It sounds like the ending of a made-for-TV movie: On the operating table after a catastrophic medical event, a patient is suddenly thrust from their physical form and observes the scene from above, before being drawn to a dazzling white light. They pass by memories and loved ones as they move toward it, all the while overwhelmed by total joy and peace. But this isn’t fiction, and it isn’t an ending—the patient recovers against the odds and returns to ordinary, This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-Eight Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 48 PACK IT IN The unhelpful cult of traveling light. Arts & Culture Issue 38 Alua Arthur Death doula Alua Arthur talks to Kyla Marshell about preparing for life's final ritual. Arts & Culture Issue 27 Good Grief Avoid the impulse to give a grieving person space. Reach out without the expectation of a prompt reply, says etiquette expert Margaret Shepherd. Arts & Culture Issue 21 Amy Sall Amy Sall reflects on her Senegalese heritage and how its physical reminders shepherd her sense of home—wherever she may be. Arts & Culture Issue 49 Karin Mamma Andersson Inside the moody, mysterious world of Sweden’s preeminent painter. Arts & Culture Issue 49 Jenny Odell The acclaimed author in search of lost time.
Arts & Culture Issue 38 Alua Arthur Death doula Alua Arthur talks to Kyla Marshell about preparing for life's final ritual.
Arts & Culture Issue 27 Good Grief Avoid the impulse to give a grieving person space. Reach out without the expectation of a prompt reply, says etiquette expert Margaret Shepherd.
Arts & Culture Issue 21 Amy Sall Amy Sall reflects on her Senegalese heritage and how its physical reminders shepherd her sense of home—wherever she may be.
Arts & Culture Issue 49 Karin Mamma Andersson Inside the moody, mysterious world of Sweden’s preeminent painter.
