At 26, Taylor Maxson was searching for purpose while working with at-risk youth in Kentucky. After months of exhaustion and stress, he and two friends set out on the Cumberland River for what was meant to be a healing trip into nature. But when their canoe flipped above Angel Falls—a class V rapid known for its deadly currents—Taylor was pulled under, battered against rocks, and certain she would not survive. In this episode of Alive Again, Taylor recounts the terrifying minutes when he nearly drowned and resurfaced, and how the experience led him toward connection, healing, and a new way of living.

Story Producer: Kate Sweeney

If you have a transformative near-death experience to share, we’d love to hear your story! Please email us at aliveagainproject@gmail.com We’d love to hear your story!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this unforgettable episode of Alive Again, Charlie Collins shares the moment that changed everything: when he was electrocuted by 12,500 volts on top of a moving train in New York. Legally blind since childhood and long battling self-doubt, drugs, and despair, Charlie’s near-death experience left him burned and broken—but also opened the door to a profound transformation. Through survival, recovery, and surrender, Charlie found meaning, connection, and a calling to help others discover their own light. This is a story about ego death, resilience, and finding light after decades of darkness. And it reminds us: sometimes the near-death isn’t what nearly kills us—it’s what finally sets us free.

Story Producer: Dan Bush

If you have a transformative near-death experience to share, we’d love to hear your story! Please email us at aliveagainproject@gmail.com We’d love to hear your story!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On a 110° Grand Canyon trek rerouted by wildfire, Drew Seibert collapsed alone—hallucinating a friend, cooling in a cave, and realizing he might die there. He didn’t. A river guide’s sat phone summoned a helicopter, and Drew went home to Atlanta… where a midnight fall in his bathroom broke his neck and stopped his breathing.

Kept alive by his partner’s improvised rescue and then a ventilator, Drew awoke to a new life as a quadriplegic. What followed was the slow, stubborn work of neuroplastic recovery at Shepherd Center: first wrist, first ankle, standing, driving, and the daily discipline of building strength when it would be easier to give up. Along the way, he reimagined purpose—leaving medicine, going to law school, and now advocating for veterans while speaking frankly about autonomy, access to care, and what we owe one another. “You don’t have a lot of choice in the matter,” he says. “Do the best you can to keep heading in the right direction.”

Story Producer: Brent Dey

If you have a transformative near-death experience to share, we’d love to hear your story! Please email us at aliveagainproject@gmail.com We’d love to hear your story!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.