Local author Sue Thompson sheds light on discovering her sixth sense in her book, To Heaven Through Hell. Trent Ernst / Eye for Detail Photography photo.
By: Greg Amos, Editor
With life experience comes wisdom, and for one local author, a transformed perspective on how to realize one's potential by drawing on both tangible and intangible resources.
In To Heaven Through Hell, Tumbler Ridge writer Sue Thompson sheds light on how beating cancer and breaking free from a rigid, controlling religious organization helped her
discover a sixth sense that's available to anyone.
"I lost a lot in the struggle, as the title of the book implies, but the gains far outweighed the losses," said Thompson, who first self-published in 2000 years ago through her Universal Perspective brand. She's now seeking broader distribution through a book deal with a publisher.
The book is for those troubled by negative religious beliefs involving fear of the afterlife, and for those seeking "an honest look at beliefs and the quality of life that results from those beliefs," she said.
Born in Manitoba, Thompson went to a Christian boarding school at age 13 and was educated at a Christian university in Texas. She married a Church of Christ minister and was engaged in missionary work in South Africa when questions about her faith began to surface.
Seeing that church teachings were not helping alcoholics and addicts, Thompson began teaching with material from outside the church.
"I saw that African people were better off than many of us are," she said. "They danced, they sang, and seemed to take their problems in stride."
She and her husband were fired and sent back to the U.S. along with their three sons. Marriage problems ensued, then Thompson was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"This was 1974, and many people with breast cancer did not survive," explained Thompson, who recalls being terrified that her disease was a form of punishment from God. In her moment of despair, Thompson discovered her sixth sense.
"There's no frame of reference for a paranormal experience in a fundamentalist Christian church if it contradicts what the church teaches, but I had one," she said.
Thompson recovered and set about rebuilding her life, although her husband had left her. She became a U.S. citizen and a teacher, and started writing about her experiences in 1978, culminating in the finished book 22 years later.
Wilson "encourages readers to use all their senses to solve problems in their own lives, the five traditional ones, the incredible sixth sense, and a seventh we often overlook in our desperate search for answers - common sense."
"I'm not a new age person, and I'm not on old age person either - I'm someone who believes in balance," she added. "These unusual sixth sense experiences, if we accept them, make us more and more aware that we’re connected to an invisible source I still call God, are empowered by it throughout our existence, and will return to it when we die."
Thompson has spent the summer sending promotional packages to various publishers using her income from sales of jewelry at marketplaces held in the community centre.
Until she lands a book deal, the self-published paperback version of To Heaven Through Hell can be found at KC's Dollar Store, and is available online at www.universalperspective.net .
