Plot

Imagine going about your life where everything seems normal. Then, out of nowhere, the worst possible event occurs: your child dies. Craig McMahon sits down with 17 brave parents who were not only able to piece their lives back together again, but also capable of communicating with their child from heaven.

In my role as a documentary filmmaker, I sat down with seventeen parents who have lost a child. These parents are from the support group "Helping Parents Heal." I myself have lived through similarly tragic events since I lost one brother to a car accident and a second brother to suicide. I watched how my parents dealt with these devastating blows to my family. Out of this heartbreak, my mother opened a hypnosis institute in Chicago to help others during periods of grief. I grappled with the hole these tragedies left in my family's heart and was determined to understand why my family had to go through such pain and hardship.

In this documentary, these parents speak in chronological order to discuss what life was like before the passing of their child, what transpired during those life-changing days, as well as their perspectives on anger, joy, happiness, guilt, marriage, culture, and religion. The story then explores an all-encompassing central question: "Where is my child now?"

In LIFE TO AFTERLIFE: Mom, Can You Hear Me?, you will appreciate the amazing shift in perspective that develops from a parent creating a connection with their lost child. Having an open dialogue about these events sheds light and understanding of several complex and difficult questions, but also gives license to a more uplifting and purposeful life. -Craig McMahon

The seventeen Shining Light Parents included in the documentary by Craig McMahon are as follows (by alphabetical order): Carol Allen, Affiliate Leader of Helping Parents Heal - Cave Creek, Elizabeth Boisson, President and Co-Founder of Helping Parents Heal, Affiliate Leader of Phoenix/Scottsdale and Newsletter Editor, Kim Camacho, Kim Courtney, Founder of The Healing Cross Project, Nita and Glenn Erickson, Nita is a Founding Member of Helping Parents Heal, Lynn and Jeff Hollahan, Caring Listeners for Helping Parents Heal, Lynn is a Founding Member of HPH and Affiliate Leader of Helping Parents Heal - Scottsdale Book Club and Jeff is a Board Member of HPH, LeAnn Hull, Founder of The Andy Hull Sunshine Foundation and author of How to Live When You Want to Die, Mark Ireland, Co-Founder of Helping Parents Heal and Author of several books, including Soul Shift, Finding Where the Dead Go, Ernie and Kristine Jackson, Caring Listeners for Helping Parents Heal, Ernie is a Board Member of Helping Parents Heal and the author of Quinton's Messages and Quinton's Legacy, as well as a newsletter columnist, Linda McCarthy, Head of the Caring Listeners and Author of The Myth of Dying, Jeffery Olsen, NDE Specialist and Author of several books, including Knowing, Laurie Savoie, Secretary of Helping Parents Heal and Author of The Ripple Effect, Irene Vouvalides, Vice President of Helping Parents Heal, Affiliate Leader of Hilton Head/Bluffton and Conference Director, and Michelle Ziff.

Two huge supporters of Helping Parents Heal, Suzanne Giesemann and Susanne Wilson, are also included in the film, as well as Allison Dubois, Maureen Hancock, John Holland, Robert Schwartz, and James Van Praagh.