OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Near Death Experiences of Suicide Survivors: Find Out What Happens When You Commit Suicide" by John J. Graden.]

“Near Death Experiences of Suicide Survivors” by John J. Graden

John J. Graden currently resides in Clearwater, Florida, and the after-life is his specialty. Though he has never experienced a NDE (Near Death Experience) himself, he has said “I have had dreams of going to hell and it was terrifying.” It all started after his own mother told him of her NDE during an operation. Since then he has been hooked on finding out more. During this pursuit he has become a member of the Million Dollar Author Club and has found himself a comfy spot in the self-publisher's Hall of Fame. “Near Death Experiences of Suicide Survivors” is the third installment in his series of non-fiction Near Death Experience books. The books range from NDE of children, doctors, scientists, and suicide survivors. His works have included not only reports of those who have visited heaven, but also of those who have unfortunately experienced hell.

“I felt Jesus in the room. I felt like I was just an audience to Him,” Jeff says while recalling what happened when he was only sixteen years old. He is one of seven people we get to meet in this book. This includes a mother of two, more teenagers, a bride-to-be, a father, and a recent college grad. The author discusses the events leading up to each person's decision, and then he describes what they saw and felt before returning to life. There really isn't any further discussion or analysis of the stories, which all establish the same theme: that suicide results in going to hell.

I was excited going into the book. I love anything that has to do with unexplained experiences and the after-life. First off, I did not expect the book to be so short. Then I was thrown off by severe formatting errors. The intro is shown twice along with chapter four, and not in a sequential order. It made me stop reading and scan the entire book. I thought I was having a technical error. Next, there are noticeable grammar and spelling mistakes throughout the text. Lastly, there is a lot of odd spacing, which left me feeling that it was a last-ditch effort at adding length to the book.

I must emphasize the brevity of the excerpts. I managed to finish the whole thing in thirty minutes. I did not feel that I got to know a single person in the book. I would have loved more depth in each person's back story as well as greater detail in describing their experiences. I also felt left-out-to-dry when the book ended with the seventh personal story. There was no theorizing or anything. It was cut-and-dry. Also, I find it odd that each person would come to a religious understanding of their experience. Plenty of people have supernatural experiences, but rarely do they all cling to the exact same rationale. It made it feel a bit forced, and perhaps guided by the author.

Overall, I give the book a 2 out of 4. The individual stories themselves held enough value to render the book as OK. I just wish the author had done a better job formatting, proofreading, and describing. I recommend it to anyone who is curious to hear a few stories of what people have experienced, but I do not recommend it to anyone who has had family members or friends who have succumbed to suicide. It will break you heart, and offers no solution in dealing with it.

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Buy "Near Death Experiences of Suicide Survivors: Find Out What Happens When You Commit Suicide" on Amazon

Nicely written review. I would never be able to read this because it would be too emotionally troubling for me, especially since you mention it has no "solution" in dealing with it.

Thanks for the compliment. And yes... it was troubling in that respect. In some ways I could see that some would take comfort in the notions given of an afterlife, but it would only be for those who haven't experienced or known anyone to have experienced suicide or the attempts of suicide. For those who have loved ones who have committed suicide it would absolutely crush them, because the afterlife descriptions are not pleasant ones.

Thoughtful review. I agree with you that when reading this subject matter, it helps if you have a little more back story with the people involved.

Thanks. And yeah.. I really wanted to know the people behind the experiences better. Feel how they felt, etc.

I do enjoy quick reads though.

It is kind of perfect for waiting at the Dr's office or in transit. If you just want to see what the experiences were. Totally. It is still a very interesting topic all on it's own.

Thank you for the lovely review! The book isn't for me, but I enjoyed reading your review.

Great review! I think it is insightful of you to point out the lack theorising, and therefore context, to the stories. I would find that frustrating also.

I read with interest when you mentioned all the formatting errors: I have come across so many like this in my reviews! I'm really amazed at how little proof reading goes into self-published books. It completely ruins a book for me, I have to admit.

This is going to sound really sarcastic, but I don't intend it that way at all. I'm sincerely curious:
I wonder how one becomes a specialist in the after-life. Is it in the psychology field? Religious studies?

Thank you Gali and zoedecicco!


And yeah it is wayyy more common in self-published books (spelling and grammatical errors), but I have been fortunate to have had good experiences with them too. But definitely... it can kill a book quick when it is bad.

And ALynn. haha. I think it is a bit of both wrapped up with a bow of a curious nature. I think people who find themselves in the field can end up there from all sorts of different paths, and look at it in different angles. For one person it might be spiritual to them, others scientific, maybe for some just a thrill? Who knows. haha. But interesting no matter what... in my case.

Skillian wrote: And ALynn. haha. I think it is a bit of both wrapped up with a bow of a curious nature. I think people who find themselves in the field can end up there from all sorts of different paths, and look at it in different angles. For one person it might be spiritual to them, others scientific, maybe for some just a thrill? Who knows. haha. But interesting no matter what... in my case.

I felt silly asking, but I'm for real. It's not like I ever saw a class for it at the university. Though I'm sure there would be somewhere. "Anthropological Studies in Near Death Experiences." I might actually sign up for that.

haha! I would to. Even if only for an elective. I would be like.. OK... how can I not find out what that is all about?

zoedecicco wrote:Great review! I think it is insightful of you to point out the lack theorising, and therefore context, to the stories. I would find that frustrating also.

I read with interest when you mentioned all the formatting errors: I have come across so many like this in my reviews! I'm really amazed at how little proof reading goes into self-published books. It completely ruins a book for me, I have to admit.

I have also noticed this with several of the books I've reviewed. I find this occurs frequently with self-published books. I never see this in traditional books. The formatting errors, grammatical errors, etc. make the books appear unprofessional.

bookowlie wrote:

zoedecicco wrote:Great review! I think it is insightful of you to point out the lack theorising, and therefore context, to the stories. I would find that frustrating also.

I read with interest when you mentioned all the formatting errors: I have come across so many like this in my reviews! I'm really amazed at how little proof reading goes into self-published books. It completely ruins a book for me, I have to admit.

I have also noticed this with several of the books I've reviewed. I find this occurs frequently with self-published books. I never see this in traditional books. The formatting errors, grammatical errors, etc. make the books appear unprofessional.

I agree as well. Vastly more common with self-published books... but not all of them. I wont write them all off, because I have also encountered a handful which defy this ever growing stereotype surrounding self-published authors. Also... sometimes the book can still be great despite a bit of unprofessional-ism... though that is just about as rare. Then again like this one... I still found the stories themselves very valuable due to them being real experiences. So... it all really just depends.