Thinking about death conjures images of grief, sadness and fear. Seldom do we think of it as a catalyst of changes for the better, a radical way of the universe to put us into the right path. Near death experiences change us, undeniably, and sometimes they bring gifts that would have never found their way to us otherwise, such as in the case of David Ditchfield, who discovered how to shine on.
Shine On: The Remarkable Story of How I Fell Under a Speeding Train, Journeyed to the Afterlife, and the Astonishing Proof I Brought Back with Me, by David Ditchfield and J.S. Jones, PhD, recounts the events before, during and after a train accident that send Mr. Ditchfield to a realm of light, put him in contact with beings and energies so pure and delightful that he was changed forever. Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
The books offers a chronological narrative of the events, starting a few months before the accident when Mr. Ditchfield’s life was the opposite of perfect. Not having a penny in his pockets, unemployed, alcoholic, undereducated and ashamed by his wealthy, unfaithful ex-girlfriend, it’s hard to image a way out or how to improve your life. Not even a message delivered to him by a medium would prepare him for what would happen.
After a painfully realistic description of the accident and the experience that took place after, Shine On goes on with the effects, changes and challenges they provoked. This man would never be the same, not after discovering he could write classical music and paint with ease with no previous training on either area.
This book made me feel more hopeful than others about what we will encounter when we depart. Of course very experience is different, and I’m inclined to think that each person gets the easiest to process and understand for them, but the message is undeniable: no matter what, only love will follow and only love we will find.
Being severely dyslexic, David Ditchfield teamed-up with J.S. Jones, PhD in order to have his story told, and it reads so fluently and easily it captures all the emotions and thoughts we would expect to experience. Jones also included short interviews at the end of the book with some of the most relevant people in David’s life, explaining their point of view in this event and its effects.
As a magical journey toward the unknown, Shine On gave me hope in these maddening times. It is a testament on why we should always expect the best, no matter how gloom the future seems to be, while also teaching about the healing properties of art. I’m sure this story would have been different without it.
Paperback: 280 pages
Publisher: O-Books (July 1, 2020)
Publication Date: July 1, 2020
ISBN-10: 1789043654
ISBN-13: 978-1789043655
About the authors
In 2006 David Ditchfield was dragged under a speeding train in a freak accident. As the surgeons fought to save him, he had a profound near-death experience (NDE). When he woke up in hospital, he had acquired astonishing new abilities. He found he could paint dramatic paintings of what he had seen in the Afterlife, far beyond any artistic ability he had before. He then discovered he could compose classical music, having never received any training. To this day, he cannot read or write a single note of musical notation, and yet his debut NDE-inspired symphony, The Divine Light, was premiered at a sell-out orchestral concert to a standing ovation. He lives, paints and composes in a converted riverside mill near Cambridge, UK.
J S Jones gained her PhD from the University of Stirling and has since authored a number of scientific journal articles. She has been friends with David Ditchfield for many years and witnessed the events in his remarkable story first-hand. Impressed by what she saw, she undertook creative writing courses so that she could co-author Shine On and do his story justice, because she believes it is a remarkable story that deserves to be told. She is now working on a debut fiction novel. She lives in Fife, Scotland.
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