Customer Reviews

Dying To Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing

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As an avid listener of Hay House Radio, I first heard of Anita's book on Wayne Dyer's weekly show. I was immediately drawn to the book because of Anita's remarkable story which had been verified by medical doctors. I awaited its release and finally downloaded it to my Kindle. The book is a quick read - I read most of it in one Saturday - and it is very nicely written, sectioned off to talk about the Anita's life, the NDE, and how the experience has affected the author's life after coming back from "the other side" and miraculously healing from years of cancer in a matter of weeks. The memoir portion of the book is exceptional and succinct. I did wish when I was reading it that the author would share more of her emotions during the experiences of her childhood and adulthood, since she concludes later that the onset of her cancer was due to a fear-based life. It didn't really come through in the first section of the book and much of the emotional background was left to be read in between the lines. I wished that Anita had been more bold in those descriptions.
Anita's description of the NDE and of being on the "other side" is definitely the highlight of this memoir. It's no wonder that people who have had this experience lose their fear of death. And since every fear in our lives is based on the fear of death, it's very inspiring for a reader to realize that once the fear of death has been resolved in our lives, there isn't much else in life to be afraid of. This frees us to live life to its fullest. Thank you so much Anita for sharing this profound experience with us!
The latter portion of the book I took to be inspirational. The author discourages any advice-giving or following any prescribed platitudes. She simply encourages readers to lean into our bliss and to love ourselves: from this, she tells us, we too can live authentic lives.
I will also mention that there are advanced meditation programs that people can take during which "the other side" can be glimpsed, and we too can experience a fulfilling life from the inside out, without having to have an NDE ourselves. Anita's memoir has encouraged me to sign up for a program like this and has confirmed in me that this is the right path for me.

Anita's book is very simple and very honest description of her life before, during, and after her NDE. Her story really touched my heart and my soul mostly because of knowing that this story is real and that it really happened. This book is such amazing opportunity to learn that there is something else, something beyond what we can see and perceive in our day to day lives. Anita is putting really huge impact throughout the whole story on loving ourselves and accepting ourselves the way we are. Not trying to be somebody we are not or forcing ourselves to be in certain way, criticizing ourselves and trying to change who we truly are to satisfy the society or people around us. She teaches you in this book that self-love and self-acceptance and true enjoyment of who we are even with our negative traits are the most important. Reading this book I realized that most of my life I tried to shape myself into somebody, controlling myself, changing the way I behaved and thought denying who I really was or felt at the time. I wanted to be a positive and good person so people will like me and will be happy around me. But most of the time suppressing my true feelings and emotions. We all do this.... And then we don't like ourselves when we feel negative emotions or act the way we know we shouldn't. Anita teaches you that it's OK to feel negative emotions. That you still should love yourself doesn't matter how you feel. You are still worth the love! The Universe created you in certain way, gave you certain traits and qualities and you should be in peace with them even though society may perceive them as negative at times. You are You and You are perfect the way You are! Love yourself, enjoy yourself and celebrate your uniqueness.

Dying to be Me is one of those rare books that has had such a profound affect on me that it actually changed my life! I have been a student of the NDE for over 30 years...ever since reading Raymond Moody's book, Life After Life. I have also been both a translator of NDEs in Spanish and Portuguese as well as a research associate with the Near Death Experience Research Foundation and have read literally thousands of NDE accounts. Despite all this background and exposure to near-death accounts, when I first came across Anita Moorjani's amazing story, I was positively electrified by her experience and by the power, clarity and insight into all she saw and experienced while in the NDE state! Her articulate, brilliant command of English and the subtleties of meaning, went far beyond how most NDE accounts are expressed. Coming from a multi-cultural, multi-lingual woman of Indian heritage who grew up in the cosmopolitan environment of Hong Kong, I was transfixed by her story and read it over and over again. I know I will continue to read it now in book form for years to come...

Anita tells us of growing up in Hong Kong and of learning English while attending British schools, while simultaneously being exposed to the language and culture of her Indian parents and the native Cantonese of the surrounding Chinese culture. She explains how this rich tapestry of contrasting values, created both positive and negative experiences and how conflicts arouse within her which later manifested as cancer. She tells us how, after nearly 4 years of fighting her lymphoma, she went into a coma and merged with an expanded, absolutely magnificent dimension of self awareness that showed her the causes of her illness, reconnected her with deceased loved ones, and indicated to her that if she returned to this life, she would have a rapid recovery from the cancer and would be able to give to the world a powerful message of unconditional acceptance and love for self and others.

Dying to be Me is an amazing story of hope against the fear of dying, of illness and...ultimately...of living. It offers an enormously positive vision of what lies beyond this earthly life...and how we can live now with a more generous and open appreciation for all we experience here. I am excited and honored to recommend this miraculous book to all who seek greater understanding and insight into our world here...and the world beyond. I hope everyone will read this amazing account with an open heart and be as enriched as I have been by what Anita experienced through her death and return to this earthly life.
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I bought this book after watching Wayne Dyers PBS special. A great investment. I love the book and getting all my friends to read it.

I heard about this book on PBS during a fund raiser wtih Wayne Dyer. I have read it three times in a month and it has opened up my mind and expanded my understanding of the nature of being.
Anita's story, which she said was not easily described in words, can help to heal the mind of fear and death. A excellent book that can be life changing.

First off, I'll admit I am not one for the "cookie cutter" spiritual self-help publishing franchises, and I am extremely skeptical about anything that gets pumped out using a medium who's primary motivation is profit.

Being a near death experiencer myself, it troubles me to see these experiences being exploited for religious purposes like we currently see running rampant with Colton Burpo's million best seller which is a signature of the quality these cookie cutters offer, and reminds me of the quote "don't let the truth get in the way of a good story."

Books like "Dying to be Me" are usually relegated to the self-publishing venues because they are not what the cookie cutters would consider a winner (profit!). A good example of the quality of self-publishing is August Goforth's excellent book "The Risen".

Yet, once in a while the cookie cutters manage to get it right and back a refreshing gem, and "Dying to Be Me" by first time author Anita Moorjani is such a book . This to me is what makes this book so exciting and an exceedingly rare accomplishment and testament to just how powerful and beautiful Anita's NDE experience is. As an experiencer myself, and someone who has had the opportunity to get to know Anita for several years now since her own experience, I can say that Anita can speak for me anytime because she doesn't tell you how, she shows you how...every day...in every deed...in every movement. She truly walks the walk and that is her gift to us. In Anita being who she is, she gives me the self-confidence to attempt.

Anita sets this book up magnificently (pun intended) and if the reader is at all interested in NDE's, this should be a must read!

Anita openly shares her cultural upbringing, bares all and holds nothing to chance. Her honesty is not only welcoming, it is truly refreshing. Cultural influences are very important, and often confusing aspect of understanding any NDE. Because the experience itself is so "real", most people get lost in the cultural morasses that forms the dawn of awakening. There are very few experiencers that are willing to admit to this truth, or are willing to look beyond it. For them their experience is a verification of what they want Gods to be.

Very few can get past that and see the cultural influences are generated to comfort and alleviate the experiencers own fear of death. For once, we have an experiencer who is willing to tell it like it is, to share what happens when you finally release and let go of your own expectations of What God needs to be. The results are profound, and what makes Dying to be Me a true gem for those willing to let go of their security blankets. What is so special about Anita's account, and this book, is that she takes us further into the death process than most, because she gave into the moment and released her fear of death that held her experience within the confines of her cultural expectations. This is something VERY FEW are willing or capable of doing or willing to share and what makes this book so important. She should be applauded for her honesty, and her tenacity to be who she is regardless of incredible pressure to conform to cultural, societal and political demands that are usually required by the cookie cutter self-help franchise which usually shy's away from such material as unprofitable.

This is what is truly remarkable about "Dying to be Me" for me. Anita has an incredible gift in bringing words to life, to bring the emotion to the words that create the images in the readers mind , which in and of itself is usually impossible to accomplish. Her description of her experience itself, is so beautifully written, it sent me to tears more than once. She brought my experience back to life. Her experience, so like my own, differs only in cultural manifestations. Her NDE commentary will touch your heart in ways even you won't be able to understand. Allow it to touch your heart, and I promise you it will change the way you view yourself, and the world.

Right now the reader has a plethora of NDE books out there to peruse, thanks to the cookie cutter school of self-help publishing. There are many choices. In one corner we have Colton Burpo, who saw Jesus, and therefore sells millions of books because his experience plays to what people WANT or NEED to hear... In corner two we have Anita Moorjani, who tells it like it is.

Anita Moorjani ain't Colton Burpo, nor does she have to be. Two contrasting versions. It now becomes our choice what you choose to believe and trust in. I'll trust Anita any day.

Anita's first book Dying to be Me is an absolute gem! An easy read ( I finished it in less than two days)...I found in the days and weeks after that I often had conversations with people on various topics and found myself referencing something from the book........this is not a book about dying, its not a book about cancer.....this is a book about living!! about being you who truly are!! about letting go of fear and stress and worry.....it's a book about why we are really here!

Starting with the authors life growing up in an East Indian family in Hong Kong and attending British Catholic schools, Anita lays a foundation for us that shows how the way we think affects our physical bodies. Anita points out that cancer is just our minds way of getting our attention that we need to change something in the way we are thinking. Cancer is not the enemy, it's just an indicator of how we have been thinking. Change the thoughts the indicator has to change too.
After her near death experience Anita comes back to live her life to the fullest. When asked in the back of the book whether she had changed her way of eating since her NDE , she replies that she has indeed but not in the way you'd think. She now eats whatever makes her happy, and if that means chocolate or a nice glass of wine that's okay! She still eats healthy but from a place of joy not fear that not doing so will bring about disease.

This is a book that everyone should read regardless of religion. The wisdom found in this book can be applied to every day issues with amazing results.

I received this book for free from Hay House Publishing for review purposes.
I was not financially compensated for this post. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.

Very well written with a lot of love and heart explaining the suffering of sickness and finally death, and coming back to life. A must if you are still afraid of death.

Loved the book! Thanks Anita for sharing her story, thanks Wayne Dyer for helping her share her story. It's one of the books that has a strong impact on one's life.

I've read many books on the subject of near death experiences (NDE's) and this is without a doubt the most powerful; if you have a fear of death as I did for many years, this will surely allay them. It is honestly written by a woman who was dying from terminal cancer and her account of what happened "on the other side" was wonderfully inspirational for me.
I have highly recommended this book to many friends.