When we first sent out our request for stories from people who had a Brush with Death we wondered if we would receive any replies. We wondered how many people would be willing to share the most intimate details of their experience. Surprisingly, our mailbox was busy each day until the deadline. It was difficult to choose the final twenty-six stories. The process we chose was to come up with the first forty stories, and then continue to edit until we had the final entries we believed would best fit into our book. We think of these authors as giving people who are willing to share with others in the hope they will somehow come away with a new understanding of how we must pick up the pieces and move forward. We see courage and strength in these stories as these individuals became different and better people because of a Brush with death-even in some cases where the battle is not yet over. We wish our readers peace and courage while traveling through these journeys with each of our brave characters.