MSI Press Blog

  Just released: the audiobook edition of Passing On: Preparing for the Afterlife  by Joanna Romer. Book description: Existence makes sense only if we include the afterlife as part of our history. Scientists are exploring the concept that life, including what is called the afterlife, may not be as we perceive it. New discoveries having to do with the simultaneous nature of time and the relativity of space coincide dramatically with the testimony of Near-Death Experience (NDE) survivors. The question is, where does our energy go and how much of our identity goes with it? Passing On: How to Prepare Ourselves for the Afterlife attempts to shed light on these questions and many others, such as: Do we meet up with loved ones after we pass on? Do we take form as a physical entity or are we pure essence? Do time and space exist in the afterlife, and: What are the characteristics of the afterlife---is it as joyful, loving and forgiving as those who have undergone a Near-Death Experien...

  This week's blog post is the next in the series of book back stories and is the story behind Passing On: Preparing for the Afterlife  by Joanna Romer. From the publisher -  Joanna Romer, an author who had already written seven books for us and was, at the time, working on two others, Helping the Disabled Veteran and Life after Losing a Child (with Pat Young ), which were ultimately finished and published, came to me with a book proposal for a book on preparing for death. As a popular MSI Press author and retired professor of journalism, her books were well researched, and I was intrigued by how she might go about researching this one. But go about it she did, resulting in another popular book. Little did I know that she might have a very personal reason for writing this book. She passed away not longer after it was released, and her two final books were released posthumously, one with the help of one our copyeditors, who is already a developmental editor, Mary Ann Rae...

  The following excerpt comes from Passing On: How to Prepare Ourselves for the Afterlife by Joanna Romer. CHAPTER ONE The message One day while meditating I received the following message: It is time to begin the ascent. Don’t be nervous. There is nothing scary about it if you’re aware. On the other hand, don’t over-dramatize. This is not about writing a book but about you. You are transcending. It’s what you wanted: to be conscious of the crossing over. Of course, you can write about it, but also learn, take it in; it’s an education. Now, what would you do if you got that message? Would you take it seriously? I did, for a couple of reasons. First, I had just turned 70 a month prior to its receipt. Of course turning 70 does not automatically mean the end of life as we know it, but it does start to make you think a bit about what’s to come. I’m reminded of that TV commercial where a woman at a restaurant is handed a note saying, “Your heart attack will arrive at 2 pm tomor...

  Today's fortune cookie is associated with Passing On (Romer)  Read more about the Joanna Romer and her books HERE . Get a copy at  MSI Prtess webstore . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com.  Want to communicate with one of our authors? You can! Find their contact information on our  Authors' Pages .    

Excerpt from Passing On: Preparing for the Afterlife by Joanna Romer Meet Joe Black   At the beginning of the film Meet Joe Black , Anthony Hopkins’ 65-year-old character is awakened from his sleep one night by a voice saying, “Yes…yes…” He continues hearing the strange voice as time goes on, telling him odd things like: “I want you to get swept away”—until he meets the Angel of Death, played by Brad Pitt. The angel stays with Hopkins’ character, preparing him for death (and also, evidently, learning a thing or two about life for himself). Do we have people in our lives—perhaps angels—who come to us as the time grows nearer to help prepare us for what is to come? This is an interesting thought (and if such beings look like Brad Pitt, we may not mind too much). In Meet Joe Black , the angel helps Hopkins’ character make peace with his family and himself before he passes on. I believe that’s what our angel encounters are for: to help us find peace. The world is constantly pullin...

  In a post on her blog that she shared today, Marti Wells-Smith ( Lamentations of the Heart ) relates a dream about her late son that was experienced by a friend.  Here is the beginning of the post: I want to share a dream with you that a dear friend had, following the passing of my son in 2019. She said that Grant appeared in what looked like a hologram, with a radiant smile, and impressed upon her what seemed to be a telepathic message. He told her that we shouldn't be sad, because there is no sadness in heaven - and that everyone there is connected heart to heart - with a universal language...I think of this often, and rejoice for the beautiful signs I've received, and for a dream such as this. My son is blissfully happy now, forever. But my sadness? It still comes and goes, as time moves along and life continues. Yet it's not a hopeless sorrow - I have great hope for our futures. Can you feel your loved ones gone on? Do you also wait to be reunited with great ex...

  From US Review of Books book review of Passing On; Preparing for the Afterlife: "...written beautifully in the descriptions of bliss, peace, forgiveness,  joy and beauty, both on earth and what others have described in the afterlife through their NDEs. The work about how to prepare for the afterlife, such as reading, meditation, being in nature and praying, is helpful as is the Appendix with its focus on afterlife characteristics."                                                  -Carol Anderson,  U.S. Review of Books Read the rest of the book review HERE . Read more posts about Passing On HERE . Read more posts about Joanna and all her books HERE .

Farewell to Mother  Reading Dr. Alexander’s book about his near-death experience, I was immediately struck by the experience I’d had when my mother was in a coma. It was so vivid I can remember how it felt to this day, though it was now 29 years ago. My mother was a very healthy woman. In her 70s, she swam every day, worked on her writing and maintained a busy social life with the local garden club and other organizations. When my father died, Mom was 75 and her abilities were undiminished. After two years, sShe seemed to be rebounding nicely from Dad’s deathafter two years, yet something may have been missing that I wasn’t aware of. Or perhaps, as a neighbor hinted, she’d met a new man… One night I was awakened by a phone call around 1 a.m. “You’d better come down to Florida,” an unfamiliar voice said. “Your mother’s in a coma.” I was astonished. Just four days earlier I had talked to my mother and she’d told me she was on her way to Miami to see the Pope, who was visit...

  5-star review for Passing On "...a beautifully written and fascinating guide...will keep readers' minds and hearts engaged from the start all the way through until the very end. Author Romer has done an excellent job in balancing her own life experiences, personal research and the experiences of others to provide valuable insight and information to all those with questions or concerns about afterlife existence, and her clear writing techniques make even some more abstract ideas come to life...enlightening and lovely."                                             -Tracy Slowiak for Readers' Favorite Read the rest of the review HERE. For more posts about this book, click HERE . For more posts about Joanna and all her books, click HERE .