Texas woman says near-death experience confirmed afterlife and redirected her career

Tricia Barker, now 53, says a near-death experience in Austin, Texas, when she was 21, changed what she believed about life and death. She says she went from an atheist upbringing to a belief in an afterlife after a serious car crash that left her with multiple injuries and a three-minute period during which she says she left her body and witnessed what lay beyond.

On the day of the crash, Barker was driving a Honda Civic to a 10-kilometer running race. She was late, hadn’t had her morning coffee and felt drowsy, she said. She crossed an intersection on what she thought was a yellow light, and another car traveling at high speed collided with hers. The impact was violent, and Barker remembers going into shock and being unable to move. Doctors later found a fractured spine, a broken foot and internal injuries. Because she lacked health insurance, she waited about 17 hours for surgery, a delay she described as a frightening setback at the time.

The moment Barker says she left her body, she described a sense of total clarity and a calm she had never known. “The minute I left my body, I just felt total clarity and so much smarter than I’d ever been. There was no pain, just peace,” she recalled. She said she was aware of everything happening in the operating room and even heard an Elvis Presley song on the radio. In the distance, she saw a man in his thirties beside a gleaming 1960s truck—the man she would later recognize as her grandfather, who had died when Barker was ten. “Do you want to keep going towards God?” the grandfather asked her, she said.

Barker described encountering “light beings” behind the surgeons, beings made of silvery-white, gold, yellow and blue light. She said they were incredibly intelligent and communicated telepathically, transmitting light through the surgeons’ hands and lighting Barker’s body. She said she saw an image of herself running and was told she would be okay. At one point her heart monitor flatlined, and she later said she moved through walls and through the hospital, even passing by her mother in the waiting room and her stepfather at a vending machine.

During the experience Barker said she spoke with what she believes was God. A booming voice—described as not clearly male or female—spoke to her, confirming that this encounter was real and telling her that her destiny was to teach and to show students how to live with joy, passion and belief in themselves. She recalled a moment when she decided to continue toward God, even though her physical body remained fragile in the operating room. Barker says she was returned to life and woke gasping in the intensive care unit.

She says she initially doubted what she could tell others, but a nurse confirmed a detail she described—her stepfather buying a candy bar from a hospital vending machine—which convinced her mother that Barker’s account had some accuracy. A minister later gave Barker’s parents a pamphlet that labeled near-death experiences as delusions, but Barker still held to the memory and message of what she experienced.

After recovering, Barker returned to school, shifted from a planned career in law to teaching, and began a life dedicated to helping students overcome personal challenges. She has taught at various levels, including high school and community college, and has worked as an English teacher at Houston City College. She also pursues work as a spiritual medium. Barker’s account was later shared in her book and has drawn interest from readers seeking stories of near-death experiences and the afterlife.

The broader conversation about near-death experiences continues to encompass a wide range of personal narratives. Barker’s story emphasizes a transformation in beliefs triggered by a traumatic event and highlights how personal experiences can influence career and outlook. While her account is one person’s memory of a moment that occurred decades ago, Barker maintains that the experience compelled a reimagining of what it means to live and learn, and she continues to teach and engage with students while exploring her own spiritual interests.