Review of Julie Ryan’s book

At some point, we’ve all wondered, “What happens when we die? Is there life after death, or is death the final chapter?” Death brings up many questions, and psychic medium Julie Ryan has dedicated her life to giving spiritual guidance and helping people understand what happens as we transition from this life into the next.

I had a reading with Julie when my mother was preparing to leave this life. Albeit death doesn’t always present opportunity, but in my mother’s case it did and I took full advantage of it. Julie explained the process of each phase as my mother was experiencing it. When the dying are coherent they may share visions, thoughts or memories. They may even see those who have already died. In my mother’s case, she saw everyone from my grandmother to her first born son who passed away hours after he was born. Julie was there explaining each step as they appeared to my mother—The Twelve Stages of Transition. (As referenced in her site)

I found it comfort in this transitional interpretation.  

In her book, Angelic Attendants, Julie shares her incredible experiences working as a medical intuitive and provides an in-depth understanding of the dying process. Words cannot describe the remarkable work Julie does, and the positive impact she’s had on so many lives.

Here is an excerpt that truly resonated with me. My hope is that Julie’s words will provide comfort and a new perspective on death and dying.

 

The Final Hours

Waiting for a loved one to die can be a long, exhausting process. You want to stay close by to make sure the patient gets good care, so you’re always agonizing over whether to stay or go. After all, what if they die while you’re away? You want to be supportive, and yet you need to care for yourself as well. My family was experiencing all of those emotions.

After talking with Mother’s nurses, we decided it’d be okay if we all left for a brief dinner. The staff once again assured us that based on their vast experience, Mother would be around for at least a few more days. After dinner, several of us went back to the hospice. In the physical world, Mother looked the same. Her eyes were unfocused and glazed. She was unable to squeeze our hands and couldn’t voluntarily move herself. In the spiritual world however, a lot had changed.

As the day had progressed, the circle of guardian angels had been opening up into various stages of a horseshoe shape, and by this point they had formed a straight line across the room at the foot of the bed. My grandparents’ spirits however, had stayed planted at my mother’s feet. It had become obvious that my grandmother was running the show from the spirit world perspective. It was she who brought in the angels when the time was right. It was she who summoned the family and friends’ spirits to stand guard with her during my mother’s last hours on earth. And it was she who monitored the progression of my mother’s dying process.

The strips of linen had also been advancing as the day wore on, and by now they were all the way up to Mother’s shoulders. In addition, the hole above her head had doubled in size and the vacuum had grown significantly stronger.

By 9 p.m., my family decided to go home to get some sleep and we all agreed to reconvene early the next morning. I, on the other hand, decided to spend the night with my mom in her room. Based on what I was seeing, and in spite of what the nurses were saying, I believed my mother might not last through the night. I told everyone I’d call if anything changed.

I sat holding my mother’s hand, told her I loved her, thanked her for everything she’d done for me, and let her know that I’d be spending the night with her. I also told her that everyone in the family would be fine, that we’d take care of Dad, and that we were all okay with her going on to Heaven.

As the evening wore on into night, more and more spirits continued to fill the room. So many spirits had gathered along the sides and at the foot of my mother’s bed that they stretched far into the distance and looked like dots on the horizon. It was as if the walls in the hospice room weren’t there anymore. It was now just wall-to-wall spirits—belonging to everyone whose life she had ever touched and many more—all there to welcome Mother to Heaven.

By midnight, the strips of linen were wrapped around her entire body. The vacuum above her head was continuing to grow stronger, and it was now obvious to me that the continual slow motion of the angels’ wings on either side of my mother’s spirit bubble was causing this phenomenon.

Mother rarely opened her eyes, moved, or expressed any emotion. Her skin felt hot. I wondered if she had a fever, maybe from fighting some sort of infection. The nurses told me it was common for a dying person to run a temperature. They explained that as the body begins to shut down, certain areas of the brain no longer function properly—including the part regulating body temperature.

Around 2 a.m., I went to the nurses’ station and chatted with the two women on night duty. I asked them what symptoms occur when the end is getting close. They told me the patient’s breathing gets very labored and their feet and extremities turn blue. Again, they assured me that based on their observations, my mother would be around for several more days. And again, based on what I was seeing from the spiritual side, I didn’t agree.

I dozed off at one point and was awakened around 5:30 a.m. by the sound of my mother’s very labored breathing. I raised her bed sheet and saw that her feet were blue. At that point, I summoned the nurses. After checking her, they agreed the time had come to call the family. They said they’d stay with her until I returned.

I went out into the hallway and called my husband who with our son was staying at my parents’ house. I then called my brothers and sister and asked them to come right away. As I returned to the room, I knelt next to my mother’s bed and held her right hand. I told her I loved her, that everyone was on their way, and that it was okay if she couldn’t hold on until they arrived. The two nurses were on the other side of the bed.

My mother died at 5:50 a.m., about ten minutes before the family arrived. She died holding my hand, looking into my eyes. After Mother took her last breath, one of the nurses listened to her heart and told me she was gone. Although I knew her body was dead, I could see that her spirit had yet to depart.

Still holding her hand, I closed my eyes and watched as the two guardian angels on either side of my mother’s “spirit bubble” turned themselves and Mother completely around, before all three flew up in a diagonal direction to the right. I was confident they were escorting her to Heaven. As soon as Mother’s spirit left, the other angels and all the spirits of her family and friends as well as her pets faded away.

 

Excerpt from Angelic Attendants: What Really Happens As We Transition From This Life Into The Next by Julie Ryan, with permission of the publisher, Clement. Copyright © 2017 by Julie Ryan. www.askjulieryan.com

Rose Caiola
Inspired. Rewired.