Rob A. Gentile is the son of Italian immigrants. He grew up in Pennsylvania, where his father worked in a steel mill. Rob also works in the steel industry, as a sales rep, and he’s been married to Melanie for more than thirty years. Together they’ve devoted themselves to their daughter with special needs, Maria, who is in her twenties and has Rett Syndrome. Rob calls Maria “the hero of my life” and tells me in our conversation that she’s his greatest teacher. Yet throughout her childhood he grappled with difficult questions about why children suffer. Answers came in a sudden and unexpected way—at age fifty-six he had a massive heart attack, then flatlined, and had a near-death experience. Four months later, while awaiting his donor heart, he had another NDE – a profound and powerful encounter that transformed Rob’s life.

Hear the original full-length podcast on Spirit Sisters – the podcast, Into the Ethereal – Before his heart transplant, Rob’s NDE gave the answers to everything