Woman says she saw God 'build the next Earth': She was an atheist all her life, then a 50-minute ‘death’ changed her belief forever

A lifelong atheist says a near-death experience completely changed her view of God after she claims she “died” and found herself in what she believed was heaven. Riley Courtright, who has lived with a serious genetic disorder, says she experienced what felt like death twice within 18 months, but it was the second incident that changed her beliefs about life, death and faith.

Courtright shared her experience on the Round Trip podcast, where she spoke about her illness, her two brushes with death and what she says happened while she was away from her body. Her story was also reported by UNILAD.

Woman says she died twice

Courtright was diagnosed with vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a severe form of a genetic connective tissue disorder. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the condition can affect the strength of tissues in the body, including arteries and organs, and can leave patients at risk of serious internal bleeding.


She says her first death happened at home after doctors told her there were no further treatment options. The second came months later after she and her husband had moved to St. Thomas, believing that she was approaching the end of her life.

Looking back at what happened, Courtright said, “Dying is a funny thing because it all sort of happens at once, right? The moment that you realize your soul has left your body and that you’re not a body with a soul, rather a soul with a body, right?”

She described the experiences as moving through what she called a cosmic wormhole. According to her account, she saw deceased loved ones and heard music and trumpets that seemed to come from somewhere beyond the world she knew.

Riley says she met God

The second experience, however, was different. Courtright, who says she had been an atheist all her life, claims she suddenly found herself in the presence of God.

“When I died, I instantly shot up to God. And there was no mistaking that's where I was,” she said.

Courtright went on to describe God as being larger than the cosmos and said she was able to hug him, sit with him and accompany him as he worked.

“He is bigger than the cosmos. I got to wrap my arms around his neck. I got to sit in his lap. I got to play by his ankles. I got to go with him to work.”

She also claimed the experience allowed her to see the creation of the universe and what she described as another Earth.

“It felt like I got to watch him expand the universe. I got to watch him build the next Earth that we're all going to be on.”

Courtright said she was shown what she understood to be heaven, the Garden of Eden and other parts of the universe. She also claimed she was given an explanation of existence itself.

“He explained it was it's everything. You get every bit of information that's ever existed in the universe all at once,” she said.

She says she woke up feeling healed

Courtright then says she suddenly returned to her body. She recalled waking up while her husband was holding her cold body and said he had been holding her for around an hour. According to Courtright, her first breath felt completely different from what she had experienced before.

“There was nothing wrong with my heart anymore. My lungs were great. My kidneys, my liver. I was hungry,” she said.

She claimed she immediately felt strong and believed she had been healed. Courtright was later taken to hospital for tests, where she says doctors could not explain the changes she described.

“We can’t explain this, but you look like a healthy 34-year-old. Like, your organs look good. We can’t see the past trauma anymore from heart attacks, from strokes, or signs of internal bleeding. Like you’re great.”

She said she declined further treatment because she believed she no longer needed medicine.

Her views on God changed

Courtright said the experience had left her with a completely different understanding of faith. At the time of the podcast interview, she said she was no longer an atheist and claimed she had remained “healed” for seven months.

She also said she was able to return to activities including yoga, ballet and hiking, while eating more after previously relying on a feeding tube.

Reflecting on the experience, Courtright said she did not want people to view God through fear.

“I was an atheist, and I got to see God. So I also don't want people to be scared of this, like biblical telling or this Baptist telling of, you know, 'fear God' because God doesn't want to be feared. He wants to be loved, right?...His love is so unconditional.”

What science says about near-death experiences

Courtright's account is her personal description of a near-death experience and does not establish that she literally entered an afterlife. Near-death experiences have been documented among people who survive cardiac arrest and other life-threatening situations.

A review published in Missouri Medicine noted that such experiences can involve sensations of leaving the body, travelling through a tunnel, encountering a bright light and experiencing a strong sense of peace. The review also said that such experiences have been reported in a proportion of patients successfully resuscitated after cardiac arrest.

More recent research has focused on possible neurological explanations. A 2025 review in Nature Reviews Neurology examined psychological and neurophysiological processes that may contribute to the vivid and often mystical experiences reported during near-death states. Researchers continue to study how consciousness and brain activity may relate to these experiences.

For Courtright, however, the experience has had a personal effect beyond the medical questions. She said she is no longer an atheist and believes she has remained “healed” for seven months.