A Maryland resident, Norma Edwards, who asserts she has experienced death and returned multiple times during medical crises, is now opening up about her insights from these life-altering moments. Her experiences offer a fascinating window into what she believes lies beyond the threshold of life.

At 80, Edwards works as a spiritual therapist and life coach, bringing a unique perspective shaped by her extraordinary past. She states that she’s clinically flatlined three times, with two of these instances marked by what she describes as vibrant encounters in an otherworldly dimension.

These experiences, as she recounts, involved interactions with ‘beings of light’ and a profound message she feels compelled to share: life persists beyond our physical existence. Edwards believes she was sent back to our world to convey this message, a revelation that has undoubtedly shaped her life’s work and outlook.

Her first brush with death occurred in 1971, at the age of 26, while she was living in London with her husband and child. This near-death experience (NDE) was triggered by undiagnosed pregnancy complications, leading to a sudden collapse and an urgent rush to the hospital.

Upon arrival, doctors discovered that she had suffered a stillbirth and needed immediate surgical intervention. During the procedure, her heart stopped, marking the beginning of her journey into what she describes as another realm.

Amid the medical team’s desperate efforts to revive her, Edwards claims she experienced an out-of-body sensation, a moment that left an indelible mark on her understanding of life and death.

She described shooting through ‘a pitch-black tunnel’ toward bands of color she had ‘never seen on Earth,’ before entering what she interpreted as pure, radiant light.

She claimed to have seen what she likened to an enormous screen replaying her life, divided into what she believes were the life she planned, the life she lived and the outcome. 

Norma Edwards’s most recent brush with death occurred in November 2024, when she suffered a cardiac arrest in her Maryland home. Pictured: Edwards at her home after getting out of hospital

According to Edwards, who was born in Guyana, ‘each review’ showed she hadn’t fulfilled her intended purpose. 

Moments later, she claimed to have seen familiar ‘otherworldly’ spirits, including a beloved aunt waiting for her by a river, before being told she couldn’t stay and had to return to Earth with a message that ‘life doesn’t end; it transforms.’

Re-entering her body was ‘excruciating,’ she said.

‘It was painful. Like trying to pour a galaxy into a teacup. My spirit is huge, so when you force that energy back into a small body, it hurts.

‘My senses were heightened and color appeared as music, with radios pulsing with light.

‘I could see inside people’s bodies – I thought I was going crazy. When I walked under bulbs, they would blow. I couldn’t explain it.’

This profound experience inspired Edwards to pursue training as a chaplain.

For 27 years, she served inside prisons, offering spiritual guidance and therapeutic support to individuals preparing to return to their communities.

Edwards (pictured), 80, said she has clinically flatlined on three occasions throughout her life

Following her career, Edwards experienced another brush with death in November 2024, when she suffered a cardiac arrest in her Maryland home. 

Edwards claimed she recognized immediately what was happening – ‘the tunnel, the shift, the pull toward the other side’ – but said she was revived just before what she described as ‘reaching Heaven.’ 

When she flatlined a second time that morning, she recalled sensing a ‘female presence’ guiding her and being reminded of the same message she claimed she received decades earlier.

Along with the assurance that life is eternal, Edwards said she was told she still had a mission to complete: helping others release fear and approach life, and death, with clarity.

Now working with senior communities, Edwards offers support to those nearing the end of their lives.

She tells people not to fear death, but to view it as a transition. 

‘The soul doesn’t die,’ she said. ‘You’re simply stepping out of the body into something larger.’

Edwards, pictured with her husband Calvin (left), said her experiences have solidified her belief that fear is humanity’s greatest obstacle

Although she still feels a deep pull toward what she described as the ‘love and wholeness’ she experienced during her first NDE, and still grieves the loss of her baby linked to that medical emergency, Edwards claimed she has found purpose in helping others.

‘I’ve learned from every person I’ve served,’ she said. 

‘As long as you have breath, you have the greatest gift. And when the time comes, you’re not ending, you’re expanding.’

Edwards said her experiences have solidified her belief that fear is humanity’s greatest obstacle. 

‘We come here to learn, to love and to grow,’ she said. ‘There’s nothing to fear but fear itself.’