Today we’d like to introduce you to Karin McLean.
Hi Karin, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In 1991, my family and I were taken on an unexpected journey following a life-altering accident that claimed the life of my nine-year-old little brother Brian, and nearly my own. I was born and raised in Utah, living in Cottonwood Heights with my mom and three younger siblings. When I was 18 years old, we planned a trip to St. George to support a friend running in the annual marathon. My 16-year-old sister had recently gotten her driver’s license, and she took to the wheel as my mom sat in the front passenger seat. They buckled up and we began our journey, but those of us in the back seats did not buckle up—my 14-year-old sister, Brian (the caboose of our family), and me. About an hour into the drive (eight miles south of Nephi), my sister took her eyes off the wheel for one split-second as she leaned in to take a sip of her drink—one split-second that changed everything. The car drifted, and she overcorrected, causing it to roll several times across the median and land on the opposite side of the freeway. Once the car stopped, it was facing north instead of the direction we had been headed—south. As it rolled, the three of us in the back seats were ejected, and my sister and mom were trapped in the front seats, requiring the jaws of life to free them. Miraculously, an emergency room doctor was driving directly behind our car and played a critical role in saving my life. The three of us who were thrown from the car were life-flighted to hospitals in Salt Lake City, and unfortunately, Brian didn’t survive.
After losing Brian, my family and I began receiving undeniable signs from him. These signs have come in a variety of ways, I’ve learned that you don’t have to wait for signs—you can ask for them. One of the things I’ve asked Brian for is his birth year (’82), and he always comes through: a grocery receipt totaling exactly $82.00, dimes from ’82, and many other signs.
Decades after the accident, I felt Brian nudging me to write a book. When the nudging became undeniably strong, I said out loud to him, “Brian, if I should really do this, please let me know by giving me an 82.” That night, I went online to pay my credit card bill and the balance staring back at me was $82.82—a double whammy! I could hardly believe my eyes, and I knew that I had to write my book—it was a calling. I titled my book Bright Days Do Come, which is the last line of a poem I wrote one month after the accident while I was recovering in a rehabilitation facility. In my book, I recount the amazing signs that my family and I have received from Brian, along with the spiritually transformative experiences I’ve had (pre-birth memory, out-of-body experience, near-death experience, visitation dreams, and shared-death experiences), along with other remarkable signs that my family and friends have received from their loved ones too.
These experiences took me from grief to healing, from pain to purpose, and from questioning whether there’s life after death, to knowing that it exists. My book contains the lessons I’ve learned, the new perspectives I’ve gained, and the reasons I know that life—and love—continue beyond death. Even though life brings many storms, I’ve learned that—bright days do come. I published my book in May of this year and at the end of that month, my final sales report totaled exactly 82 copies sold that month—another undeniable “82” sign from Brian. Currently, I am focusing on continuing to share my message by speaking and guesting on podcasts.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been easy. I didn’t know that Brian had died until his funeral had already happened. I was fighting for my life and was in and out of surgeries and wasn’t coherent or stable enough to know about his death until sometime afterwards. I was hospitalized for two weeks and then my youngest sister, who was also ejected from the car, and I were directly transferred to a wheelchair-friendly rehabilitation facility. She stayed there for two months, and I stayed for three, both focusing on physical and occupational therapy multiple times a day, while talk therapy was forgotten. During the accident, I broke both of my femurs, and one was a compound fracture (where the bone breaks through the skin). This caused a lot of blood loss, necessitating a blood transfusion. There was a lot of dirt in the open wound but the emergency room doctor, who had been driving behind us, had a bottle of saline solution that he poured into my wound at the scene, which was crucial in preventing infection. I cracked the back of my skull, broke my nose, left knee, and left clavicle, shattered my left orbital floor, and fractured several other facial bones. My left hip was displaced with no pulse until the emergency room doctor at the scene was able to thrust it back into place. The doctor also had to intubate me to help me breathe, as the force of the crash had collapsed both of my lungs. My youngest sister, who was also ejected, broke one femur, had a hairline fracture in her pelvis, and incurred a closed-head injury—which affected her memory for a few weeks. My mom dislocated her elbow and broke her clavicle and my sister who was driving got a cut on her scalp as the car rolled. Being the driver of the car came with its challenges, but she has come a long way. She and my mom were hospitalized for the first few days following the accident and when they returned home, Brian’s room had been condensed to a box. This was done by some relatives who had good intentions, but whose actions were ultimately detrimental to us all because it denied us the opportunity to see his room the way Brian had left it. By the time I returned home, his room had become my sisters’ room. The accident happened shortly after I graduated from high school and I had just finished my first week of college. I missed my brother so much and had never lost anyone this close to me. When I was introduced to alcohol, it numbed my pain. By the time I turned 21 I had easy access to it and it became my vice for the following 10 years. During those 10 years, I was in a dark place and therefore I really didn’t get many signs from Brian. I feel that my lifestyle and headspace during those years closed me off from connecting with him. I eventually began to heal by learning to love myself which led to no longer choosing to drink alcohol which helped me feel my feelings instead of numbing them, and I looked at my scars through a new lens—wearing them proudly instead of hiding them. Once I did these things to heal, I was able to connect with my brother again and I started getting more and more signs from him.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Westminster University in Salt Lake City, and I worked in the financial and software industries until I had my first child in May of 2009. I am a mother of two teenagers now and have been a stay-at-home mom ever since, and as of May 2025, I am also a published author. Now I am focused on sharing my message: I appear as a guest on podcasts, I have spoken at my local IANDS (International Association of Near-Death Studies) chapter, and I have joined Toastmasters International to improve my public speaking skills. I am proud to have survived the accident, to be in a place of light, to have listened to Brian’s nudges to write my book, and to be helping others know that our loved ones still exist. I think what sets me apart from others is my positive perspective and unique experiences.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
My advice for finding a mentor is to ask around. As an aspiring author, I started by asking friends and family if they knew any other authors and asked if they would make an introduction. It really is a small world, and you’d be surprised who the people in your circle have connections to. Once I found a few authors I could talk to, I made a list of the things I wanted to know and I took notes. They shared some helpful advice, and I found my cover designer through one of them. I also found some mentors online and learned simply by watching what they do and how they use social media.
For networking, do the same thing—ask around. You will start meeting people and everything starts connecting, almost like a web. Another great way to network or to find a mentor is through groups on social media. I found a group on Facebook for self-publishing authors, and someone made a recommendation for the person they used to format their book, and that’s who I ended up hiring to format mine. I found my editor by telling a friend that I was writing a book and she referred me to her cousin who is an editor. Talk to people about what you are doing, or wanting to do, because you never know who you might connect with or what you might learn once you start sharing.
When I began my book, I didn’t think I had the time and I didn’t know anything about publishing—however, I have always loved to write. So, I started there, taking it step by step. We all have the same amount of time each day, we just need to make the time and do what it takes to prioritize. Take 5 minutes here, an hour there, and you’ll find that a little progress each day adds up to big results. Although I’d never done anything as intensive as writing a book, I knew that I’d figure it out as I went. My mantra was “Trust yourself, trust the process.” Google and YouTube also became my mentors, answering many questions I had about publishing. I also felt very guided by Brian throughout my writing journey, and he always led me to the right mentors and the next steps. As a published author now, I’ve connected with fellow authors in the same genre and with podcast hosts, and we’ve built a wonderful network where we introduce one another. It’s been incredibly rewarding to help people connect—and to be connected in return.
Pricing:
- 15.99
- 7.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://authorkarinmclean.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorkarinmclean/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569015283057
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karin-mclean-3769161/
- Other: https://a.co/d/2js8h2h
