Customer Reviews

Suicide: What Really Happens in the Afterlife?

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I have read previous books by both Jon Klimo and Pam Heath and was keen to read this one. I was not disappointed. The authors have written a book that is timely and helpful. Suicide is not a topic I would normally choose to read, but this book fascinated me with its answers to questions such as "Why do people kill themselves?" "What do the dead say about suicide?" and "What is the afterlife like?" The information about murder-suicide and suicide bombers makes this book highly topical and relevant. Although this is a book on suicide and the afterlife, it is actually an anti-suicide book, and the chapter called "Messages to the Suicidal" should be read by anyone who has ever contemplated suicide. Highly recommended.

Absolutely exceptional. There is no other book anywhere that approaches the subject of suicide from 360 degrees as does this book, nor as thoroughly, nor with such a high standard of integrity - and - in readable, easy-to-understand fashion. Heath, an M.D., and Klimo, a Ph.D., are both well-experienced and well able to combine research from medical and psychological concerns with deathbed encounters, near-death reports, and a broad spectrum of psychic readings (whether from channelers or mediums) - where the dead speak for themselves. Their range includes young boys who die "accidently" while trying to achieve exotic orgasms, to those in a pact who opt out on a lark, to the depressed, the angry, those who are ill or in great pain, avengers, assisted suicides, different views from history and in other countries; with a large section devoted to murder suicides, suicide bombers, and the cultural mentality which supports this. How they were able to weave into the material voices from those who survived a suicide with "voices" of those who did not, is nothing short of phenomenal. Considering the new rage of pre-teen and teenage suicides, the young egged on by Internet sites that glorify death, this book is a must read. Heath and Klimo are to be congratulated for the dedication it took to produce this rare and incredible study!

The book probably wouldn't sell with the above title, but that's what it is. After reading it, I honestly don't know what to think about the afterlife for suicides and for people with serious psychological and/or physical problems in general who may not have committed suicide.

Some channeled accounts say they do just fine and are helped, while others say, in general, they don't do well at all. It's very confusing, alternate condemnation, alternate compassion (mixed with blame) for the afflicted.

If this book is supposed to make those on the edge somehow feel better about their lives by shaming them or making them feel guilty, I think it completely misses the mark.

I think it'll only deepen their depression and sense of hopelessness. It may even make them angry. Read on about the "advice" the "spirits" give.

The suspicious thing for me is that the authors by and large chose messages that "channel" ALL of society's biases AGAINST suicide. And although their tone vary from heartless condemnation (bible thumping fire and brimstone) to mild disapproval and sympathy for the afflicted, they all seem to go in the same direction: Suicide is wrong. It's a disruption of God's "plan", whatever that is.

As far as I'm concerned, the phenomenon of suicide points less to the "sin" of the person committing it, than to the cruelty of an uncaring, insensitive world and its creator that drives people to such extremes.

The authors admit that the "messages" can be tainted by the medium's inherent point of view, along with whether the "spirit" in question is giving a true accounting, or simply saying what the medium wants to hear.

They also say the "messages" reflect the time period and the prevailing culture at the time of the communication (ie. messages from the 1800s and earlier don't believe in reincarnation, whereas the more recent messages accept it).

It seems like these "messages" from so called "suicides" are mostly the personal beliefs of mediums that change with the times.

Spiritualism, not surprisingly, is FULL of hucksters. The time period from the late 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, from which quite a few citations are made in the book of mediums who lived then, was one when the movement was at the height of it's popularity, power, and deception.

Houdini, the famous magician, was one who dedicated himself to exposing the many tricks employed by mediums after he tried earnestly to contact his dead mother.

For excellent background on the movement, read The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush & Larry Sloman.

Anyway, despite the dubious history of mediums and the validity of their messages, it's too bad none of them in the book "channeled" any truly enlightened messages of absolute, UNCONDITIONAL love and acceptance without judgment or retribution, not just for suicides, but for people who're deeply troubled in general.

One case that stands out for me is of a woman in her 70s who suffered from severe stomach pains and paralysis, AND whose husband abandoned her. Poor, alone, and desperate, she finally decided to end it using gas in 1922.

She was also alone on the other side, that is, until intervention was made from the world of the living. I find this heartbreaking. If anyone had a RIGHT to end their life, I'd think it'd be her, and thereafter find eternal peace. Go figure!

Overall, in many accounts, I was struck by the seeming lack of compassion in the afterlife for people with serious psychological and/or physical problems. Some even condemn doctor assisted suicide. The words "sin" and "crime" are used often, and in one, "stupid" to describe all suicides.

The "spirits" say there's no judgment in the afterlife. Well, the above words certainly sound like judgment to me.

Some accounts even say the deceased are left to work through their problems on their own.

For example, those who have substance addictions, or suffer from depression are especially going to have a difficult time in the hereafter, whether or not they commit suicide. This makes NO sense to me.

IMO, the afterlife should be a place of healing ESPECIALLY for those with serious problems, but the message here is, if you're lost and alone in this world, it'll be the same in the next, at least for a while. Seems like you're doomed either way.

The authors do mention that those who're troubled may "eventually" be helped by spirit guides and loved ones, but not before they wander around for an indeterminate time alone and in the dark, and it's not guaranteed.

AND, this applies to ANY type of sudden death (ie. murder, accident, disease, etc), not just suicide. AND suicide can ALSO include dying by disease like cancer, if it's brought on by one's attitude. So, as you can see, according to the book, MANY people dying will have trouble in the afterlife, not just your "active" suicide cases. Depressing.

If all this is true, it seriously makes me QUESTION the existence of a benevolent and caring God, and His "plan". Actually, in the section about suicide bombers, God is described as being "neutral", or, in my take, "doesn't give a d**n".

Arguments against suicide include such cliches as "life is precious", "life is a gift from God", blah, blah, blah.

Another bit of "sage" advice given to those with problems is, "change your outlook." Wow!

I find these "messages" UNBELIEVABLY, INCREDIBLY idiotic, considering that the suicide and the troubled departed should KNOW INTIMATELY the state of mind of their counterparts here, and that such messages DON'T do a thing to improve quality of life.

The statement "life is precious" doesn't help in the least when you don't have enough money for food or basics, or when you're alone and have a painful, slowly wasting disease. It hasn't stopped at LEAST 1 million people a year from taking their lives worldwide.

It certainly DIDN'T help the dear departed who're now giving this advice, now did it? That is, assuming these "communications" are genuine, and not just the authors views.

These souls, if they are authentic, should offer something more insightful. Of course, their ultimate argument is that your problems will only carry over.

People DON'T want to commit suicide, it's only when they're faced with problems they CAN'T solve, and their faith and confidence in their wellbeing has been shattered, and are left with no hope. Sadly, the "spirits" of the departed in this book have NOTHING practical, compassionate, or wise to offer on this all important issue, aside from the statement "we must take responsibility for our problems, they are tremendous gifts and opportunities."

Oh give me a break! Serious problems quickly become onerous burdens when you can't find solutions. No one finds them "gifts" then. I can see situations where life becomes so hopelessly screwed up that the only feasible thing is to abort, like the woman who gassed herself.

In the conclusion, it states "he who has shortened his life cannot escape the consequences of his want of courageous endurance." So, you people who have serious problems, it's YOUR OWN fault if you don't have the courage to endure and succeed.

It makes me mad to read this garbage, because this is EXACTLY the kind of "advice" that makes matters WORSE, not better. People with serious life issues DON'T need to be lectured about being cowards (they are NOT). They ALREADY feel useless. Why not just hand them a gun and be done with it?

It is precisely this LACK of compassion as exemplified by some of these messages that is at the ROOT of suicide. Read my lips, they need HELP and compassion while they're still alive, the two things they probably NEVER received, and to be given a POSITIVE reason to live. The conclusion,especially, is filled with these types of messages. The authors, being psychologists, should know better than peddle this c**p.

So, if you're trouble free psychologically, emotionally, and physically, count your blessings, you'll probably also have a charmed afterlife, provided you haven't harmed anyone. For everyone else, suicide or not, it just depends.

ANYONE who has ANY psychological baggage is going to have problems in the afterlife, because our personality stays intact.

I don't advocate suicide as a first option for anyone, but for those who've been around, and have serious psychological, financial, or physical problems (often all three) for which they simply CANNOT find any solution, it's morally REPREHENSIBLE to me that they should be condemned for doing so, in whatever life. Painless suicide should be an option available to anyone who has no other.

If the person has tried his/her utmost to find a solution but can't, then they are blameless for choosing to die, IMO.

I'd also like to know why, WHY pain and suffering are so necessary in the first place to learn "lessons". And why do we HAVE to learn such painful lessons? These are important questions that SHOULD'VE been asked in all these "interviews".

I don't buy the garbage about the necessity to "evolve", because the book itself talks about souls who continually make the SAME mistakes over and over. It seems to me that the primary objective of God's "plan" is to inflict as much torture and pain as possible, with "growth" being just a minor footnote.

The real TRAGEDY and injustice is that some souls are thrown in this world with very little or faulty guidance, and burdened with problems that are simply overwhelming, with no meaningful help. Why? No answers.

In the conclusion it says we ALREADY have everything we need to succeed. That REALLY helps! Another in a string of absolutely USELESS advice. We may have the "tools" to cope with an incarnation and succeed, but if we're not aware of them at the moment needed, then it's the same as NOT having them. A lot of people go through their lives not even knowing what they're doing, or why they're even here. They're left groping in the dark. So much for "already having" what we need to succeed.

Life is NOT a "gift" when you're suffering aimlessly; you have a RIGHT to "tear up" the contract.

The problem with this book is that it really provides no encouragement or help to the afflicted while they're still alive, rather the opposite. It rehashes the standard old unhelpful and destructive lectures against suicide, and perpetuates age old myths. It doesn't even begin to address the very real and practical reasons why some people look at suicide as a viable option, aside from "phoo phooing" the entire notion.

Some may say this is beyond the scope of the book, but if suicides from the "other side" are communicating, you would THINK they'd want to give their counterparts here on earth some real supernatural wisdom to deal with the problems that led the "deceased" to take their own lives, aside from telling those alive not to be wimps.

The book makes a big deal about assigning blame, guilt, and responsibilty, and doesn't do enough to acknowledge the fact that the afflicted are SUFFERING, and that they have very basic needs that are neglected in this world. Even in the section where they talk of therapy in the afterlife, the "compassion" is always mixed with the assignment of blame and guilt for violating the contract.

The authors (both clinical psychologists) should've at least tried to be sensitive to the psyche of suicidal people before writing this. The "advice" for coping, at best is useless, with some of it being destructive and insensitive, using descriptors like "stupid", "lacking courage", "crime", etc.

The authors, in a perverse way, are actually encouraging the afflicted to kill themselves, by not giving them any incentive to live (aside from scaring them), and not giving them hope in an afterlife that's any better: a double whammy...as if suicidals don't already feel hopeless. REALLY uplifting stuff here!

Any therapist worth the paper their degree is printed on would give pause before airing some of the opinions voiced in this book. It is opinion disguised as "unbiased scholarly research".

For those into mediums, this book is NOT the final word on mediumistic communication about suicide. There are other medium communications that take a more balanced approach. They acknowledge suicide may not always be the right choice, while at the same time expressing compassion that the suicide was missing something and was simply unable to bear under the pressures placed on them, and since they didn't get it in this existence, the emphasis is on remedying that deficiency in the afterlife, rather than constantly beating the individual over the head with guilt.

As for some of the mediums interviewed here, I think they're morons. They need to go clean their crystal balls, and the authors need to go retake Introductory Psychology.

I don't pretend to know what the afterlife holds, but some of the stuff here...

In one tiny spec of refreshing honesty, one of the "spirits" supposedly said that he wouldn't hesitate to commit suicide again if he found conditions intolerable for him on earth, and another suicide said he likes it a whole lot better on the other side.


ADDENDUM:

At the risk of making a really long review longer, I'd like to address a popular misconception that's also perpetuated by the authors of this book, that suicide is a coward's way out.

You somehow lack "courage" if you choose suicide. First of, it's NOT a sure thing if you choose this option. Methods readily available are unreliable, violent, and painful at best. You may end up WORSE after a failed attempt. Far, far worse.

That alone is a deterrent for many. It takes a LOT of courage (or pain) to give up a "sure" thing of a life of misery and go plunging headlong into oblivion and the unknown.

Those who think it cowardly should try it sometime. The authors and other ignorant people label it an easy way out, or a "temptation", as if it's like diving into a box of chocolates.

There's NOTHING "easy" about overcoming one's instinct for preservation. More's the sadness of the pain some people endure to even do this.

This book was a real labor of love, well over two years in the making. I co-wrote it with Jon Klimo, who is the world's greatest expert on channeling (which is receiving information from a level of reality other than the ordinary, physical one and from beyond our own consciousness).

I first met Jon as a graduate student in Parapsychology. He was the head of the program, and I spent many hours listening to him in his office. It was during one of those sessions that I remember him telling me about material he'd once been asked to put together about the experiences of suicides in the afterlife so that someone who was suicidal could have a better idea of what they might be getting into. At that time (ten years ago or more) he gathered up about 20 pages of channeled material, all of which made it pretty clear that taking the life of your own healthy body is not a good idea--it saves you nothing (you just have to face those problems again) and often makes things worse for you. And I couldn't help thinking that it should be a book, because that kind of information could really save lives -- and even if someone was determined to continue with their suicide, might better prepare them for what could happen. Years passed. I graduated with my doctorate in parapsychology. Jon and I remained friends. And eventually, we decided to write the book together.

Jon didn't keep a copy of his original material, so we had to start from scratch. We gathered together everything purported to have been channeled by, or about, successful suicides in the afterlife so as to try to create a kind of montage image of what these souls might actually be experiencing. And I was surprised how much has been written about this. I pulled quotes from hundreds of books channeled in cultures around the world from the 1700s to the modern day writing of psychics such as John Edward, James von Praagh, and Lysa Mateu. A lot of work went into trying to be as accurate as possible, and to point out both likely bias and apparent cross-cultural trends so as to create an informed picture of what it may truly be like for traditional suicides, assisted suicides, and suicide-murderers in the afterlife. Nor is all of the material channeled by mediums. It also includes reincarnation research, past-life regression hypnotherapy sessions, psychomanteum experiences, near death experiences, and dreams.

The book is a long one. There's a reason for that. What they say is not a cut-and-dry simple answer, and no cliff notes summary can really do the material justice. However, we worked very hard to present the material in a clear cut, easy to read, manner. You don't have to read it start to finish. The intro is good because it explains a bit about channeling, and the pitfalls you can have with this kind of information. It also addresses the skeptical viewpoint. But then, pick the chapter or chapters that interest you. Most can stand alone, independent of the others. There are chapters about transitioning to the afterlife, adjustment problems, what they would tell others who want to commit suicide, what they wish to say to those left behind, etc. Read what matters to you.

I want to say a brief word about why we went to the time, trouble, and expense (we paid thousands of dollars in copyright permission fees) to create this book. We believe this information is important. The sad thing is that much of this material is not new. Channels have said many of the same things about the experiences of suicides in the afterlife for centuries. But no one knew about this stuff. The information was scattered, a bit here and a bit there, often in unknown or rare books, impossible for the average person to find. So, we gathered the material together in one easy-to-find place, doing our best to point out where the answers differ between sources and what that might mean. And we hope that this book finds its way into the the hands of those who need it.

"Suicide: What Really Happens in the Afterlife?" is also available in Spanish as "Suicidio: Que Sucede Realmente in el Otro Lado? Un Libro Que Puede Salvar Miles de Vidas" from Palmyra Libros.

Contrary to the review by Christian Wilski, there is valid evidence challenging the orthodox theory that consciousness is an epiphenomenon of the brain. The evidence suggests that consciousness *might* survive bodily death. This evidence includes studies of near-death experiences (including during the clinical definition of brain death), experiences suggestive of reincarnation, laboratory studies of mind-to-mind communication at a distance (including recent studies using functional MRI that confirm the results of earlier EEG experiments), experimental studies of mediumship, and so on. The cumulative data is substantial and the arguments more sophisticated than most dismissive skeptics would like to believe. Ultimately, whether one accepts the evidence or not is a matter of personal interpretation, but IF the unorthodox concept of some sort of life after death is true, then the Klimo/Heath book asks a perfectly reasonable question: What are the after-life consequences of committing suicide? The answer may surprise you.

Klimo and Heath have written a brilliant necessary book that is an eye opener to the growing problem of suicide. The basic warning being: don't do it! Traditional suicide is NOT a solution. It only makes things worse.
By far the most fascinating part of the book is the channeled messages from the guides of the suicide boomers. This information is as pure as any channeled information that I have read or experienced.
I cannot imagine that Christian Wilski actually read this book.

My fiance took his own life in front of me almost 3 years ago. This book has helped me so much! It's one of those books that you can bounce around to topics that interest you. I'm not sure I believe everything in this book but it's definately interesting.

Having read numerous messages purportedly coming from the spirit world, I know that there is much conflicting information passing through mediums. The discerning reader comes to understand that spirits are not all-knowing, that some know little, if anything, more than they did when incarnate, that some are devious and intend to mislead, and that for the well-intentioned spirit, explaining celestial matters in terrestrial terms can be extremely difficult. Moreover, messages are often unintentionally "colored" by the mind of the medium, or they can be misinterpreted by the medium.

However, there is one subject on which the spirit messages all seem to agree - suicide. While there may be some conflicting messages relative to suicide by terminally-ill people, the messages overwhelmingly condemn traditional suicide. They strongly suggest that the individual who hopes to escape from his or her problems here in the material world does not so. He takes those problems with him.

This very interesting book explores all aspects of suicide, including socio-cultural perspectives and psychological perspectives. But it goes beyond any other book on suicide that I am aware of by examining the messages channeled from the spirit world, including communications purportedly coming from those who have committed suicide. (The authors prefer to use "channeling" to mediumship.)

The authors are Pamela Rae Heath, an M.D. and board certified anesthesiologist who continued her education with a Psy.D. in psychology while specializing in parapsychology, and Jon Klimo, Ph.D., who has done extensive writing and teaching in parapsychology, consciousness studies, alternative medicine, and metaphysics. While clearly recognizing that there are various theories explaining the purported spirit communication, including fraud, telepathy, super ESP, etc., the authors have gathered hundreds of channeled messages relative to the immediate afterlife environment and suicide in particular, offering them for whatever the reader wants to make of them.

In the Introduction, they explain that the book was written to examine the following interrelated questions: "What, if anything, happens when and after we die? Is there some kind of afterlife, and, if so, what is it like? Is there a relationship between the life one has lived prior to death and the life after death, and, if so, what is that relationship?" The main focus of the book, however, is what happens to people who have taken their own lives.

Part I of the book deals with traditional and assisted suicide, while Part II covers murder-suicide and suicide bombers. I was especially interested in the latter subject as it presents a real dilemma for the person wondering how divine justice applies to people who believe they are doing God's will and acting as martyrs for a cause when they are murdering others and taking their own lives. It is extremely difficult to believe that such horrific actions would be rewarded; yet, at the same time, it is equally difficult to believe that the suicide bombers would be severely punished if the intent was, in their eyes, an honorable one.

Since channeled material started coming through and being recorded 160 years ago, there have been many messages about suicide. Many of those who commit suicide apparently are slow to realize they are "dead," while those who do realize it almost always seem to regret it. One channeled message about Ernest Hemingway, the distinguished author, indicated that his suicide had somewhat undone the tremendous advances he had made. "He will be working on this for some time yet. He had everything: fame, friends, wealth, talent. But he took his own life. Must never do it!"

Finding that there had been little recorded or published about suicide bombers, a fairly new activity, the authors asked several channelers to contact the souls of the suicide bombers, their guides, and others to determine what they were experiencing in the afterlife. The messages were taped and make for very intriguing reading, as does the entire book.

I have had two relatives commit suicide. If only this book had been available to them beforehand and to their loved-ones afterward, it might have saved much grief.

A carefully-crafted, moving, timely text on the consequences of failing to realize that the "you" inside your head is eternal. It is the circumstances outside your head that is the illusion, merely a trick of light and shadow co-created by six billion souls bumping into each other in a state of slumber. In other words, we are consciousness itself once awakened to that reality. On a more personal note, I have been at the scenes of suicides, and other transitions, and there is a qualitative difference that can be felt -- if not put into words. One such case is etched into my mind forever as I was sitting in the office when my close colleague, James B., got a call that something awful had just happened to his wife, Wendy. Together, at the request of the police, I drove him to the country home of his in-laws outside the city limits of Huntsville, Alabama where we immediately saw the body of his dearly beloved spouse of 10-years lying still on the manicured front lawn. Disbelief, horror, panic are only a few of the emotions I sensed in these early minutes as I observed the parade of reactions of a husband, parents, friends, as well as myself display that fateful September day. Wendy had put a bullet through her head upon suffering for a year of in again/out again hospitalization for the manic-phase of bipolar disorder, yet finally yielding to untreated clinical depression and a sudden overwhelming self-destructive impulse. But, all-in-all, what stays with me is the unmitigated grief and shame that was inflicted upon these families by a suicide that they did not prevent, making available even the best medical care and drugs for her. As a therapist, and former crisis counselor with the U.S. Navy, I urge you to read this book and take it to heart, for that is where lives are won, or lost, not in our head, where the unvarnished reality of after-death communications, near-death experiences, etc. have been validated again and again only to be unfairly classified as anecdotal and thereby ignored by the mainstream. Indeed, as many of us researchers know today, the topic in science and religion that needs urgent resolution surrounds the definition of consciousness itself. Not only when awareness enters into the fetus but when does it leave the body to go beyond the grave? Now that is the mystery! But at least we do know where our "sense of self" resides and with what molecules it interacts as psychiatrist Rick Strassman, M.D. revealed in his magnum opus text DMT: The Spirit Molecule: "I believed the source of DMT was the mysterious pineal gland, a tiny organ situated in the center of our brains .... Descartes, for example, believed the pineal was the `seat of the soul,' and both Western and Eastern mystical traditions place our highest spiritual center within its confines." Don't be hoodwinked, therefore, you are an immortal spiritual being but seeking to overcome the challenges of physical mortality, so, ultimately we must begin to live -- and "die" -- with that truth still intact. My own studies reflect the sober conclusion that we create our own heavens and hells as we live day-to-day but those also become our dwelling places between lifetimes. One message that comes through loud and clear from suicides is that realization that what goes around, comes around, or more bluntly: "our choices here, have consequences hereafter!"

Dr. John Jay Harper is author of Tranceformers: Shamans of the 21st Century.

Very coherent presentation, without any obvious agenda except the truth -- this is a book that demands significant time for the serious reader to adjust to new premises and then to absorb their possible meaning.

This is a rare case of re-opening up a taboo subject with brave new knowledge, clearly organized and put forth effectively with conclusions that are ultimately inspirational. I don't know that a proper review can be written by anyone without six months to contemplate the findings of this study. Stunningly intelligent.