{"product_id":"2940149329236","title":"\"Extraordinary Comfort\" The True Story of a Mother's Near-Death Experience Meeting Her Stillborn Son..And the People Healed by Her Story","description":"PREFACE\u003cbr\u003eI’m a champion procrastinator. It’s not a trait that I’m\u003cbr\u003eproud of, and I don’t believe confessing it earns me any\u003cbr\u003ebrownie points here or in heaven.\u003cbr\u003eThe truth is, I made a promise more than a dozen years\u003cbr\u003eago with my mother to write this book. I made the same\u003cbr\u003epromise to my wife and other family members. My mother\u003cbr\u003ehas since passed away. I thank God that I completed it while\u003cbr\u003eso many of the others are still with me in this life.\u003cbr\u003eFrom the outset, I’ve been keenly aware of the\u003cbr\u003eramifications that this story might have upon real people. I\u003cbr\u003efelt it could be a sincere source of knowledge and\u003cbr\u003eintelligence (because these two aren’t really the same thing).\u003cbr\u003eMost of all, I wanted it to be a source of great comfort. I’ve\u003cbr\u003eknown all along that it could change thousands, hundreds\u003cbr\u003eof thousands—perhaps even millions—of lives. I’ve also\u003cbr\u003efaced the reality that because of my procrastination, many\u003cbr\u003elives that could have received this comfort, will not. This is\u003cbr\u003esomething I just have to live with.\u003cbr\u003eThankfully, I believe in a forgiving God. He knew all my\u003cbr\u003eweaknesses and distractions even before I made my\u003cbr\u003epromises. So despite the guilt I feel for not acting sooner, I\u003cbr\u003ealso trust His love and grace.\u003cbr\u003eThe ramifications of these events have always intimidated\u003cbr\u003eme more than the events themselves. I’m not a banner waving,\u003cbr\u003efist-pounding, “activist”-type person. Yes, I’ve\u003cbr\u003ealways held strong opinions about family and religion, but\u003cbr\u003eI never wanted to “mix it up” with those who held different\u003cbr\u003ebeliefs. I suppose with this book I may have to change some\u003cbr\u003eof that, but I won’t like it. No matter how you cut it, this is\u003cbr\u003ean extraordinary story. A true story. My objective was to\u003cbr\u003erecount real events exactly as they happened, exactly as\u003cbr\u003ereported to me by eyewitnesses, and exactly as I witnessed\u003cbr\u003ethem myself. For now, I hope readers will forget about the\u003cbr\u003econtroversial stuff and just focus on the events themselves.\u003cbr\u003eThis book is about a miracle. Actually, several miracles.\u003cbr\u003eMost would refer to the central miracle—the one described\u003cbr\u003eby my mother—as a “near-death experience.” We\u003cbr\u003ecommonly use that term to describe dying—or almost\u003cbr\u003edying—and being “brought back” to continue life on earth.\u003cbr\u003eI prefer the term “a visit to heaven.” Honestly, I don’t know\u003cbr\u003eif this realm is heaven or if it’s just a way station of that\u003cbr\u003eultimate destination. In either case, the term will suffice.\u003cbr\u003eSome might say, “Ah, there’s a gazillion near-death\u003cbr\u003eexperience books. What makes this one different?” The\u003cbr\u003eanswer is in the emphasis—just as it was with my mother.\u003cbr\u003eAlso, I’ve included a very personal and difficult trial my own\u003cbr\u003efamily endured to round-out the most significant themes.\u003cbr\u003eI know that many embrace near-death accounts as a\u003cbr\u003ereassurance that heaven exists. I suppose this might provide\u003cbr\u003ethe same sense of security. But if that were my only goal, I\u003cbr\u003edon’t think I’d have felt driven to complete this project. You\u003cbr\u003esee, I already believe in heaven. I don’t need a near-death\u003cbr\u003eexperience to reassure me. I wanted to offer a sense of\u003cbr\u003ecomfort far more penetrating and universal, based upon the\u003cbr\u003eeternal nature of the family unit itself.\u003cbr\u003eAdmittedly, the story provokes many questions. I’m no\u003cbr\u003eless anxious than anyone else to receive the answers. More\u003cbr\u003ethan anyone, these events belong to my mother. They were\u003cbr\u003eGod’s gift to her. She was the recipient and primary\u003cbr\u003ebenefactor. But she also desperately wanted her story told—\u003cbr\u003eshe just wasn’t physically capable of doing it. That’s why I\u003cbr\u003enaïvely promised to do it for her.\u003cbr\u003eSo this is for you, Mom. Sorry it took so long. It’s my\u003cbr\u003every first book, and might also be my last. Now that it’s\u003cbr\u003edone, I tearfully confess that she has been with me through\u003cbr\u003emuch of the process. Without her nudging and prodding,\u003cbr\u003eeven from the “other side,” I’d probably still be\u003cbr\u003eprocrastinating.\u003cbr\u003eI hope the story I tell will inspire, comfort, and give hope\u003cbr\u003eto many lives, just as she envisioned. I suspect the message\u003cbr\u003ewill be of particular comfort to mothers—women who have\u003cbr\u003esuffered indescribable, heart-wrenching loss—and then, in\u003cbr\u003esilence, asked the questions: “Will I ever . . .? Can I ever . .\u003cbr\u003e.? Would God allow . . .? Does He understand . . .?”\u003cbr\u003eAfter reading Extraordinary Comfort, I sincerely believe\u003cbr\u003ethe answer becomes a glorious and resounding YES!\u003cbr\u003eDavid C. Asay\u003cbr\u003eNov. 2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"David Asay","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47165795729648,"sku":"2940149329236","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940149329236_p0.jpg?v=1763715020","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940149329236","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}