Emotional ups and downs are considered the norm when pregnant, but Stephanie Arnold knew the terrifying premonitions she kept having, of dying while delivering her second child, went far beyond anything she had ever experienced before or even heard of. Fortunately, she was persistent in discussing these haunting dreams and flashes of insight with her family and physicians, and one doctor had the foresight to take precautionary measures, which saved Arnold's life when she suffered a rare amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) in the delivery room.
What unfolds in rapid, tense drama are Arnold's memories of the months preceding the birth, her desperate attempts to find someone who would pay attention to her fears, and the ensuing months of recovery after the AFE. Since AFEs are a leading cause of maternal death around the world, Arnold's story is that of a medical phenomenon coupled with her unusual ability to follow through on the forewarnings she received. Her capacity to recall the events that transpired while she was clinically dead are spot-on with what actually happened as confirmed by doctors. This sent Arnold searching for others who might have had similar premonitions. She found several cases where children and adults had foreseen the future, which gave Arnold "great relief and confirmation that we can in fact sense things before they happen." Arnold's explanations are non-melodramatic, illuminating and edifying, and leave the door wide open for new discussions about souls and where the life force of a person goes when the body dies. --Lee E. Cart, freelance writer and book reviewer