I've always been curious about what happens after death, and I enjoyed reading the insights Russell has gained after years of research into Near Death Experiences (NDEs). It's well written and easy to read, and full of encouragement and positivity (that you might not expect when reading a book regarding death). Although NDEs are discussed, this isn't pushing anything like the idea of heaven/hell or any specific religious afterlife. I actually liked the new-age plus scientific lean this took, along with subtly pushing the reader to look inwards and realize their worth. Highly recommend!

The book provides arguments that could comfort non-religious people who have lost a loved one and who are still looking for a way to reconcile with their loss. A very attractive subject, I have 3 friends who have had this type of experience and also the reading was very resonant within me for other reasons.

This book reflects a very current and important aspect of the evolution of the collective consciousness of humanity, where a significant percentage of individuals are in search of a more transpersonal paradigm that empowers us on the one hand. And on the other, we look for a unifying model, to go beyond our dual perception of reality, to stop judging our experience, into two contrasting ideological positions. But to live from a more expanded and transcendent interior space from which to honor, resolve our existence and feel whole. But to live from a more expanded and transcendent interior space from which to honor, resolve our existence and feel complete. As a therapist and in myself, I have experienced and witnessed that when we deeply reconcile traumatic experiences that fragment us, when we manage to integrate them, then a feeling of gratitude and happiness permeates the entire experience, we find a transpersonal meaning, we empower ourselves with wisdom; by learning and to evolve we empower ourselves to move forward, honoring the experience, reconciling ourselves with the people involved.

By reconciling all of this, we access an expanded heightened state of consciousness that we associate with Light and a coherent unifying sensation that we perceive as spiritual Love. When this occurs in deep healing, and here I resonate with what the author says, these very crucial experiences could dismantle the armor of the ego, thus allowing our individual consciousness to access interconnected dimensions of a living Universal Reality to which we belong.

The Wonder of You by Lynn K. Russell
Book Review by Dawn Thomas

200 Pages
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing Ltd / www.6th-books.com
Release Date: January 31, 2020

Health, Mind & Body, Religion & Spirituality, Near Death Experience

This book is a compilation of near-death experience stories. The topics range from accidental deaths to suicide and the personal experiences vary. The stories have different tones since they are written by different people. The one underlying factor is the love and light felt by the participants. The stories are proof there is something after death. The author shares personal experience from her childhood to her abusive marriage.

I enjoyed reading this book and found it uplifting and full of positivity. I recommend this to anyone interested in near death experiences.

Not my kind of book about near death experiences (NDE). I just did not enjoy reading the book as much as I thought I would.
Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review.

The Wonder of You is a fascinating look at all the evidence of eternal life from people who have had near death experiences. While I think many readers interested in the Hereafter and such evidence will be pleased to investigate Russell's book, I do not think she should have presumed to think for the reader. Early on in this book, she more or less states that since all these testimonials have proven that one is encompassed by love in the next life (unless one commits suicide or brings a negative perspective along with one's soul into the afterlife) then all is well and everyone can just dispense with religious teachings. Most intelligent readers prefer to think for themselves and want to assess information on their own, weighing it against their own experiences and learning.

When I first encountered this book, I had thought it may be following on from other books examining the relevance of the near-death experience, or as the writer of this book more categorically called it, the death experience. In fact, this is more an interpretation of what these experiences really mean, in the light of recent discoveries of quantum physics (matter, including that table, is not real) and that consciousness appears to influence matter (the wave/particle finding). The experiences described in this book are reinterpreted through this lens. Reference is also made to the 90's so-called Global Consciousness Project, in which it is claimed that collectively, it was somehow 'known' that 9/11 would happen, before it already did.
Consciousness and Soul operate beyond space and time and are therefore immortal, that is why there is an afterlife in the first place. Here, the book waxes a little too New Agey for my liking. It is suggested that there is no evil, no Satan, no Hell, that is all to do with human negativity.
On that topic, Swedenborg for example did claim that heaven and hell may both be subjective experiences this Soul existing beyond Space and Time may need to get out of their system before moving on. The problem with the New Age position to my mind is that is does not seem to recognise that bad things can happen to good people, nor respect what happened during, for example, the Holocaust. However, the position maintained here may be of both interest and possibly comfort to those individuals whose NDE was negative rather than positive. The fear of Hell can of course be used to frighten those who follow the rules of Caesar into submission and from that point of view, the approach taken here is certainly sympathetic.
My preference is actually for those books on the subject that maintain a more scientific approach to this topic. That way, there is less likely to be embellishment that may come from the beliefs those experiencing an NDE, which is essentially rather beyond most earthly understanding. The writer in fact touches upon the topic of embellishment, but sees this as being more to do with the fact that many people may still be creating their own reality, even while 'dead.'
An interesting book and take on the subject, but one that may speak louder to the choir, rather than to those who may be wondering what to make of what does not seem to be an especially rare experience on a post-positivist world.

How I read this: Free ebook copy received through NetGalley

This book is full of positivity - just as the name suggests. It's not just a collection of NDE (near-death experience) stories - they are only used as a tool to illustrate the point - that death is not final and consciousness is so much more than we allow ourselves to believe it is. Most of the NDEs are extremely positive, and those that are not are transitory and are explained. The goal is to make you less afraid of death and also help you realize you may have a higher purpose in life that just doing your daily chores for another 50 years. And despite the fact that your life is largely made up of those chores, you don't have to be a hero to matter.

The book is very structured - so much so that I breezed through it in two evenings without taking any notes because I didn't want to break the flow of thought. So now I can't give you a more structured account of the contents. But the book talks about previous scientific experiments that were more or less acknowledged and prove the possibility of the reality NDEs point to. There are a lot of interesting ideas, but there's no agenda, no religion or dogma. You're free to choose what you'll take away. The only goal of it seems to be to infuse you with positivity regarding your purpose in life and life in general.

Highly recommended, especially if you have struggled with the fear of death. Of course, if you are very averse to non-standard spirituality, the book may not be a fit for you.

I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

This book felt like a sweet, warm, comforting hug. It brought deeper understanding and new perspective on matters I have read about before, while offering some new information as well.
The information is consistent and presented in a simple and easy to understand manner.

The stories shared are informative and very touching. They helped me find answers to questions that have troubled me for years.

I like that the book includes some important topics such as suicide, purpose and our connections to others, as well as concepts like Love, Light and Oneness.

It also has a chapter where the author explains the differences between out-of-body experiences and near-death experiences. Some may say they’re obvious, but I think it’s quite necessary to point them out in such a book.

This book is challenging, but I am sure that every open-minded person will find some gems in it and I recommend it to everyone who is interested in learning more about near-death experiences and spirituality in general.

Only reading this book brought a feeling of being wrapped in a blanket of love and acceptance. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read it and write a review!

I just reviewed The wonder of you by Lynn K. Russell. #Thewonderofyoulifeafterdeath6thbooksjohnhuntpublishing #NetGalley
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I have read books on near death experiences before but not one like this. I have to admit this book challenged me.
The book started out correctly changing the name from Near Death experiences to Death Experiences as the people in the book did experience death and had a spiritual type of experience and then returned to their physical bodies. I say "Spiritual experience " because when they died they all experienced a love spirit surrounding them of some kind.
The book covered many topics, like love, suicide, purpose, healing consciousness, our reality just to name a few.
I found myself while reading this book having many mixed thoughts and emotions. I try to be as open as possible and to some things i would find myself being amazed and even thinking aha..that makes sense. At the other hand some other things i would struggle with and discount.
This book i would recommend for anyone who wants to be challenged in their views...it is an amazing book. I loved the ending as the main point of the book was that people should realize how wonderful they are. I loved that because so many of us dont know our beauty.