A Gift from Heaven: True-life stories of contact from the other side. Jacky Newcomb

accident, too. She told me that when she was around ten, she recalls falling asleep one night and all of a sudden she found herself walking along a golden path. There were millions of flowers on either side. She was on a mission, following the path somewhere, and all around the light seemed golden. She could see other people too, but they looked like shadows on the path.

      Then she turned and looked up and was aware of her spiritual self looking down at the person on the path below. Suddenly she was pulled up by ‘Big Nana’ (her great-nana, who passed over some while before). The woman was lifting her out of bed really fast and really high. Then the next thing she recalls was being back in her bed and Big Nana was sitting beside her. ‘She died when I was very young,’ Donna told me, ‘but I still knew it was her.’ The experience remains just as clear to her today as it did back then, and she still recalls all the details and emotions that she felt at the time.

      I love to read about the ‘geography’ of heaven, and I once wrote a book full of descriptions of the other side. When you see how many people independently visit the afterlife and then come back and share the same visions, it makes you realise that these experiences have to be real. Heaven is a wonderful world full of light and amazing colour. Anyone who sees these magical realms comes back with the feeling of wonderful, unconditional love.

      Other encounters with the afterlife take place very much in our world. Carole’s experience involved a physical interaction that makes it extra special. She explained how she had lost her lovely dad fifteen weeks before writing to me; they’d made a pact twenty-five years earlier that whoever went first would bring contact from the other side. Since her dad had passed on, Carole had been very down and ill. She went to a spiritual church a few times, and although her friend had messages from her own mum who’d passed, there was nothing there for Carole, and she naturally felt disappointed.

      Then recently she was feeling depressed and ill once again and lay down on the settee, thinking a little snooze would be helpful. About an hour later she woke up absolutely freezing. The rain was lashing against the windows but she didn’t have time to move her body because all of a sudden her dad was by her side. He looked just as he had a few years before, when he was still alive, Carole recalled. He reached across and pulled a blanket over his daughter and even tapped her shoulder comfortingly, as if to say, I’m here still, and then he went. Since that afternoon she’s become more aware of him and it’s really helped her adjust to the situation. Carole is so pleased her dad kept his word to appear to her after he passed away.

      Carole then contacted me again a few months later with some more sad news. In January, when the weather was at its worst, her ten-month-old kitten went out and never came back again. Naturally she was devastated. But then she woke up to see a faded outline of her dad holding the kitten and she felt relieved. Dad had also brought the dog (that she’d lost the year before to old age) with him. Carol feels she had the proof she was looking for. Not only was she comforted to know that her loved ones had continued to live, but they were also together.

      What a sad story! But it’s nice to know that the kitten and the dog are safely with Carole’s dad. After my dad passed, he visited me and my sisters in dream visitations with different pets on different occasions! He still sometimes has a dog with him when he visits. So many people want to know that their pets, which are so important to us in life, are also safe after death. It’s essential for us to know that they, too, made it safely to the afterlife. After many, many years of writing these books and sharing true-life stories, I know it’s real. Yes, pets go to heaven too! Do you have pets on the other side? I know you’ll feel as reassured by this phenomenon as I do.

      I personally love it when psychic phenomena happen too – do you know what I mean? My dad and uncle were big doorbell ringers after they passed on; it was one of their many ways of letting us know they were around. I find all that exciting, but I’ll admit that most people are frightened by physical activity. However, it’s less scary when you are on the verge of sleep, either just before waking or just before falling asleep. Janie had this happen to her recently. She explained that she’d just come back from her best friend’s funeral. Janie called her friend her angel because she was so caring to her and others. One night she went to bed crying, and when she finally got to sleep a light woke her up again. She heard a whisper in her ear saying, ‘You know you used to call me your angel? Well, I am!’ Janie heard a chuckle and the light went again. What a lovely experience.

      With afterlife experiences like this we have to remember that the love we shared on the earth side of life doesn’t suddenly disappear after our loved ones pass on. When they come back to visit from the other side they bring that same love with them and their personalities are much the same. If Uncle Bob didn’t frighten you when he was alive, he certainly isn’t going to scare you now he is dead (at least, he doesn’t mean to!).

      Actually, this is a good place to say that if someone did hurt you in life and they do try to come back to see you, it’s because they have a wider perspective and understanding of what they did wrong now that they are a spirit. They would only be coming back to say sorry (and yes, this does happen from time to time). Of course, the same rules apply in heaven as they do on earth. Just because someone comes knocking at the door, it doesn’t mean you have to let them in! If you are worried that someone you disliked (or were frightened of) might come back from the other side, let me reassure you that they may not do so without your permission. You can ask your own guardian angel to bar the way, or imagine the great Archangel Michael (the one you see in churches) standing guard with his great sword. Say no and they have to go away. This is a great way of empowering yourself and getting back your strength against someone who hurt you in life. You’re in charge now.

      If you’re new to this phenomenon and it all sounds a little crazy, let me reassure you once more. This isn’t some made-up New Age mumbo jumbo – this information comes from real-life experiences that my readers have shared with me. Lots of people (especially children) experience Archangel Michael in dream visitations! (For some children, they actually see Michael – or Mike – when they are awake.) You are perfectly safe. Over the years, lots of people have written about spirits who came back to apologise to them. You can ask the angels to hold that person at arm’s length if you feel the need. However, you might find a little peace if the spirit does come back to apologise in a way they were unable to do in life. Give it some thought. Your forgiveness might help you both to move on.