How many times do we say or hear someone else say of death and the afterlife, "I like to think..." followed by an imagining of heaven and what it will be like? I like to think those who loved me and went ahead of me will greet me. I like to think all the pets I've had will eagerly greet me. I like to think there is a place to which my spirit will go to live on in peace and joy. Sure, it's a matter of faith and choice to believe. To some it might seem like fantasy thinking. Well, so what? If it proves, in the end, to be nothing more than fantasy but gives me a sense of peace about my leaving this life, then why not embrace it? Because, let's be honest, what awaits us is not a question we can answer from this side of things.
My recently published novel, Almost Heaven, explores this question--what if heaven is for each of us what we like to think it is. This book began, as do all (I believe), with a question of 'What if?' That question was followed by, 'Why not?' I soon realized it is also a therapeutic work for myself. I've shied away from embracing the notion of death and dying and wondering if there's anyone or anything out there awaiting me. I like to think there is. And that belief has given me some measure of peace with the reality that I will stand at that threshold between this life and the next. I've never been good with the unknown. I like control. And knowing what comes next gives me a measure of control, I suppose.
Annie Crawford has had few but impactful experiences of death. She has had a sketchy education around the concept of an afterlife. She hasn't given much thought to the concept until she is hit by a garbage truck and finds herself in front of a cottage in a small town in a serene setting and finding people she has loved that she can only describe as Almost Heaven. But it's not yet time for her to stay and move beyond that threshold. Besides, she meets someone who gives her news that turns her world upside down. She has to go back to confront the lie about her life.
Her experience changes Annie and causes her to re-evaluate her life and choices. One thing is certain--she's coming back to a very different life than the fast-paced, unfulfilling one she had created. Now it's time to live the life she truly wants. And, when it's time for her to cross that threshold and stay, she can imagine with peace and joy what that next life will hold.
It was a challenge for me to classify this book. I settled on Inspirational Women's Fiction/Fantasy with a romance sub-plot. (Of course there is. There has to be a romance.) Almost Heaven is not a religious look at the concept of heaven, but it is a spiritual view of life and the hereafter, very much a matter of choosing what to believe. Perhaps it's my own effort to take some control over what comes next. I'm a person of faith, but have never been one to blindly follow without a million questions. Almost Heaven could well be my own effort to answer them. I hope Almost Heaven is entertaining, thought-provoking, and comforting for you.
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| Now available at Amazon in ebook and paperback. (Coming soon in Large Print edition) |
