Awakenings from the Light: 12 Life Lessons from a Near Death Experience

Nancy Rynes was riding her bicycle when a large SUV approached. The vehicle’s driver, absorbed in texting while driving, plowed right into Rynes, dragging her under the SUV until bystanders intervened.

Suffering from severe spinal and head injuries, Rynes knew she was dying. At that moment, she underwent the first of two life-changing near-death experiences—her consciousness split between her frightened, injured self laying on the road, and an impartial, peaceful observer-consciousness who watched as first responders fought to keep her alive. Her second, more lengthy near-death experience (NDE) came days later, during the surgery to repair her traumatized spine.

Rynes, a scientist and confirmed skeptic, was shown the wonders of Heaven, experiencing joy, love, and beauty on such a grand scale that she wept at its magnitude. She then met and spoke with a Being who gave her insights into life, love, and the wonders of Spirit. After her tour of Heaven, she was returned to her body to begin the long, slow process of recovering from injuries her surgeon affirms should have killed her.

In Awakenings from the Light, Rynes recounts the amazing sights of Heaven, and explains the remarkable insights into life she returned with to share with others. She was gifted with a second chance—a precious opportunity to bring a little bit of Heaven into her life on Earth. The wisdom she passes on could well change your life as well.

“You have expressed your story so clearly, and positively that I can feel that love floating off the page. Bless you. “ Richard V.

“Nancy, thank you for sharing this. I have heard a number of NDEs before but have believed none to this point primarily because they were told by attention seekers. I don't believe that is the case here. I've never heard it explained so well…Thank you for bolstering my faith.” Lou B.

Nancy Rynes was raised on a small farm near Woodstock, Illinois and is currently a writer and artist residing near Boulder, Colorado.

Born Roman Catholic, Rynes became an atheist, and later an agnostic, beginning in her late teens when she went to university to study geology and archaeology. While she began her education as an artist at Chicago's American Academy of Art, she went on to earn a BSc in geology from Northern Illinois University, then attended the University of Colorado, Boulder, for Masters-level coursework. The sciences taught her to base her views only on things that were measurable. Since Spirit was not measurable, it did not exist in her view.

The skepticism remained until January of 2014 when Spirit gave Rynes a wake-up call in the form of a tragic accident. Since her near-death experience, she has returned to a more spiritual and creative life based on the wisdom she learned in Heaven.

In the past, Rynes has been an archeological artist, geologist, and data analyst, and science/technical writer. But then Heaven threw her a curveball, one she feels she desperately needed. Now, she writes books about Spirit, what happens when we die, and how we can bring a little bit of "Heaven" to our lives on Earth.