A Book Review by Rick Montgomery
from Angel Times, June 1996, Vol. 1, Issue 5
After the Light is a spiritual roller
coaster ride I kept thinking would end, but never did. The book begins with a
near-death-experience (NDE) in 1970, and then fast forwards through the miraculous and the
incredible as author Kimberly Clark Sharp shares how a byproduct of her NDE, a
spiritual-opening-up, allowed her to walk simultaneously in two worlds. One was the world
of her everyday existence: working as a social worker, becoming a mother, losing a child.
The other was the spiritual world, one in which she experienced demonic attacks, angelic
rescues, varied meetings with deceased loved ones, and moving episodes involving the power
of prayer.
Kimberly writes in the epilogue that sheer volume dictated cutting out two-thirds of the
original manuscript. What she has chosen to include, however, goes a long way toward
explaining why she had a sense of being overwhelmed, even struggling with disbelief in the
realities she encountered. What helped anchor this book for me was Kimberly’s
academic credentials and her professional career. After acquiring her Master’s degree
in Social Work, she assisted the dying in trauma units and cancer centers in Seattle,
Washington. Ironically it was the structure of this "normal" life, on which she
had counted to stay integrated, which contributed to her sense of isolation. How could she
possibly tell her professional colleagues, the borders of whose reality ended with bedpans
and syringes, that there is the promise of angelic help and rescue in everything from the
mundane to the traumatic - that there are even angelic beings that assist in everyday
traffic situations?
What helps this book, and brought me right into her experiences, was the openness of her
writing style, which has a tell-it-like-it-is quality. It also helps that throughout this
book Kimberly has woven in lightness and humor, indicating that even in her darkest hours
she was able to laugh. I outright guffawed in several places.
As Kimberly’s ability to see the spiritual world improved, she became aware that the
angelic kingdom is all around us. But she also noticed that through doubt and
self-absorption she could create the very barriers that would cut her off from that
awareness. I left this book feeling that one of its significant messages is that in the
sound and fury of our lives, we are never alone, and help is there if we’re willing
to ask for it.