Saved by the Light: The True Story of a Man Who Died Twice and the Profound Revelations He Received

by Dannion Brinkley, Raymond A. Moody Jr. (Introduction), Paul Perry

On September 17,1975,after being electrocuted by a bolt of lightning,Dannion Brinkley died. When he revived twenty-eight minutes later in a morgue, he had the story of a lifetime to tell- a profoundly moving account of what happened to him during his near-death experience. It is a tale of a dark tunnel, a crystal city, and a "cathedral of knowledge" where thirteen angels shared with him 117 revelations about the future-95 of which have already come true. Even he now possessed the ability to read minds, no one believed his story of the spiritual transformation that changed his life- except others who had died and come back.A second near-death experience reunited him with with his angelic instructors.This time,they revealed that he was to use his new psychic gifts to help the dying.Since then, he has dedicated his life to working with the sick and elderly, and sharing his fantastic story with people everywhere. Dramatic and inspiring, Saved By the Light is an exciting look at the fascinating mysteries of life and death.

Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Paranormal, Religion, Inspirational

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 8, 1994

About the author

Dannion Brinkley is an American author who described two near death experiences (NDEs) in his 1994 book Saved by the Light. He is also a hospice volunteer, speaker, and prominent figure in the New Age and New Thought Movement.

Reviews

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS A LITERARY FRAUD.

See STOLEN VALOR pp 385-387

The author of Stolen Valor filed a freedom of information request for the military records of Dannion Brinkley.
Not only was Brinkley not a "marine corps assassin" in Vietnam,

HE NEVER LEFT THE UNITED STATES DURING HIS 18 MONTHS OF SERVICE.

He spent his time in a Transportation Battalion at Atlanta Georgia.
Trucking supplies like toilet paper & blankets to other Marine facilities in the US.

He attended NO schools for specialized combat operations,
and Received NO medals related to the war.

The entire book is FICTION.

[Ernie McCracken · Rating 1 out of 5]

I find NDE's fascinating and I've read my share of books on the topic. I've found that it's hit or miss with these books, as of course it's an entirely subjective experience related by the author. Personally, I can only go on my intuition when evaluating the merits of each account. After finishing 'Saved by the Light' by Dannion Brinkley, I felt that I had been scammed. While I do believe in the NDE phenomenon (the evidence is overwhelming), inevitably there will be a few hucksters preying on those of us who seek out legitimate accounts of highly unique spiritual experiences. Yes I believe that Brinkley got struck by lightning. That's about all I believe from him. He has used this false narrative to create a very lucrative career for himself. His website is all about making money - it's so materialistic, tacky and superficial; it's really no different than what we've all seen with shady televangelists. Not what you would expect from someone claiming a "life-chaging spiritual experience." Paraphrasing scripture, "Judge a tree by the fruit it produces."
BTW: Google 'Dannion Brinkley' and you'll find many accounts from credible sources that refute his claims.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book. Author makes some wild claims about being able to see into the future. He worked with Raymond Moody so there may be some truth to his claims. Overall it was thought provoking and inspiring to read. I did a little research on the author and saw a few youtube videos of his interviews on different talk shows. Although he my be sincere, he comes across as a used car or snake oil salesman.

At the end of the day, you either will believe his claims or call him a liar. In the words of Fox Mulder, "I want to believe."

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was EXACTLY what I expected- complete and utter bullshit. This guy claims he had a near death experience where "beings of light" showed him the future. Only problem is, most of the things they showed him didn't happen. In 1993, when he wrote the book, he claimed that they showed him Chernobyl, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the gulf war.But all his predictions that weren't made "after the fact" were wrong. He said there would be a nuclear disaster in 1995. that early in the 21st century the US would be destroyed by earthquakes, that the US would fall apart and be bankrupt in 2000, that a religion would rise based on environmentalism, and become powerful enough to take over the world, etc. He also says that these beings of light commanded him to build centers where people would be healed by energy. It's crazy. The man is either a certifiable lunatic, or, more likely, a fraud.

I also lost all respect for David Moody (who is the guru of Near Death Experience) because he believed in and promoted this guy. It was so obvious that everything this guy said was baloney. I just can;t believe that people actually believe this garbage!

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting account of Dannion Brinkley's near-death experience. Well-written and profoundly thought provoking.

From back cover:

"On September 17, 1975, after being electrocuted by a bolt of lightning, Dannion Brinkley died. When he revived twenty eight minutes later in a morgue, he had the story of a lifetime to tell-a profoundly moving account of what happened to him during his near-death experience.

It is a tale of a dark tunnel, a crystal city and a cathedral of knowledge where thirteen angels shared with him 117 revelations about the future-95 of which have already come true. Even though he now possessed the ability to read minds, no one believed his story of the spiritual transformation that changed his life-except others who had died and come back. A second near-death experience reunited him with his angelic instructors. This time, they revealed that he was to use his new psychic gifts to help the dying. Since then, he has dedicated his life to working with the sick and elderly and sharing his fantastic story with people everywhere."

[Cherene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book about the author's near death experience definitely puts life into perspective. Brinkley's experience was similar to a lot of other accounts I have read, but also different in that he saw the future of the world, and became able to read others' thoughts...interesting, no? But the thing that struck me about this book is that he was given a mission to complete when he was sent back to Earth, and it is to reduce stress in the lives of others so that they can become more spiritual, less fearful, and more loving. I found this very interesting, and it made me view counseling in a more spiritual light. I believe strongly in relaxation, but have never really thought about the spiritual component or importance of learning to relax. This book gave me a lot of food for thought!

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dannion Brinkley was struck and killed by lightning. He awoke twenty-eight minutes later in a morgue, and discovered that he allegedly had visited the afterlife and was psychic to boot. As I read this book I quickly realized that I am just too cynical to appreciate it. I suspect it is time to return to historical fiction or maybe a good serial killer book.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found some subtle inaccuracies of place (I have lived in SC for the past 40 years). I also found links on the Internet questioning the author's alleged service in Viet Nam. All-in-all, not a very convincing read. It only takes two sittings, though.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

it isn't that this book is so great or well written, i am just so fascinated by near death experiences.

[Tim Malone · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of the more controversial NDE books because it’s full of predictions about the future that failed to materialize. When I read how the visions of these future events were presented to him I had to put the book down for some time before I could finish it. In his NDE, beings of light came to him with little TV sets in their chests that showed future world events. He claimed to have seen in his 1975 NDE numerous major world events that happened prior to the publication of the book in 1994. Of course, I was immediately suspicious, especially because he also claimed to have seen events such as a 1995 nuclear accident in Norway that didn’t happen and the economic collapse of the United States prior to the year 2000. I had a hard time with this book when I read it and I still do. I don’t doubt he had an NDE, or three as he has claimed but I’m not too sure about his interpretations. Either he didn’t remember very well or he embellished them for some reason.

Source: http://latterdaycommentary.com/2013/0...

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

...who died twice. That makes 100% better than Jesus. Isn't it a bit too much?

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saved By the Light is written by Dannion Brinkley. He puts specific parts of his book. All of the chapters are about one specific subject. He starts off the book by describing what the day was like when he died the first time. After he had reached the hospital after being electrocuted, he decribes what it felt like when he could feel his heart shutting down and him basically dying. He talks about being able to see himself on the stretcher and suddenly heading towards a bright light. He then goes into detail about what he sees and the things he does there. He mentions things like “Beings” who were glowing and looking over his life in a life review. He then recalls when he woke up being pulled on a stretcher going to the morgue. After this, he ends up staying in the hospital for a couple weeks, and then writes about how he was after he left the hospital. Thinking that there weren’t many people who have the same experiences, he decided to go to a meeting for people like him, where he learned that there were plenty of other people with the same experiences. He later writes about how he almost died a second time. He describes not just the trials he had, but also the things that he was able to do that he was thankful for.
I liked this book because it had an interesting story and it had a lot of details. I feel like even if one didn’t believe in an afterlife, it’d still be an interesting story.

[Jackie St Hilaire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ask and you shall perceive.

In 1974 I had a near death experience and like the author who experienced his NDE in 1975, I went searching for answers. There were not many books on this subject. I also came across Dr. Raymond Moody's book: "Life after Life", the first that I read. Eventually I would read anything and everything that I could get my hands on, just like Dannion Brinkley and Eben Alexander who wrote: "Proof of Heaven" in 2012.

Dannion had an extraordinary experience and the event that lead to his death was extraordinary. He was electrocuted and the medical staff sent him home with his wife to live out his last days. Because of the dreams and visions that followed his NDE Dannion was able to find a purpose for his life. He struggled both physically and mentally but the knowledge that was inside of him kept him going but not without many setbacks.

Despite his horribly flawed life that he had lived, the "Being of Love" came to forgive and granted him peace and inner joy. An unconditional love that no one can earn.

After accepting the gift of unconditional love, Dannion was given a series of 13 prophecies. Prophecies are given so that one can warn the people to change or catastrophes will happen. We all can make changes in our lives to change our destiny and the destiny of the world.

Dannion was also given assignments to be fulfilled before 1992. One specific assignment was to help build "centers" These centers would change the future. Their focus was to reduce stress and fear, which cause many of the world's problems.

Dannion met Dr. Raymond Moody when Dr. Moody came to South Carolina to give a lecture on near death experiences. This meeting changed Dannion's whole perspective on his experience. The two men became very fond of each other and were able to bring to many people comfort and wisdom through the NDE experience.

During his recovery period Dannion didn't sit around and feel sorry for himself. He started many businesses that would result in producing many of the assignments that were given to him in 1975. He was a contributing factor in helping the US government in anti-bugging devices.

Even though Dannion was busy with his business, aiding Dr. Moody, giving lectures, he found time to do Hospice volunteer work. This had also been directed by the visions. Dannion loved this part of his life. Besides attending to the patients, he also offered respite for the caregivers.

This aspect of Dannion really connected with me because I also am a Hospice volunteer and received Dannion's book from a lady who is also a Hospice volunteer. I do book reviews for our Hospice and she suggested that I might do a review on your book. Since the channel has been opened, I believe it's time to tell my own story. This book will be an introduction.

Like Dannion I would like to share my NDE with the patients but I have been leery of doing so, I will thread lightly and if the right situation arises I will go forward. I remember one gentleman a few months back. He was in a nursing home, not able to get out of bed, all his food was pureed. I asked him: "Are you tired of being in bed and not able to do anything, don't you want to move on and have your body transformed?" He answers me: "I'm perfectly fine with this body." Goes to show you that for some people illness is better than death, at least they know what they have to face everyday. Death is such a taboo subject that it's hard to talk about.

Another gentleman with Alzheimer's, also in a nursing home, he was 97, I was doing a life legacy for the family. His daughter didn't want me to tell him I was from Hospice. Making it hard for us to talk about his approaching death. Personally, I think it was the daughter who was having a hard time with death, so because of her hang up, this gentleman was not able to talk about it, let go and move on.

Both gentlemen passed away in July 2015.

At the conclusion of his book, Dannion is building a center for Hospice in South Carolina. Again, the "Being of Light" told him to build this center.

Dannion leaves us with a quote from:
1 Corinthians 14
Modern English Version (MEV)

Tongues and Prophecy Follow after love and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in an unknown tongue does not speak to men, but to God. For no one understands him, although in the spirit, he speaks mysteries. But he who prophesies speaks to men for their edification and exhortation and comfort. He who speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I desire that you all speak in tongues, but even more that you prophesy. For greater is he who prophesies than he who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edification.

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1975 at 25 years old, Dannion Brinkley was talking on the phone and struck by lightning. He died, went through a life review, seen crystal cities and was told to build centers. He was also given prophecies of things to come.

He was dead for 28 minutes and when he came back, he couldn't move. All he could do was blow on the sheet to show he was still alive.

It took Dannion a long time to recover, but he was a changed man. And in 1989 Dannion had a second near death experience. His heart was so damaged from the lightning strike that it was going to give out if they didn't do surgery.

After having a talk with Raymond Moody, Dannion agreed to the sign the papers so they could do surgery. During the surgery he died again and had his second near death experience.

I think I first found out about Dannion Brinkley when I was in my early teens. I had watched a documentary about near death experience. Dannion was one of the people on there talking about his near death experiences and I have liked him ever since and have wanted to meet him.

This is the first time I've read his book, but I already know a lot about him. I've read a lot about him online, even the reports of his supposed fraud.

I've been into paranormal things for years and when it comes to psychics, people who have near death experiences, etc, I know there are those that will always try to discredit people with such abilities and experiences.

I'm sure there are people who have lied about near death experiences and I know there are people who have faked psychic abilities. Does this mean all psychics are fake? No, it doesn't. Does this mean all people who claim who had have near death experiences are lying? No, it doesn't. And All that I have read about Dannion Brinkley, even those trying to discredit him, I do not believe he is a liar.

I feel that he is an honest person. A person that really cares about people and I'm happy to say that I will be meeting him in July.

This is an amazing book. It's well-written and besides his own story, Dannion shares stories of others who have had near death experiences. Some are really touching and all are just amazing.

This is just a great book that gives you a lot to think about. And it definitely makes you want to careful on how you treat people. I always try to treat everyone with kindness, but this is a nice reminder that everything you do affects people. If you're nice, kind and caring, it is good feelings. But if you're mean and hateful, It's feelings of sadness, anger and others.

This really is a life changing book and I'm glad to have read it.

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book I was so determined not to like at all. I have never read books soley focused on NDE's (Near Death Experience), so I was skeptical. But like most things I am weary of, I end up liking them in the end. I didn't love the book. I would have given it a 3.5 if that was possible. I loved the parts that mentioned the LDS point of view of the afterlife and their NDE accounts. For once, the LDS people were not put down in any way. Shocking!

Dannion's account of the room that the beings told him to build sounds a lot like L. Ron Hubbard's book, or Scientology. Some of the NDE account also sounded like Scientology to me as well. Dannion is a very likeable person. I can see why he and his wife divorced. He was entirely set on his NDE and other's NDE's too. I recommend reading the introduction and forward after the book, as they give much of the story away!

[Valerie Carpenter parzyck · Rating 1 out of 5]

For some reason the main thing that stuck out for me is why is this man left alone just days after he was released from the hospital. He talks several times about how he was left on the lawn for 3 hours, or fell and left on the floor for six hours until someone came home. Next he was falling into a bowl of soup and soon after managed to make his way to hear a talk about near death experiences.

I find it comforting that there are several people who make the claim that they saw lights and felt peace. I did feel uncomfortable about it being unnecessary to do things such as confession because as long as you are nice to people you’ll get to Heaven (I’m paraphrasing). That’s not something that sounds like it’s from God it sounds like it’s from satan and made me wonder if this man was in a state of purgatory rather than heaven.

[Jer El · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dannion's story captivated me. I read this story years ago and then had the opportunity to hear him speak and to meet him personally.

Picture a rough and tough sob, from the South. Someone you might imagine would as soon kick your ass if you crossed them, with the air of one of those fire & brimstone southern preachers. It was easy to imagine the type of person that he was before his experiences detailed in this book, and a delight to imagine how he combined it with the part of himself that he explored afterward.

[Dominic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I am a fan of NDE books in general, and while I realize this is one of the "Grand-dads" of the genre, it didn't ring true to me. I believe it's possible something happened to Mr. Brinkley, but his description of the afterlife and the predictions he was given feel a bit off to me and, after researching the man, I am suspicious. Without trust in the subject, a book like this carries little weight.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently listened to an episode of the Book Riot podcast that featured the most popular books published in 1994. This book was discussed at some length as the height of popular culture’s focus on near-death experiences was in the early to mid-1990s. For readers interested in podcasts that discuss books in an entertaining manner, I recommend the Book Riot podcast with the caveat that discussions occasionally veer off into politics which have little or nothing to do with the books being discussed.

In this book, author Dannion Brinkley recounted his near-death experience after being struck by lightning in September 1975 while talking on the phone in South Carolina at age 25. The author described (a) how his spirit left his body shortly after being declared dead and was drawn to a tunnel of bright light, (b) how his spirit was escorted by Beings of Light through a place he referred to as a Crystal City that contained cathedrals made of crystals, (c) the full life review he received but from the perspective of how other people were impacted by his words and deeds, (d) how he was privy to seeing a number of world events that would occur between 1975 and 2000 after 12 boxes of knowledge were opened in front of him, and (e) how he was instructed to be more compassionate and caring toward others and the need for him to develop and to build stress relief centers to help those who were dying. The love, understanding, forgiveness, and acceptance that the author felt during his near-death experience together with the shame and embarrassment felt during his life review inspired the author to be a better person who dedicated more time and effort to helping those in need and alleviating suffering once Brinkley was rehabilitated.

As Brinkley tried to make sense of his near-death experience, he felt as though no one could relate to him until he met Dr. Raymond Moody, a Georgia psychiatrist, who extensively studied near-death experiences by interviewing a wide range of people with experiences like Brinkley’s. Contrary to the prevailing thoughts in the 1970s that near-death experiences were bad dreams, delusions, or works of the devil, Dr. Moody concluded that people from different ethnic, gender, geographic, and socio-economic backgrounds had similar near-death experiences. The common elements of the near-death experiences included a sense of being dead, feeling of tranquility and peace, an out-of-body experience, the seeing of a tunnel of light, being greeted by a glowing spirit, having a full life review, and having a radical personality transformation after regaining consciousness.

This is the first book I read about a near-death experience. Though not well written, I found the topic interesting and will likely read Dr. Moody’s 1975 book “Life After Life,” which focuses on a large group of people who had near-death experiences, to learn more. The book is short (the paperback version is 162 pages), easy to understand, and a great option for a short plane trip.

On the other hand, this book has not aged well in the thirty years since its publication. Of course, the author’s predictions of world events prior to the date of publication in 1994 are highly accurate, including the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in 1986, the Gulf War in 1990, and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. However, predictions for world events to occur after the 1994 publication date are not as accurate. A Russian environmentalist leading the United Nations, an armed conflict between China and Russia, two large earthquakes hitting the United States that would lead to its end as a global power, and the economic ruin of the United States, all to occur prior to 2000, did not come to fruition, which may lead to healthy skepticism. Further, descriptions of the author’s own psychic powers that developed after his near-death experience were too close to the psychic episodes, in both how the psychic visions were triggered and the nature of the visions, experienced by main character Johnny Smith in the 1979 novel “The Dead Zone” by Stephen King for comfort. Finally, with fatigue and frequent blackouts, how was Brinkley able to attend one of Dr. Moody’s events in person not long after being struck by lightning or being able to drive long distances thereafter?

Focusing solely on the content of the book and not addressing the controversy surrounding the author after publication of this book, this book may provide comfort for readers who themselves or their family members are facing health challenges, and this work serves as an important reminder that people can reform their lives and dedicate more time to help those less fortunate or in need at any time.

[John Maurer · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an extremely interesting read. This true story of Dannion Brinkley life is most definitely profound especially the experience and revelations he received when he “died” twice. It puts life into perspective and comforts the reader of the topic of death and what happens after. That being said, however, I found I wasn’t as attached to the writing as I thought I would.

[Stacy Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible. It’s hard to put into words how comforting this book was. So many different people from all over the world experiencing the same thing at death, just incredible.

[Heidi Wiechert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dannion Brinkley records two near death experiences in Saved by the Light and, I did some research, since the publication of this book in the early 90's, he's experienced another one. I don't think that Dannion ever thought that he'd be the guy to die (and die and die) and then come back and tell everybody about it. He suffers from very serious heart problems since he was struck by lightning and his recovery period has been extensive. He's endures severe physical pain and lost his first wife because of his NDE.

Dannion seems very sincere but I thought that the NDE recorded by the Malarkey kid seemed sincere too (which he (Kevin Malarkey) has since retracted as a fabrication). Raymond Moody, the first major NDE researcher, writes the intro to this book and shows up in different parts of the narration. I feel that that lends it some authority on the subject but I suppose, to know for sure, that I'll just have to wait and find out for myself. Someday.

In the meantime, Saved by the Light is an interesting look into the near death experience for those of us who haven't been there. If you liked it, you may also want to read Dying to be Me by Anita Moorjani or Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander, both of which are excellent examples of near death experiences and the life changing effect that it has on the person who survives them.

[Trey Nowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this account as it spanned more of his life. Whether or not this experience is legit or not, I am uncertain. I try to take these authors at face value for what they self-report. I read his other book with the similar title first, and now looks like this book had more information in it elaborated on, which the other book seemed to summarize a lot of this one (as it was written years later). I find the NDE very fascinating and am doing a lot of research myself in the field now with clients and acquaintances of my own reporting some of the same things, but far less detailed. I wonder how so many can remember such detailed accounts versus others not recalling hardly anything? Hopefully this mystery can be unlocked someday.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

simply amazing, and who wouldn't ask "why me" to be the single person to experience so much in a relatively short time frame!I I will have to research and see where and how Dannion is at this time in life, all I can say is wow!

from the opening page: "The Secret"

"Humans are powerful spiritual beings meant to create good on the earth. This good isn't usually accomplished in bold actions, but in singular acts of kindness between people. It's the little things that count, because they are more spontaneous and show who you truly are."

[Terry Haynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading on "NDE'S".

I enjoyed it. I believe his story but I do have a question about something that seems a bit contradictory, but all in all I enjoyed and would love the opportunity to just visit his center before I HAVE to visit his Center.
I would give this 4 stars.

****

[Richard Stuart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hit by lightning multiple times, near death experiences, visions of possible Earth futures, esp, this book has it all! haha But, ultimately, it isn't that good. Sorry folks, i'm gunna have to tell you to pass on this one.

[Merrill · Rating 3 out of 5]

One man's account of the afterlife after being struck by lightning. His main point -- there is a life review where you relive all the wrongs you've done to others during your lifetime, but from their point of view so you can see how your actions made them feel.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non-fiction. Kinda interesting about a guy who had near-death experiences after he was struck by lightning, then later became psychic...
I also read "Life Before Life" by Jim B. Tucker about children who talk about their past lives.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dannion Brinkley's experiences are amazing! His struggles after he was struck by lightening were inspirational to me.

[Valerie · Rating 1 out of 5]

ehhh this book was ok. i guess i would reccomend it to people that really like short book that have pracktickly no suspense or emotion...