Sharon Prentice’s book Becoming Starlight was sent to me in exchange for a review. I was curious to see what she offered and what she meant as, ” a shared death experience”. I soon found out.
About Becoming Starlight:
Becoming Starlight is her memoir of healing from the devastating loss of her daughter and husband. She experienced a unique spiritual experience, known as a Shared Death Experience (SDE) which gave her a peek into foreverness and a sense of peace that was otherworldly.
Becoming Starlight captures the process of grief and its relationship to the mysteries concerning the afterlife. This book will bring comfort to those who are feeling unrelenting sorrow over the loss of loved ones.
My Thoughts:
Well, not what I thought it was going to be about and that’s a good thing. Hmmm, How do I give a review without giving the whole thing away? Well, I’ll start with the fact that the beginning was truly a memoir. Sharon Prentice gives us a story that chronicles her life experience with her husband and child. When I first picked up the book I didn’t realize that it was a memoir. When I began to read it I thought, ” Okay, this is interesting.” I was waiting to hear more about this shared death journey and how one could survive the grief and mend the wounds of loss. Then I realized that I needed to know her story to understand how it ended. (Or should I say, how death taught her how to live)
I don’t want to give any spoilers away here. I’ll say in brief, Prentice wrestles with the demons we all do when grief rears its ugly head, but she goes beyond that thought and to the place of a shared space. I have been there, but she gave it a name. Maybe you have had this experience? Maybe you didn’t know it had a name, but it does now. I didn’t feel as alone as I had before, since I now know that others have felt what I had in that place.
About Sharon Prentice PhD:
Soon after completing her graduate studies in psychology, Sharon Prentice, Ph.D., found the world of secular psychology lacking–her patients needed “something more.” So she set out to explore different methods in the field of mental health, looking for a mode of therapy that would take into account that “something special” she believed existed in every individual soul. Her journey would take her through the great religions of the world as well as to the discovery of ancient, time-proven alternatives to modern models of counseling.
Along the way, because of her unusual personal experience with death, she developed a keen and intense interest in death and dying. She researched, investigated, and interviewed patients who were in the dying process; people who had experienced NDE’s or SDE’s; and individuals who had experienced something “weird, unbelievable, odd” at the time of death of a loved one. She found that “something more” in Spirit!
Her studies and experiences led her to seek out alternative learning centers which incorporated a much more spiritual approach to mental health. Dr. Prentice firmly believes that if one is not spiritually healthy, then it is nearly impossible to enjoy emotional, psychological, or physical health.
Dr. Prentice’s 30+ years of interest in the Spiritual health of her patients has guided her away from strictly traditional methods of psychotherapy to what her patients have termed “crazy hot mess” therapy where all aspects of one’s being are considered and honored. Because of the nature of her experiences, both personal and professional, she has a unique understanding of the true nature of the Soul–and the need for ripping open the dark recesses of the Spirit, where joy sometimes is held captive. “Crazy hot mess therapy” opens up–wakes up–the Spirit!
Her commitment to the health and well-being of the Spiritual nature of her patients has led to her being called an “empath,” “mind reader,” “healer,” and “spiritual guide” by her patients. Her highly sensitive, intuitive, and compassionate nature, her unique approach to therapy, and her truly empathic ways have engendered a loving and fiercely loyal following among her patients and her friends.