After writing and posting my last review, I picked up my copy of Return from Tomorrow (1973) by George G. Ritchie and began reading it that same morning. I wanted to make sure that my thoughts from Embraced by the Light (1992) by Betty J. Eadie and The Light after Death (2022) by Vincent Todd Tolman were still fresh in my mind, so I could easily compare the three stories of near death experiences and relate them in a post.
Like the other books, Return from Tomorrow is short and sweet at just 141 page long. I didn’t feel that it went into the same depth as Eadie or Tolman’s book, so I was able to finish it in one day. The other books I felt the need to put down and absorb what I had read before continuing on with their story.
George’s NDE happened in 1943 when he was a 20 year old soldier in the army. He developed influenza and pneumonia while stationed in Texas which led to his untimely death. In real life, he was dead 9 minutes (debatable since the orderly came into his room and found him dead and then went to fetch the doctor). Like Eadie and Tolman, George found himself looking at an unrecognizable body in a bed where he had been laying.
After traveling at speeds he can’t explain, trying to get to Richmond, VA, (where he was to start medical school that same week) George realizes that he can’t seem to get any help, directions, or recognition from anyone along the way. Putting the pieces together, he realizes he’s dead and immediately returns to the hospital in Texas to try to find his body…that he saw laying in the bed. When he finally found his body, a man who is made of white light appeared.
Much like Betty Eadie, George Ritchie refers to the man that greeted him Jesus after the being tells him he’s the Son of God. Again, I think the person you meet depends on your religious upbringing and could introduce themselves as Buddha, Allah, Mohamad, etc. But each story, including Vinney’s tells of the pure love that embraced them from their guide, and a light that was so bright, human eyes would never be able to look upon it without going blind.
In Return from Tomorrow, George Ritchie says he was shown lost souls who still roam the earth apologizing to those they hurt when they committed suicide. He was shown a type of purgatory and hell, something that neither of the other authors mentioned in their heavenly journeys. And though, he claims he never actually entered heaven itself (it was a city off in the distance), a lot of what George describes of the buildings, rooms and angels he was shown, are just like the descriptions that Betty and Vinney give of their tours of heaven.
So, besides the blinding light of their guide, what other similarities are there between these three authors?
The vivid, indescribable colors.
Traveling through time and space at speeds no human body could survive.
The ability to speak to their guides and angels telepathically. No words needed.
Life review - including the good and the bad without judgement.
The depression and need to get back to heaven after returning to their bodies.
LOVE
I think one of the best examples of what the overall meaning behind each NDE experience, was when George was asked by the light, “What have you done with your life?” Immediately, he started listing all his achievements and successes, but it wasn’t long before he realized that what he did for himself was not the right answer. Betty, Vinney and George all explain in their respective books that it’s what they give and do for others in their time on earth that is the measure of success in heaven. Each author detailed their own personal horror and grief at seeing the pain and suffering that they inflicted on other people while watching their life review. And all three, vowed to set out to live better lives and to spread love for the rest of their days on earth.
So…
What have you done with your life?
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