David Ditchfield, a dreamer lured by the appeal of finding success in the big city, soon finds that London is not the mecca he was hoping for. He is not able to find enough work to cover the extortionate effects of living in the capital, falling ever further into debt. He hopes to impress his rich girlfriend Emily with his competencies, but inevitably meets with still further humiliation. He begins to slide further into drinking to numb the pain.

Then on one fateful day, he is nearly killed once a train pulls out of a station, with his coat caught between the doors. He is pulled under the train's wheels.

However, David experiences a powerful NDE, which is to sustain him during a slow recovery towards functionality. His therapist is skeptical, but does recognise that something extraordinary is at work in her patient's life.

David learns to paint as well as to compose classical music. He finds the inner strength to give up alcohol. Somehow., everything just falls into place as he pursues thiy new, creative path.

Spiritualists and mediums crop up aplenty in this autobiography, but this story does manage not to descend into facile New Age woo-woo. The account of David's descent into depression and alcoholism, the recognition of the sense of failure that fuelled it is gritty enough, and do is the robust admonition from his therapist, that whilst alive, facing the darkness is the only way to become truly rounded.

The real test for David Ditchfield lies beyond his hard-earned new success. He is to recognise that art for art's sake has its own special thorns and traps, whilst over and beyond that, there is also the need to find true love.

This then is a story full of feel-good factors for those who may suspect that tbay are looking for fulfilment in all the wrong places. Definitely a worthwhile and edifying read, even for those who, like David's therapist, maybe sceptical of the near-death experience, but who can recognise how it might be capable of changing someone for the better.

An interesting story of a young man who went to the other side and made it back to tell. I liked the build up to the actual near death experience. Mr Ditchfield explains his life as it builds to the point of the accident. Or was it an accident? After reading this book it seemed to me that he may have been meant to have this experience so He could tell the rest of us that death is just a door to another world. This story offers hope and healing to anyone facing death or the losing of a loved one. I read this book in one sitting as it is that interesting. I felt better also after reading as I recently lost someone dear to me. Thank you David for your story.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. It is the story of the author’s life after a near death experience following an accident he was involved in. I found it very inspiring and uplifting.

Shine On is a quick and compelling read. Though the author's NDE is the centerpiece of the book, very few pages are devoted to his experience in the higher realms. Instead, the book takes us on David's journey of transformation, contrasting his life before the accident with the creativity, growth and evolution that came after. It's a satisfying narrative that reads a lot like a diary. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reading copy.