Howard Storm (author)

Storm stated that over time the experience never faded as memories and dreams do. He became involved with a church, studied for a Master of Divinity from the United Theological Seminary, entered the seminary, and was ordained. He served as pastor of Zion United Church of Christ in Norwood, Ohio, from 1992 to 2005, and he was also a former pastor of the Covington United Church of Christ in Covington, Ohio.

In June 1985, Storm took a group of his students on a field trip to Europe. After returning to his Paris hotel room with his wife around 11:00 a.m. from a morning excursion, he had a sudden onset of severe abdominal pain. He was evaluated at a Paris hospital, Hôpital Cochin, and diagnosed with a duodenal perforation, which required surgery. The earliest a surgeon could perform this procedure was around 9:00 p.m. that day. As he lay waiting for surgery, he truly believed that he was going to die due to the severity of his pain and so mentally prepared himself for death. After saying goodbye to his wife, he eventually passed out.

Howard Storm was born in Newton, Massachusetts. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1969 and continued his studies at the University of California at Berkeley with a Master of Arts (MA) and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in 1970. In 1972, Storm moved to Northern Kentucky University in Newport, Kentucky, becoming an arts professor at a newly created department, rapidly achieving tenure, a position he held for 20 years. During an interview with Unsolved Mysteries in 1997, he reported of his life prior to his near-death experience that he was an atheist and an aggressive person, feared by his wife and children.

Howard Storm (born October 26, 1946) is an American Christian minister, writer, and painter. He is a former professor and chairman of the art department at Northern Kentucky University. In 2000, he authored My Descent Into Death, which chronicles his near-death experience. Storm's near-death experience has been cited in literature on near-death studies, and his book has garnered endorsement by gothic fiction writer Anne Rice before it was acquired by Doubleday and republished in 2005. Storm has retold his story on NBC's Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, 48 Hours, Discovery Channel and Coast to Coast AM.