Rothschild and his best friend Albert, both diagnosed with AIDS in the early 1990s when the disease was a certain death sentence, made a pact that whoever died first would attempt to send a signal from beyond. When Rothschild discovered Albert's body after an unexpected suicide, he heard Albert's voice directing him to jump a neighbor's fence and search a trash can, where he found the suicide note.
Rothschild describes two years of documented experiences including hummingbirds landing on him indoors while consoling dying friends, a rare 1878 book containing Albert's personal quote underlined on a bookmarked page, and a nighttime visitation where Albert told him every moment of life has meaning and purpose. A former card-carrying atheist, Rothschild credits these signals with giving him the hope to survive multiple bouts of fatal infections.
Key Moments
Voice from a body: the trash can note: Rothschild describes finding his friend Albert dead from suicide, and while shaking the body hearing a voice telling him to jump the fence, dig under the cat litter in the neighbor's trash can, and find the suicide note, which he did with the LAPD watching.
Meeting is the beginning of parting: A year after Albert's death, Rothschild buys a 1878 quote book at a thrift store for a dollar and finds a single underlined quote on a bookmark inside: the same ancient Chinese proverb, 'Meeting is the beginning of parting,' that Albert had given him as their personal motto.
Piazza Michelangelo and the River Arno: Rothschild recounts that Neil Donald Walsch carried his manuscript through Europe and felt compelled to read it overlooking the River Arno at the Piazza Michelangelo, the exact scene of an engraving Albert had insisted Rothschild buy from an LA thrift store one month before his suicide.
The veiled light above the bed: On the night Albert died, Rothschild returns home around 2 a.m. to a pitch-black room with blackout shades drawn and AC on, sees a dim veiled light above his bed and hears Albert say, 'You know it's me, don't you,' at the very moment Rothschild is ready to take his own life.