Near-death experience prompts TV personality Ralph Benmergui to write ‘I Thought He Was Dead’

When media personality Ralph Benmergui discovered he was hours away from a deadly heart attack, he realized it was time to take stock as he moved into the autumn years.

This near-death experience prompted him to write a funny and poignant spiritual memoir called I Thought He Was Dead.

“When it comes to getting older, I don’t want people to back into the autumn of life. I want them to walk into it,” Benmergui said in an interview on Morning Live. “The vast majority of people do not end up in long-term care but where are they? Are we valuing them? Are we giving them the benefit of their wisdom?”

His memoir explores his childhood as the youngest son of Moroccan immigrants, as well as his experiences as a stand-up comedian at YukYuks, his career and those big questions about the afterlife.

Benmergui is best known for his radio and television career with CBC and Jazz-FM.

About 10 years ago, though, he had life-saving surgery following a heart disease diagnosis. A few years later, Benmergui developed a type of cancer that partially disfigured his face.

After losing his job as an executive adviser to the president of Sheridan College in Oakville, he enrolled at the ALEPH Ordination Program to become an ordained spiritual counsellor.

You can purchase the 263-page book on Wolsak and Wynn, Amazon and Chapters Indigo.