My encounter with angels occurred when I was a 16-year-old suicidal teenager. After being raped, I thought I had lost my soul. I was taught it was better to be killed than lose my virginity.
The first time I started to take an overdose of my chronically ill mother’s prescription drugs, I turned on TV to distract myself from gagging. “The Tonight Show” with comedian Steve Allen was on. He jumped into a vat of Jell-O and I started to laugh. I fell asleep and never finished taking the overdose.
I read Steve Allen’s autobiography where he described his struggles with being a teenager and the contradictions of religion. I wrote Steve Allen. Even though he received thousands of letters a week, he wrote back, beginning 36 years of correspondence with me. I loved writing and prayed that one day I would publish a book that would give hope, the way Steve Allen’s book had given it to me.
At 17, when my first boyfriend was sent to Vietnam, I became more depressed. I sought counseling, but I was misdiagnosed and put on a drug to which I had an allergic reaction and became catatonic, doing the Thorazine shuffle. I was locked up. When I escaped, I took an overdose strong enough to stop an elephant’s heart. I was already out of my body when magnificent angels lifted me into heaven.
I was escorted to an ethereal conference room filled with Light. I sat at a table with angels, familiar souls and spiritual teachers who emanated unconditional love. Then an empty sheet of white paper floated down on the table and letters, one by one began to appear spelling out T – R – U – T – H. I felt safe, but then the angels asked me to get back down there to Earth. They promised to protect me and asked that I tell the truth. I had no idea what or who they would protect me from, and I didn’t know what truth I was to tell.
Just as quickly as I had exited the Earth, I was ejected out of heaven and forced back into my body. I was less Embraced by the Light than I was goosed by the Light. I was unconscious for six weeks and forgot heaven.
I married and soon had a beautiful baby boy named Kenny. I met Spiritualist Minister Eve Olson, who helped me change my given abusive religious beliefs for more life-enhancing spiritual beliefs. That shifted everything. After five years, I ended an abusive marriage. Together, my son and I had survived years of domestic violence — protected and guided by angels, both human and divine.
Eventually, I met my wonderful husband Bill, and we had a new beginning.
In an effort to heal my past, my spiritual journey took a detour. I ended up in a class learning hands-on-healing with psychic and healer Echo Bodine, before she was famous. It turned out we were born the same year, same day, in the same hospital an hour apart — nursery mates reunited 40 years later. I started doing volunteer healing, working with cancer and hospice patients. I became acutely aware of angels sending healing energy through me.
That launched me into the sometimes humorous world of metaphysics. I wanted to be a psychic, but my third eye needs bifocals. Over the next 30 years, psychics, mediums, shamans, yogis, healers and a Qigong master changed my life. I finally understood what and who the angels protected me from: rape, suicide, religious and domestic abuse, and cancer.
I finally knew what truth I was to tell, and it resulted in Promise of Angels. In my new book, I show the magnetic power of changing your beliefs and describe many miracles that I witnessed — most manifested through Minnesota healers and psychics. My prayer today is the same it was when I was teenager, that my book will heal despair and renew faith.
