Dying Well ‘At Heaven’s Door’

Dying Well ‘At Heaven’s Door’

Afterlife Expert William Peters Pens New Book

By Hilary Dole Klein | January 13, 2022

William Peters subtitled his new book At Heaven’s Door: What Shared Journeys to the Afterlife Teach About Dying Well and Living Better. In just 13 words, he sums up his life’s work and that of the Shared Crossing Project and its Research Initiative, which he founded here in Santa Barbara. The Project studies extraordinary end-of-life experiences, focusing on shared-death experiences, in which a loved one or caregiver is allowed to witness a dying person’s journey from this life into what lies beyond.

The poet Robin Skelton famously declared: “Death is the only mystery we all solve.” But Peters’s work on the threshold between life and death demonstrates that death’s great mystery can be investigated, assessed, and unlocked by listening to the stories of those who have shared the death of another. He is at the forefront of a profound change in the way death is approached, and he says the Santa Barbara community has played a big part in this. I myself have participated in two early workshops led by Peters. 

An anthology of 28 extraordinary personal stories about death and dying, At Heaven’s Door recounts the various manifestations a shared death might take. It could be anticipated or unexpected, peaceful or painful, sad or tragic, but also full of wonder — every death as unique as a birth. Each story has been chosen to illustrate what the Shared Crossing Project has learned about deaths experienced by two or more people, some shared at the bedside, others at a distance. The stories were culled from 150 interviews, some of which can be accessed at the Shared Crossing Story Library. The book is enjoyably readable, even addictive. As with books on the lives of the Saints, each story contains its own miracle.