Transformation

TRANSFORMATION THE BREAKTHROUGH WHITLEY STRIEBER On February 10, 1987, one of the most star­ tling and controversial books of our time was published: Whitley Strieber's Commu­ nion. In Communion, Whitley Strieber de­ scribed the shattering effects of an assault from the unknown-what seemed to be an encounter with intelligent nonhuman beings. Transformation is the chronicle of his effort to form a relationship with the unknown reality he has come to call"the visitors." After writing Communion, Whitley Strie­ ber firmly expected that his encounters with the "visitors" would end. They did not. At first he was desperate and terrified. He struggled frantically to push the visitors out of his life, to prove to himself that they were figments of his imagination, that they were anything but a reality separate from himself. He was finally forced to admit, because of their persistence and the undeniably intelli­ gent structure of their encounters with him, that they had to be a genuine mystery, an intelligence of unknown nature and origin. Whitley began to challenge his fear of the visitors, to try to confront them with objec­ tivity, in an effort to gain real insight into their impact on our lives. The more he did this, he found, the deeper and richer his ex­ perience became. Do the visitors represent a force that has been with mankind throughout history? Has it played an absolutely central role in alter­ ing human culture? Has a conscious force (continued on backflap) Book Club Edition TRANSFORMATION By Whitley Strieber As Author: As Co-Author: Transformation Communion Wolf of Shadows Catmagic The Night Church Black Magic The Hunger The Wolfen Nature's End Warday Whitley Strieber TRANSFORMATION The Breakthrough BEECH TREE BOOKS WILLIAM MOR ROW New York Copyright C 1988 by Wilson & Neff, Inc. Grateful acknowledgment is made to Insel Verlag for permission to reprint lines from the "Second Elegy," from Duino Elegies by Rainer Maria Rilke. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher. Inquiries should be addressed to Permissions Department, Beech Tree Books, William Morrow and Company, Inc., 105 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016 Printed in the United States of America BOOK DESIGN BY JAYE ZIMET The word''book" is said to derive from boka,or beech. The beech tree has been the patron tree of writers since ancient times and represents the flowering of literature and knowledge. Transformation is dedicated to those who have had the courage to be named in this book as witnesses to my experience. Barbara Clagman, Ed Conroy, Denise Daniels, Selena Fox, l.Anette Glasscock, Annie Gottlieb, Bruce Lee, Roy Leonard, Barry Maddock, Philippe Mora, David Nigrelle, Dora Ru.ffoer, Jacques Sandulescu, Martin Sharp, Patricia Simpson, Richard Strieber, Gilda Strutz, Mary Sue and Patrick Weathers, Yensoon Tfoi, and in memory ofJo Sharp. I would also like to thank Dr. John Gliedman, whose open mind and resolute skepticism have led to so many essential insights. Beth Andreasson, Raymond Cowley, Stanton Friedman, Leonard Keave, Bruce Maccabee, Dr. Jesse Marcel, Dr. Jacques Vallee, and William Moore lent me counsel and advice, which was much needed and appreci­ ated. Most of all I would lik