My Story

Much of my life and career has been dedicated to pursuing holistic healing for myself and others, through building my company, Optimal Health Network. Through that work, I have written dozens of articles based on my 25-plus years of practice, as well as the book Ten Days to Optimal Health: A Guide to Nutritional Therapy and Colon Cleansing.

Simultaneously, I've been on an emotional and spiritual journey that began in 1981 when my thirteen-year-old brother Jay died in a car accident. Jay had been warning us of his death for over a year, calmly and clearly and in great detail. When his tragic death unfolded exactly as he told us it would, we didn't know what to do. My mother retreated from the world, and from me. Any sense of family or community I once had was destroyed. With no space for my grief, I followed a societal pattern of ignoring this tragedy, and it nearly destroyed me.

But through my determination to live and some fateful encounters, I've been able to create a life full of growth and transformation. I recovered from substance addiction, used colon cleansing and dietary change to heal from chronic illness, and found emotional healing tools to face the grief of losing my brother and the fear of my own eventual death. I have studied with spiritual teachers and thought leaders and have learned about the transformative power of refusing to shy away from painful topics.

Decades after Jay died, I followed a deep calling to write his story. For years, I engaged in a regular contemplative writing practice while also tracking down people who could help me remember Jay. I wanted to understand exactly how his death could have happened in the very way he described it. How did he know he would die? Why was he so at peace with dying? Did he know something about the universe that we don't? The result of my quest is a memoir about healing and human potential, What My Brother Knew, published with She Writes Press.

My Books

What My Brother Knew: A Memoir

▶︎ She Writes Press: May 27, 2025

As a boy, Jay Amelong predicted the accident that caused his death, down to the color of the car that hit him. "I will die young, while riding my bike," he told friends and family repeatedly. "It won't be much longer. I want you to be prepared." Baffling words to hear from the mouth of a content thirteen-year-old. When Kristina Amelong was only seventeen, her brother's tragic death unfolded exactly as he said it would, radically changing her life.

Propelled down a self-destructive path of drug addiction and reckless sex, Kristina spent much of her young adult years wanting to die. Once or twice she came close. Always, Jay's bizarre story and his inexplicable acceptance of death lived in her body.

More than thirty years later, Kristina embarks on a journey of discovery, seeking truth about herself, her brother, and the universe. The result of her investigation is a memoir that defies belief. Charting a life path from loss and abuse to healing and spiritual awakening, What My Brother Knew demonstrates the transformative power of facing the mystery of death head-on and the incredible human ability to do so.

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Praise for What My Brother Knew:

"This is a searing memoir about a sister's love for a younger brother who was brutally struck on a BMX bicycle by a green car that drug him to his death. Jay repeatedly described the event beforehand, likely because of an LSD opening, even asked that 'Stairway to Heaven' be played at his funeral. The story explored in these pages made me weep. We are totally messed up... and we are perfect.

~ Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else

"In this exquisite memoir, Kristina Amelong courageously enters the depths of outrageous pain and outrageous love, crafting a story that moves beyond the personal to resonate with the universal. Through her brother Jay's extraordinary foresight, she reveals a single, shimmering thread of the larger tapestry — a story within the Story of the continuity of consciousness itself. With radical candor and profound intimacy, Kristina illuminates the contours of life's beauty and shadow, inviting readers into a communion that transcends individual narrative. Here, the personal and the cosmic intertwine, offering a testament to human resilience and the ever-evolving nature of love in a universe alive with purpose."

~ Dr. Marc Gafni, author of A Return to Eros

Ten Days to Optimal Health: A Guide to Nutritional Therapy and Colon Cleansing

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Ten Days to Optimal Health is a step-by-step guide to nutritional therapy and colon cleansing which includes important self-help strategies for people who want to take responsibility for their own health and well-being. Kristina describes her own eight-year battle with irritable bowel syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), chronic candidiasis, chronic constipation, and hormonal imbalances... and the tools she used to fully recover.

Ten Days to Optimal Health was created as a straightforward, home-based cleansing program which you can do on your own or in conjunction with a colon hydrotherapist. The program includes a 35-day colon cleansing program that is laid out in 10-day segments. The easy-to-understand principles have helped heal individuals at all levels of health. Whether you are just starting to cleanse or you have been cleansing for years, you will find the resources in this book to be very valuable.

▶︎ For more about Kristina's health and wellness practice, visit www.optimalhealthnetwork.com.