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1. Life Reviews and the Reassessment of Suicide
A common feature of NDEs, particularly in the context of suicide, is the life review—a panoramic reflection on one’s life, where the individual sees their actions, relationships, and choices in remarkable detail. During a life review, people often feel the emotional impact of their behavior on others, sometimes from the perspective of those they’ve interacted with. This heightened awareness can lead to profound realizations about the consequences of suicide, both for oneself and for those left behind.
Many individuals who experience a life review during a suicide-related NDE come to understand the depth of the connections they share with others. They often realize the pain and grief that their death would cause for loved ones, shifting their perspective on life and its challenges. This newfound awareness is frequently cited as a reason why survivors of suicide attempts often choose to live after experiencing an NDE.
2. Rod Cooley’s Suicide NDE
In May of 1974, Rod Cooley’s brother, Eugene, drowned in a nearby pond. Rod was so despondent, he attempted suicide resulting in an NDE. The following is Rod Cooley’s suicide NDE testimony sent to Kevin Williams by email in his own words:
One night when my parents were gone, I sneaked into my father’s medicine cabinet and took some pills, and then I went to lie down and await death. Thirty minutes went by, and I started to feel kind of strange. I began to panic and thought, “I’m really killing myself!” I started to become panicky. It seemed to be taking so long and my mind started playing tricks on me, so I got up and called an ambulance.
I was rushed to the hospital where my vital signs were taken and a doctor observed me. As the doctor left me in the room, a vision appeared right up on the ceiling. There were three men discussing what I had done. They were discussing why I was trying to kill myself. I could not believe this was happening. At first I said to myself, “It must be the effects of the medicine that I had ingested”, but the whole conversation they were having seemed too intelligent. I have hallucinated before, but never have I experience anything like this.
The funny thing about this was that whenever the doc would come in and check on me, the apparitions would disappear and about 10 seconds after the doc walks out, they would reappear. The apparitions never talked directly to me, they just talked about me as if they were studying me.
Later, I was found to be O.K. I did not have to get my stomach pumped and was released when my parents arrived.
When I finally went home and tried to adjust to life without Eugene, I slipped into a web of depression once again. I began thinking suicidal thoughts all over again, but this time, I wanted to plan something that would be quick and I had gotten up enough confidence to do it this time.
As I started thinking of a way to release myself from this world, I just remembered going blank for a while. I remember becoming very light, then I started rising up further and further into open space. Then out of nowhere, I seemed to be traveling faster than the speed of light. I had a chance to see myself leaving the Earth. I’ve always been afraid of heights, but this was so peaceful and I felt so secure.
I came out somewhere beautiful and saw people greeting one another with pure joy. They were having such a wonderful time. It was like a continuous party. I started walking and Eugene appeared out of nowhere. I ran over to hug him, but he disappeared whenever I got close to him. I heard him tell me telepathically, to wait a while before I come to him.
After about what seemed like a minute, he reappeared and I was able to go over and hug him. It was such a happy occasion! Wherever I was, it took away all of my insecurities and I instantly knew the answers to the questions that I had always wanted to know the answers to. I actually found the answers to be quite simple, but when I came back, I did not remember any of them.
Eugene and I walked around this big place as we talked about everything. He then took me to this room where I was able to look back down on Earth and see our family gathering for my funeral. Everyone was very sad. They had lost Eugene earlier and now me. I could see how it was having a bad effect on them, but I wished that they could see just how happy I was and that I was not really dead. I felt so much love and joy at this place and I really wanted to stay there forever.
After viewing my funeral and my family, Eugene turned to me and asked, “Are you really ready to come here right now?”
I looked at him and remembered that I was going to say “Yes!”, but before I could utter a single word, I awoke on the floor in my bedroom. I tried to close my eyes and go back, but I couldn’t. I was so upset.
Why did I have to come back? When I finally realized that I had to be here a little longer, I got up and walked outside. Within an hour, my depression had totally disappeared and I was having fun like everyone else. For some reason, I wanted to live now. I tried to keep myself busy.
Within three months, I had begun to realize how sad and worthless it would have been for me to kill myself and I don’t even understand how I came to that conclusion.
