Blessing in Disguise: Another Side of the Near Death Experience [Paperback]

Barbara Rommer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 8, 2000

Research suggests that 17.7% of near-death experiences are distressing or frightening. Dr. Rommer, a practicing internist, interviewed more than 300 real-life cases for this book. Explore the meaning of hellish visions. Witness their after-effects on peoples lives: the development of psychic or healing powers ... changes in behaviors, habits, and careers ... even the disappearance of the disease that "killed" the person in the first place.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications; 1st edition (April 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567185851
• ISBN-13: 978-1567185850
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Blessing, March 25, 2000

By 

Donald R. Morse (Cherry Hill, NJ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Blessing in Disguise: Another Side of the Near Death Experience (Paperback)

There's no denying it. Blessing in Disguise is a true blessing. Many books have been written about the near-death experience (NDE), but this is the first book to thoroughly address the darker side of the experience. Whether it has been the result of conscious or unconscious suppression, the fear of being ridiculed, or the individual's expectations, many fewer negative NDEs have been reported. Dr. Rommer has coined the name, less-than-positive (LPD), for these experiences. LPDs frequently occurred in people who had either attempted suicide, had had hateful, harmful, or unpleasant feelings, or had been brought up with the religious expectations that if they did not live up to expectations they would be doomed to an eternity in Hell. The "blessing in disguise" is that the vast majority of these individuals - just like their counterparts who have had the usual-type NDE - come back changed for the better. They are usually, kinder, more loving and caring, spiritual, have a reduced fear of death, and come away believing in a surviving soul, a positive afterlife, and a caring, non-judgmental Supreme Being. Most of them - if they have not had them before - develop psi abilities. Those who had parapsychological abilities before, almost always report increased psi abilities after the LTP. Dr. Rommer doesn't limit her book to cases of LTPs. She also gives outstanding coverage of the usual NDE and the probable reasons why either an NDE or LTP occurs. This is a book written in a down-to-earth style with many clearly reported case studies. As I tried to do in my book, Searching for Eternity, Dr. Rommer uses a scientific approach to explain the LTP and the NDE. And she succeeds admirably. Finally, Dr. Rommer pleads with her medical colleagues to try to understand the NDE and LTP and not ridicule or ignore their patients who have experienced them or tell them that it was merely a hallucination. No one knows for sure whether a NDE or LTP is a real voyage of the soul or some poorly understood brain mechanism. The jury might be out, but with the evidence from authors such as Barbara Rommer, it is beginning to appear that we are not doomed to "ashes to ashes and dust to dust," but can awaken to a brilliant and blissful afterlife. Nevertheless, we must learn our lessons well. It is not enough to accept one particular religion's viewpoint about salvation. We must live a good, moral, caring, kind and considerate life if we expect a joyous afterlife. Blessing in Disguise is highly recommended. Rush out and get it.

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best in the Field, July 23, 2000

By 

Deborah A. Woehr (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Blessing in Disguise: Another Side of the Near Death Experience (Paperback)

There are hundreds of books on the subject of Near Death Experience (or NDE). Most of them are filled with positive experiences such as meeting loved ones, angels, and beautiful landscapes. I bought this book because it covered the darker aspects of NDE, which Rommer calls LTP (or Less Than Positive) experiences. One statement made in the book stands out very clearly. If you expect hellfire and brimstone, that's what you're going to get.There were a wide variety of individual accounts, some of them typical of the NDE. But she also covers those who have misinterpreted their experiences as bad. Such as those who had relived all the horrible aspects of their lives before being resucitated. Those she labeled Type II LTPs. The type IIIs, I found disturbing. Many of these people suffered from depression and/or drug abuse of varying degrees, or they were brought up to believe that their soul would go to Hell for all the sins they committed during their lifetime. Some of these people had attempted suicide, either overtly or covertly. Every account was distinctly different from the next, but every one of these people were given the same message. They could face up to their misgivings or misperceptions and change their own destinies. Many of them have.Blessing in Disguise is the most informative book I've read on Near Death Experiences. It isn't clinical or watered-down, like some of the books by Moody and Ring. Another good book is "Beyond the Darkness, My Near-Death Journey to the Edge of Hell and Back," by Angie Fenimore.

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Among the Best NDE books, March 20, 2000

By 

Michael E. Tymn (Kailua, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Blessing in Disguise: Another Side of the Near Death Experience (Paperback)

There have been a number of good books on the near-death experience over the past 25 years, but this one must certainly rank among the very best. It is different from most in that the focus is on what Dr. Rommer calls "less-than-positive" (LTP) NDEs. Most of the NDE books detail the blissful or "heavenly" type experience. Accounts of the LTP experience have not been as readily available, apparently because people who have had them have been reluctant to tell others about their "hellish" experiences. However, Dr. Rommer has managed to interview a number of such LTP experiencers. She finds that such experiences, while often frightening, are usually transforming and therefore "blessings in disguise." A large percentage of LTP experiencers "awaken" to their past transgressions and to the need to straighten out their lives by embarking on a spiritual path.

There are numerous interesting accounts by experiencers. While the focus is on the LTP, there are enough positive experiences to offer the reader some bliss to go along with the unpleasant and more than balance the negative. There are some very interesting philosophies related by some experiencers. Dr. Rommer approaches the subject with scientific objectivity, but fortunately, for the reader, she lacks the willful blindness and intellectual arrogance of the avowed skeptic.