Marianne Michaels - A Second Chance to Say Goodbye: Building a Bridge to the Other Side

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Copyright 2002 by Marianne Michaels

ISBN 978-0-7414-1276-8 Paperback

ISBN 978-0-7414-9665-2 eBook

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I dedicate this book to my
Dad, my brother Neil,
my dear friend Fran,
Anitas husband, Vic,
and to my angel Heik,
who watches over me.
I also dedicate this book to all
the spirits who want to be heard.
It is because of them I do this work.

I would like to thank my husband Lucas for helping me on my journey. And to my children, Sarah and Marcus for giving me an occasional quiet time to write this book. A loving thanks to my mother who awakened me to the spirit world.

To my dear friend Anita Curtis who always believed in me and for her patience with all the long hours it took to write this book.

To my partner Dianna Johannson for helping me bring the clinical and the spiritual worlds together.

A heartfelt thanks to Jodee Blanco for being my angel that walks on Earth.

A warm thanks to Antonia Felix, for her brilliant work has truly made my words flow. Clair Gerus for her vision of this book. Barbara Haines Howett for forcing me to put my thoughts down on paper. Phyllis Rice, Judy Zysk, Barbara Roboratti and Susan Ajamian for their sharp eye.

A grateful thanks to Suzanne Northrup, my teacher who fine-tuned my gift. Also, to my elder teacher Sophie Bloomfield who grounded me.

I was so fortunate to have my students who were there for me through the years it took to write this book. A special thanks, for teaching them, allowed me to grow.

A mindful thanks for Thich Nhat Hanh, my spiritual teacher who has taught me to find peace in my moment.

A special thanks to all my friends and family for being a part of my life.

My deepest gratitude to my clients who shared their stories and so freely gave of their heart. And to their loved ones who have crossed over for sharing their messages with me, without them my work would not be possible.

A s a therapist I have witnessed with many clients in the multitude of emotions that arise when there is a loss through death. Unanswered questions and unfinished business are paramount in the search for understanding and acceptance. Most people see death as a place beyond our reach and understanding. It was only through the death of my husband that I began to see how fortunate I was to have been given a glimpse of the other side.

When I was in my twenties, I had a series of extraordinary experiences that forever changed my perception of reality.

I had several out of body experiences. During these events, I left my physical body. I experienced a lightness and ease of movement that transcended this reality of time and space. During each experience, I was connected to my body by a slim silver cord and the return to this reality was inevitable.

These experiences proved invaluable to me in my understanding and embracing the reality of death. It paved the way for a spiritual acceptance that physical existence is not the sum total of who we are. Even with this very extraordinary/enlightening experience, I found that the process of grieving remained an emotional crisis that demanded attention in terms of the earthly reality that we presently live in. It was also the precedent that propelled me into a deeper exploration of my spiritual self.

My first contact with Marianne, four years ago, came through a group reading soon after the death of my husband. There were also several of my clients in the group. The information that came through from the other side was extraordinary in its accuracy not only for myself but for my clients as well. I was in an excellent position to take this experience into a therapeutic setting and the results for my cli ents were an enormous sense of relief, assurance and, in some cases, forgiveness.

This began the partnership that has evolved into A Second Chance to Say Goodbye, a unique opportunity to develop the skills that connect you with your loved ones while attending to the very human process of coming to terms with loss.

Grieving is a process that stretches over time and experts in the field have identified patterns or stages that we generally go through.

This book is a tool to help you through your grief. Grief has a purpose and a healing function. Despite the fact that the pain of it may feel intolerable to some, there is general agreement that the bereavement process cannot proceed and reach completion without feeling emotion.

Grief is a reaction, which must be allowed to take its course without being inhibited, delayed or prolonged for a favorable outcome. I am excited that this book is now available to offer you a new way to approach the crossroads that loss presents us with and empowers your faith, however you define it, death is not an ultimate end but actually heralds a transition to existence in a different form.

Bereavement is unique to each individual and there isnt any set outline to follow for you to be successful in your own grieving process. I do know that any unexpected loss holds in it a gift of transformation. The direction we once thought our lives would go in, has shifted, and we are compelled to recreate our existence. Like a beloved home that is lost to fire, if we cannot release our longing for what is gone, we cannot make any other house a true home.

In personal and professional experience, the one constant message is always that your loved one is committed to you moving beyond the loss and actively participating and contributing to this earthly plane until the correct time for reuniting. A Second Chance to Say Goodbye will give you the understanding and the courage to heal.

Diana Johansson, M.A.

A s a child I would go to my bedroom and sit quietly to wait for visits from spirits. At first I did not know who they were, but their visits felt completely natural and did not frighten me. I described these visitors to my mother and she recognized them as family members who had passed on. She acted as if this was quite normal, so I never thought much of it. It was like having any other guest drop by. I am convinced that many children see spirits but are told by their parents that it is simply their imagination. This attitude teaches them to ignore it. Most of my mothers family experienced psychic events at one time or another so it was a comfortable topic that could be discussed easily around our house. Therefore, I did not shut myself off to the spirits and they continued to talk to me because I continued to listen.