You have died prematurely," they said. "But you should not worry. Everything will be alright."
"But I had already started to worry. Not for myself, but for my family. I loved my husband and
children very much. We had always been a close, loving family. How would my dying hurt them?
Would they come through okay? I had to know. I had to see them.
"I turned to leave, somehow knowing I could exit through the window. Once outside, I realized I had
passed through the glass. But this did not seem strange to me. I could have passed through the wall
as well. Without a pause I headed for home, leaving my three friends behind and soaring at the speed
of thought over buildings and trees.
"Before I knew it, I was at home. There was my husband, Joe, reading the paper in his chair. My
children were playfully getting ready for bed. As I gazed upon them, I felt calmed by a knowledge
of each one's future. Each would have challenges in life whether I died or not, I saw. Challenges
would help them grow. God had a plan for each one, and they were in his hands now--actually had
been in his hands all along; I could see it now. I should not worry or feel sorrowful about leaving
them motherless. In the end, my children would be fine. Only brief moments would pass, and we
would be together again. I could accept my dying, now. I was ready to move on to whatever else
awaited me.
"In a thought, I found myself back at the hospital, standing near my bed again. The three monks were
there. Helping me through this transition made them happy.
"Soon, a rumbling sound filled the room. I sensed the gathering of a powerful and unrelenting energy.
Beautiful tones like distant bells called to me. I felt a most pleasant feeling inside. The view of the
room dimmed around me, and most gently I was drawn up and into a great, whirling, black mass.
I traveled through the blackness at speeds faster than light, or so it seemed. The pleasant feeling
inside me blossomed, and I felt the deepest tranquility imaginable flooding through me. I was alone
but not lonely. I felt comforted. A powerful love warmed me, healed me. I knew I could stay in this
healing place as long as I desired. But I wanted to know what lay beyond it, and I sped on.
"A pinpoint of light appeared ahead. It attracted me. I travelled toward it, flying faster and faster. As
I neared the light, I saw the figure of a man inside it. He was the source of the light. It shone from
him in all directions, golden-colored near him and brilliant white as it spread out. It shone more
brilliantly than the sun! Only spirit eyes could endure its brilliance without being destroyed.
"Earlier, I had noticed a dim light radiating from my own spirit. Now I felt my tiny light drawn to
mingle with this man's brilliant light. I moved forward, and as our lights merged, I felt the utter
explosion of his love for me. It was love complete and unconditional. Though he knew about all my
faults and even my sins, this did not diminish his love for me. He opened his arms, and I rushed into
his full embrace, feeling cherished as never before.
"I'm home. I'm home. I'm finally home. I repeated it over and over. There was no question about
whose arms held me so lovingly. As with my monks, I had known him before. Memories flooded
my mind of having been with him in a previous time. This man, this majestic man in the brilliant
light who cradled me lovingly, was Jesus Christ. He had always loved me, and he always would.
Even during my life when I had thought he hated me, he had loved me. My joy at being again in his
loving embrace spilled from my heart. I never wanted to leave him again. He was Life itself. Love
itself. He was my Savior. My Friend. My God.
"I was home. Home.
"I was finally home."