Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Simon and Schuster (2012), Edition: 1, 208 pages
Description
"A SCIENTIST'S CASE FOR THE AFTERLIFE Near-death experiences, or NDEs, are controversial. Thousands of people have had them, but many in the scientific community have argued that they are impossible. Dr. Eben Alexander was one of those people. A highly trained neurosurgeon who had operated on thousands of brains in the course of his career, Alexander knew that what people of faith call the "soul" is really a product of brain chemistry. NDEs, he would have been the first to explain, might feel real to the people having them, but in truth they are simply fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress. Then came the day when Dr. Alexander's own brain was attacked by an extremely rare illness. The part of the brain that controls thought and emotion--and in essence makes us human-- shut down completely. For seven days Alexander lay in a hospital bed in a deep coma. Then, as his doctors weighed the possibility of stopping treatment, Alexander's eyes popped open. He had come back. Alexander's recovery is by all accounts a medical miracle. But the real miracle of his story lies elsewhere. While his body lay in coma, Alexander journeyed beyond this world and encountered an angelic being who guided him into the deepest realms of super-physical existence. There he met, and spoke with, the Divine source of the universe itself. This story sounds like the wild and wonderful imaginings of a skilled fantasy writer. But it is not fantasy. Before Alexander underwent his journey, he could not reconcile his knowledge of neuroscience with any belief in heaven, God, or the soul. That difficulty with belief created an empty space that no professional triumph could erase. Today he is a doctor who believes that true health can be achieved only when we realize that God and the soul are real and that death is not the end of personal existence but only a transition. This story would be remarkable no matter who it happened to. That it happened to Dr. Alexander makes it revolutionary. No scientist or person of faith will be able to ignore it. Reading it will change your life"-- "Near-death experiences are controversial. Thousands of people have had them, but many in the scientific community have argued that they are impossible. Dr. Eben Alexander was one of those people. A highly trained neurosurgeon, Alexander knew that what people of faith call the "soul" is really a product of brain chemistry. NDEs, he would have been the first to explain, might feel real, but they are fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress. Then came the day when Dr. Alexander's own brain was attacked by a rare illness. The part of the brain that controls thought and emotion--and in essence makes us human--shut down completely. For seven days Alexander lay in a hospital bed in a deep coma. Then, as his doctors weighed the possibility of stopping treatment, Alexander's eyes popped open. He had come back. Alexander's recovery is a medical miracle. But the real miracle of his story lies elsewhere. While his body lay in coma, Alexander journeyed beyond this world and encountered an angelic being who guided him into the deepest realms of super-physical existence. There he met, and spoke with, the Divine source of the universe itself. This story sounds like the wild imaginings of a skilled fantasy writer. But it is not fantasy. Before Alexander underwent his journey, he could not reconcile his knowledge of neuroscience with any belief in heaven, God, or the soul. That difficulty with belief created an empty space that no professional triumph could erase. Today he is a doctor who believes that true health can be achieved only when we realize that God and the soul are real and that death is not the end of personal existence but only a transition. This story would be remarkable no matter who it happened to. That it happened to Dr. Alexander makes it revolutionary"--… (more)
Media reviews
We talk about his past life and his present one, and about the strange voyage that divided the two. We talk about some of the stories he tells in Proof of Heaven, which has sold nearly two million copies and remains near the top of the New York Times best-seller list nearly a year after its
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release. We also talk about some of the stories you won't find in the book, stories I've heard from current and former friends and colleagues, and stories I've pulled from court documents and medical-board complaints, stories that in some cases give an entirely new context to the stories in the book, and in other cases simply contradict them. Show Less
Un neurochirurgien américain raconte son expérience de mort imminente.
Eben Alexander assure avoir vécu malgré lui, en 2008, une expérience de mort imminente, un récit controversé que ce neurochirurgien a décidé de raconter dans un livre.
Eben Alexander assure avoir vécu malgré lui, en 2008, une expérience de mort imminente, un récit controversé que ce neurochirurgien a décidé de raconter dans un livre.
User reviews
LibraryThing member MaineColonial
Because there are so many reviews of this book already, I'll make my primary focus one thing: whatever else this book might be, it isn't "proof" of anything.
I'm happy for Eben Alexander that he's joined the many people who have had a near-death experience (NDE) that changed their lives for the
In any case, how does Alexander know when his NDE occurred? Well, he doesn't. He never tells us how he knows that his NDE didn't occur when he was going into a coma or coming out of it.
Early in the book, Alexander describes a time when he was doing a group skydive and someone made the mistake of opening his parachute when he was below Alexander. Alexander relates that in a matter of microseconds, he reacted with a maneuver that avoided catastrophe. He says that his brain had become, for a moment, super-powered, and that this experience shows that the brain is more extraordinary than we can imagine. Alexander never makes the connection between this experience and his NDE; in other words, it doesn't seem to occur to him that his NDE might have occurred in microseconds in a brain in crisis, or that his brain created the NDE in a way he doesn't imagine. If it did occur to him, he simply rejects that logical possibility.
Alexander makes a big deal of the fact that he's a neurosurgeon to support his claim that his NDE is inexplicable by anything other than an actual experience of the divine. But again, he is undone by something else he says at the beginning of the book. He acknowledges that "surgically repairing the brain, while an extraordinarily complex undertaking, is actually no different than fixing any other, highly delicate, electrically charged machine." In other words, Alexander is like a mechanic of the brain. He doesn't have any special knowledge of neuroscience. Dr. Samuels of Brigham and Women's Hospital puts it more bluntly; saying that the fact that Eben Alexander is a neurosurgeon is no more relevant than if he were a plumber.
So we're left with the story of a guy with no particular expertise in neuroscience who had a subjective experience and decides that it is, somehow, an objective proof that heaven exists and not something that happened in his brain. Well, I have a problem with that.
My problem is NOT that Alexander had a spiritually transformative experience and that he is now a man of solid faith. I have absolutely no quarrel with faith; I have it myself. But don't confuse faith with fact; it's as simple as that.
Aside from my problem with the logical underpinnings of the book, my only other particular observation is that I got the feeling that Eben Alexander has a strong psychological need to feel special. He writes extensively about spending years emotionally and spiritually adrift for reasons relating to the fact that he is an adoptee. This seems to have instilled in him a drive to show that he is exceptional and, thus, worthy.
He's at pains to tell the reader that he's a skydiver, a top neurosurgeon, has a perfect wife and sons, and even was the most beautiful baby in the hospital when he was born. Everything that happens to him seems to be against lightning-strike odds. He claims his medical crisis was "unprecedented," as were the fact, speed and thoroughness of his recovery from a seven-day coma. As he tells it, even the weather during his week-long coma was extraordinary. So it was no surprise to read that, according to him, his NDE was exceptional. He describes its features as having been different from all other NDEs he's read about. For example, unlike pretty much everybody else, he didn't recognize himself in his NDE and he didn't meet anybody he knew. Of course, the capper in this string of long-odds experiences is that he claims that his experience is one that cannot be explained by biochemistry and will become the basis for breakthrough research in the nature of consciousness. Not surprisingly, he now has a website (which promises a store is coming!) and a foundation (which welcomes people to become members at any one of several pricey levels). His book ended up being more interesting to me as a psychological study than anything else.
Those who are interested in reading books about NDEs may find this a worthwhile read, but--with apologies to Dr. Alexander's psyche--there's nothing exceptional here.
I'm happy for Eben Alexander that he's joined the many people who have had a near-death experience (NDE) that changed their lives for the
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better. But Alexander is insistent that his wasn't just your average NDE experience. His was special, and can't be explained as a matter of neurochemical processes, because his NDE occurred not only while he was in a coma, but when his cerebral cortex was completely "shut down." He says this was demonstrated by enhanced CT scans and other neurological exams. However, neuroscientists like Dr. Martin Samuels, chair of the neurology department at Brigham and Women's Hospital (affiliated with Harvard and one of Eben Alexander's former employers), respond that there is no way to test whether there was, in fact, such a shutdown. CT scans do not measure brain activity and we do not yet have the scientific expertise to measure all brain activity.In any case, how does Alexander know when his NDE occurred? Well, he doesn't. He never tells us how he knows that his NDE didn't occur when he was going into a coma or coming out of it.
Early in the book, Alexander describes a time when he was doing a group skydive and someone made the mistake of opening his parachute when he was below Alexander. Alexander relates that in a matter of microseconds, he reacted with a maneuver that avoided catastrophe. He says that his brain had become, for a moment, super-powered, and that this experience shows that the brain is more extraordinary than we can imagine. Alexander never makes the connection between this experience and his NDE; in other words, it doesn't seem to occur to him that his NDE might have occurred in microseconds in a brain in crisis, or that his brain created the NDE in a way he doesn't imagine. If it did occur to him, he simply rejects that logical possibility.
Alexander makes a big deal of the fact that he's a neurosurgeon to support his claim that his NDE is inexplicable by anything other than an actual experience of the divine. But again, he is undone by something else he says at the beginning of the book. He acknowledges that "surgically repairing the brain, while an extraordinarily complex undertaking, is actually no different than fixing any other, highly delicate, electrically charged machine." In other words, Alexander is like a mechanic of the brain. He doesn't have any special knowledge of neuroscience. Dr. Samuels of Brigham and Women's Hospital puts it more bluntly; saying that the fact that Eben Alexander is a neurosurgeon is no more relevant than if he were a plumber.
So we're left with the story of a guy with no particular expertise in neuroscience who had a subjective experience and decides that it is, somehow, an objective proof that heaven exists and not something that happened in his brain. Well, I have a problem with that.
My problem is NOT that Alexander had a spiritually transformative experience and that he is now a man of solid faith. I have absolutely no quarrel with faith; I have it myself. But don't confuse faith with fact; it's as simple as that.
Aside from my problem with the logical underpinnings of the book, my only other particular observation is that I got the feeling that Eben Alexander has a strong psychological need to feel special. He writes extensively about spending years emotionally and spiritually adrift for reasons relating to the fact that he is an adoptee. This seems to have instilled in him a drive to show that he is exceptional and, thus, worthy.
He's at pains to tell the reader that he's a skydiver, a top neurosurgeon, has a perfect wife and sons, and even was the most beautiful baby in the hospital when he was born. Everything that happens to him seems to be against lightning-strike odds. He claims his medical crisis was "unprecedented," as were the fact, speed and thoroughness of his recovery from a seven-day coma. As he tells it, even the weather during his week-long coma was extraordinary. So it was no surprise to read that, according to him, his NDE was exceptional. He describes its features as having been different from all other NDEs he's read about. For example, unlike pretty much everybody else, he didn't recognize himself in his NDE and he didn't meet anybody he knew. Of course, the capper in this string of long-odds experiences is that he claims that his experience is one that cannot be explained by biochemistry and will become the basis for breakthrough research in the nature of consciousness. Not surprisingly, he now has a website (which promises a store is coming!) and a foundation (which welcomes people to become members at any one of several pricey levels). His book ended up being more interesting to me as a psychological study than anything else.
Those who are interested in reading books about NDEs may find this a worthwhile read, but--with apologies to Dr. Alexander's psyche--there's nothing exceptional here.
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LibraryThing member Eye_Gee
Whether our not you come to the same conclusion about the author's experience, it remains a remarkable story. How he contacted bacterial meningitis and how he made a complete recovery are both mysteries of the first order. It is clear that he feels called upon to teach others what he believes he
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learned while in a coma, and this book is part of that effort. Show Less
LibraryThing member EllenLEkstrom
Dr. Alexander's book was wonderful and frightening and gave me hope. I was a chaplain in a local hospital ER for several years and his story was what I heard from patients who had the courage to share their experiences after critical, life-threatening illness. The prose is straightforward and
This book will reenforce a person of faith's belief in the afterlife and show to skeptics that one can meld science and faith in compatibility, that it isn't all about 'us.' A quick, enjoyable read that leaves you with hope.
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heartfelt and kept me reading, even when descriptions were a bit too graphic and made me squeamish.This book will reenforce a person of faith's belief in the afterlife and show to skeptics that one can meld science and faith in compatibility, that it isn't all about 'us.' A quick, enjoyable read that leaves you with hope.
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LibraryThing member jmcdbooks
Rated: A-
Amazing God-given insights into what life filled with God's love is truly all about. By God's grace, this neurosurgeon came to know the truth about much more the heaven, but of his very existence now and beyond.
Amazing God-given insights into what life filled with God's love is truly all about. By God's grace, this neurosurgeon came to know the truth about much more the heaven, but of his very existence now and beyond.
LibraryThing member mldavis2
I was given this book by a good friend and retired preacher who thought I might enjoy it. I did, in a detached way. The author suffered a bacterial meningitis infection and was in a coma for several weeks, during which time he claims to have had a supernatural out of body spiritual experience. The
He no longer practices medicine, did not write any articles in peer reviewed journals and spends his time on the lecture circuit. Whether the reader accepts the arguments as "truth" for the existence of an alternate spiritual reality, or simply enjoys the book as a faith testimonial, the latter is how I view it.
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book relies on his impressive background as a neurosurgeon to attempt to "prove" the existence of "heaven" citing various medical reasons as justification. The author is reliant on his perception during and memory following a brain disease as the basis for the leap to the use of medical knowledge as proof of a spiritual universe and an awareness of a Creator.He no longer practices medicine, did not write any articles in peer reviewed journals and spends his time on the lecture circuit. Whether the reader accepts the arguments as "truth" for the existence of an alternate spiritual reality, or simply enjoys the book as a faith testimonial, the latter is how I view it.
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LibraryThing member mochap
I made the mistake of Googling the author when I was part-way through listening to the audiobook. What was initially so fascinating about this man's recounting of his near death experience was that he is/was a neurosurgeon, very much a scientist/evidence-based individual before his NDE...then
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experienced what seems to be a true shift in perception. But if you read about his recent history, it makes you wonder a bit about his genuineness. Is he just trying to milk the topic? Decided about mid-way through that I couldn't trust him enough to finish the book. A bit disappointing Show Less
LibraryThing member dysmonia
As a staunch, dare I say militant, atheist, I was eager to read this account of a near death experience (NDE) by a scientist and doctor who specializes in the brain as a neurosurgeon. Here was the perfect candidate to explain such a controversial phenomenon.
The impression I had going in was that
I didn't expect Proof of Heaven to change my worldview, beliefs, or lack thereof; but I was hoping to learn something. And if it was something significant that did change my mind, well, that would be quite a book and a damn valuable read.
Sadly, Dr. Alexander is a poor storyteller, but this doesn't preclude his experience from having value. Moving past this, his dismissal of nine possible scientific explanations for his NDE, listed in an appendix, seem to be disregarded out of hand. Basically, his experience was too vivid, too real, too amazing, to be anything but genuine. I didn't find this valid.
If you're going to claim that a little girl took you on the wings of a butterfly to meet god, you'd better have some damn could proof to back it up.
I went into this book with as open a mind as possible -- my atheist friends saw the book lying about and teased me about it good-naturedly. It turned out their dismissive skepticism was right on the money.
Dull story, poor science, laughable logic.
And I found it interesting that Dr. Alexander lives in Lynchburg, VA, home of Liberty University (founded by Jerry Falwell), even though he works 70 minutes away. I had to wonder if he wasn't such a skeptic to begin with after all.
This is just my humble opinion: I am not a doctor, and more power to anyone who has undergone a positive life change due to an NDE. There is so much we don't know about the brain, and that goes both ways -- this fact could credit or discredit a story like Alexander's. Unfortunately the way he dismissed what he did know served to discredit him.
The impression I had going in was that
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Dr. Alexander was a non-religious skeptic who dismissed his own patients' NDE's with scientific explanations. Then he contracted a rare infection that he only survived by the grace of medical miracle (which does happen), and during the time he was in a coma, he experienced an NDE that could not be explained by any kind of activity in his brain, because his neocortex was shut down, thus disallowing any kind of consciousness that would normally explain an NDE.I didn't expect Proof of Heaven to change my worldview, beliefs, or lack thereof; but I was hoping to learn something. And if it was something significant that did change my mind, well, that would be quite a book and a damn valuable read.
Sadly, Dr. Alexander is a poor storyteller, but this doesn't preclude his experience from having value. Moving past this, his dismissal of nine possible scientific explanations for his NDE, listed in an appendix, seem to be disregarded out of hand. Basically, his experience was too vivid, too real, too amazing, to be anything but genuine. I didn't find this valid.
If you're going to claim that a little girl took you on the wings of a butterfly to meet god, you'd better have some damn could proof to back it up.
I went into this book with as open a mind as possible -- my atheist friends saw the book lying about and teased me about it good-naturedly. It turned out their dismissive skepticism was right on the money.
Dull story, poor science, laughable logic.
And I found it interesting that Dr. Alexander lives in Lynchburg, VA, home of Liberty University (founded by Jerry Falwell), even though he works 70 minutes away. I had to wonder if he wasn't such a skeptic to begin with after all.
This is just my humble opinion: I am not a doctor, and more power to anyone who has undergone a positive life change due to an NDE. There is so much we don't know about the brain, and that goes both ways -- this fact could credit or discredit a story like Alexander's. Unfortunately the way he dismissed what he did know served to discredit him.
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LibraryThing member lauriebrown54
Eben Alexander is a neurosurgeon. In 2008 he contracted a rare illness that struck with unusual rapidity and put him into a coma hours after it struck. He remained in that coma, unable to even breathe for himself, for seven days. His doctors considered him brain dead and unable to wake up; or, if
While the pathogen causing Dr. Alexander’s illness was discovered- it was the common E. coli- they never did figure out how it managed to get into his brain and spinal cord fluid. Nor did they figure out how he survived it when his neocortex was shut down for days- or how he felt himself to be conscious through out the seven days and had memories of being in heaven during that time. He is convinced that his survival and his memories of heaven are proof that God exists, that the soul exists after death, and that his survival was a miracle. There is also the fact that he knew a couple of things that went on while he was in a coma that he shouldn’t have been able to know. He states that God loves us all, and his illness was for a reason.
I’m not automatically against the possible reality of near death experiences – NDEs- but I don’t automatically believe them, either. Alexander’s recovery from his illness was unlikely but there are other cases of people recovering from illness that should have killed them. And we certainly don’t know everything about the brain; neuroscience learns surprising things every day. What happened to the author was remarkable and some aspects are unexplainable at this time, but there is a chance his interpretation is colored by his religious training.
Then there is the problem that some of the things in his book just aren’t true; he took some liberties with the truth here and there. Alexander did not lapse into a coma on his own; because he was delirious and thrashing around to the point he couldn’t be treated, the emergency room doctor put him into a medically induced coma which necessitated putting him on a ventilator. He was kept in that coma, and the doctors periodically tried to bring him out of it, only to find him still delirious; he was never ‘brain dead’. He states that as he was about to be transferred from the emergency room to the ICU, the rallied for a moment and shouted “God help me!”, but the emergency room doctor, a friend and co-worker of the author, says that is impossible because he was already intubated, and with that hose down your throat, you can’t speak. There are a few other examples of dramatic license here and there, but most of them aren’t serious. Do these lapses of verity invalidate the author’s message? I don’t know.
Was the author’s recovery near miraculous? Pretty much. Does his NDE prove life after death? No. Does the fact that he apparently had mental contact with other people, learning things he couldn’t have known prove that *something* science can’t explain yet happened? Possibly; but because I now cannot trust his version of events, I don’t know. I wish he’d put forth the true version of events rather than try and make them more dramatic; his story would have been a lot more convincing then.
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by some miracle he did wake up, he would be severely brain damaged. But he did wake up, and within a short time regained all his abilities. How did this happen? While the pathogen causing Dr. Alexander’s illness was discovered- it was the common E. coli- they never did figure out how it managed to get into his brain and spinal cord fluid. Nor did they figure out how he survived it when his neocortex was shut down for days- or how he felt himself to be conscious through out the seven days and had memories of being in heaven during that time. He is convinced that his survival and his memories of heaven are proof that God exists, that the soul exists after death, and that his survival was a miracle. There is also the fact that he knew a couple of things that went on while he was in a coma that he shouldn’t have been able to know. He states that God loves us all, and his illness was for a reason.
I’m not automatically against the possible reality of near death experiences – NDEs- but I don’t automatically believe them, either. Alexander’s recovery from his illness was unlikely but there are other cases of people recovering from illness that should have killed them. And we certainly don’t know everything about the brain; neuroscience learns surprising things every day. What happened to the author was remarkable and some aspects are unexplainable at this time, but there is a chance his interpretation is colored by his religious training.
Then there is the problem that some of the things in his book just aren’t true; he took some liberties with the truth here and there. Alexander did not lapse into a coma on his own; because he was delirious and thrashing around to the point he couldn’t be treated, the emergency room doctor put him into a medically induced coma which necessitated putting him on a ventilator. He was kept in that coma, and the doctors periodically tried to bring him out of it, only to find him still delirious; he was never ‘brain dead’. He states that as he was about to be transferred from the emergency room to the ICU, the rallied for a moment and shouted “God help me!”, but the emergency room doctor, a friend and co-worker of the author, says that is impossible because he was already intubated, and with that hose down your throat, you can’t speak. There are a few other examples of dramatic license here and there, but most of them aren’t serious. Do these lapses of verity invalidate the author’s message? I don’t know.
Was the author’s recovery near miraculous? Pretty much. Does his NDE prove life after death? No. Does the fact that he apparently had mental contact with other people, learning things he couldn’t have known prove that *something* science can’t explain yet happened? Possibly; but because I now cannot trust his version of events, I don’t know. I wish he’d put forth the true version of events rather than try and make them more dramatic; his story would have been a lot more convincing then.
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LibraryThing member dalton42
It was a good story, and definitely had me turning pages. However, at the end of it, it seemed that the proof could have been more substantiated. It actually seems to fit with what I know some theories of physics to be (specifically the brane (sic) theory and some aspects of the big bang theory).
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That being said, I'd say it is a plausible story, but I had hoped for more logical proof. Show Less
LibraryThing member jarvenpa
Provocative book. I had wanted to read this when it first came out and was happy to get a copy the other day, which I read through the night. Am I convinced? No. But it doesn't matter; it is a good read, with many references, and a nice blend of scientific and spiritual thought.
LibraryThing member MEENIEREADS
The story of Eben's illness and the details of his family,friends and pastor keeping him in their
loving embrace and prayers was very engaging. Eben says that what many NDE survivors
say is that it is very hard to put into words what happened to them. Many parts of this book
were a bit above me in
describe rather than understanding his vocabulary in his deep analysis of the entire experience.
This account of an NDE was by far a thousand times more credible than the book by the child who in part had been
so obviously fed the literal,bible as divine dictation story and the other part influenced like most little boys by
tales of super heroes.
loving embrace and prayers was very engaging. Eben says that what many NDE survivors
say is that it is very hard to put into words what happened to them. Many parts of this book
were a bit above me in
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just one go round of reading. However,I truly felt what he was trying todescribe rather than understanding his vocabulary in his deep analysis of the entire experience.
This account of an NDE was by far a thousand times more credible than the book by the child who in part had been
so obviously fed the literal,bible as divine dictation story and the other part influenced like most little boys by
tales of super heroes.
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LibraryThing member chuewyc
good book. Very descriptive. I do tend to believe him, although i am worried about his religious beliefs before incident
LibraryThing member ConstanceGorman
I really expected this book to have a lot more detail about the afterlife, but it was more centered on the biological component of his brain injury and inability to have cognition due to the affects of bacterial meningitis. I could have lived without the drama of his week in the hospital because we
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see this stuff on TV everyday. The book just lacked the substance I was looking for regarding his experiences in the afterlife. They were very brief and it seemed the author was looking for ways to fill out the book. I was disappointed. Show Less
LibraryThing member fleetowl
I have been recommending this book to everyone I know. As a person who already believes in NDEs, the technical and medical 'proof' of Dr. Alexander's experience was of less interest to me than the content of the experience itself. Alexander capably expresses what he admits is beyond description
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through metaphor while still leaving room for the imagination to add the dimension he says is missing. His account of his other-worldly experience is dense and worth re-reading for the casual comments that are packed with implication; for example, how the actions of his mind (such as wondering) drew different aspects and levels of experience to him. This book has made an impact on me, sparking new insight and understanding. Show Less
LibraryThing member AmyPet
I can't really say this book made me believe in heaven but I did find it very interesting. It does make you wonder. Definitely worth reading.
LibraryThing member SqueakyChu
This is a neurosurgeon's retelling of his near death experience during the time in which he suffered from bacterial meningitis and was in a coma for a week. I'm not sure why I wasn't more affected by this book, but I found it rather dry reading. I am a profound believer in both the spiritual and
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physical balance in humans, but this book did not overly inspire me. Show Less
LibraryThing member siKane
Lots of medical jargon that does not help move the story forward. Expected better dialogue and more feeling of his experience rather than explanation to justify the whys of this and that. I enjoyed reading but cannot give it the rating that I would have expected, do I recommend it? I do if the
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reader doesn't expect the "miracle" story. Show Less
LibraryThing member skylerashcraft
Fascinating. It's so interesting to have scientifically minded folks (Jill Bolte Taylor and Eben for example) experience things so that it can't be so easily blown off.
I wish the book had gone more into what he learned while "there" but I'm well aware that that is a far bigger topic and not easily
Great read to go along with studies that are documented in such books as Lynne McTaggart's The Intention Experiment.
I wish the book had gone more into what he learned while "there" but I'm well aware that that is a far bigger topic and not easily
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captured. Perhaps a future book.Great read to go along with studies that are documented in such books as Lynne McTaggart's The Intention Experiment.
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LibraryThing member uufnn
From the back cover: Eben Alexander, M. D., has been an academic neurosurgeon for the last 25 years, including 15 years at the Brigham & Women's and the Children's Hospitals and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
Thousands of people have had near-death experiences, but scientists have argued that
Librarian's notes: This book includes two appendices, has an extensive reading list and is well-indexed.
Thousands of people have had near-death experiences, but scientists have argued that
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they are impossible. Dr. Alexander was one of those scientists. A highly trained neurosurgeon, Alexander knew that NDEs (near death experiences) feel real, but are simply fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress. Then, Dr. Alexander's own brain was attacked by a rare illness. The part of the brain that controls thought and emotion--and in essence makes us human--shut down completely. For seven days he lay in a coma. Then, as his doctors considered stopping treatment, Alexander's eyes popped open. He had come back. (His) recovery is a medical miracle. But the real miracle of his story lies elsewhere. While his body lay in coma, Alexander journeyed beyond this world and encountered an angelic being who guided him into the deepest realms of super-physical existence. There he met, and spoke with, the Divine source of the universe itself.Librarian's notes: This book includes two appendices, has an extensive reading list and is well-indexed.
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LibraryThing member ElizabethAndrew
A brainiac neurosurgeon has to lose his brain before he's convinced of spiritual reality.
LibraryThing member ELEkstrom
Dr. Alexander's book is brief, but his message is powerful. A neurosurgeon, who, in the midst of a life-threatening illness experienced what so many individuals have - a near death or life-after-death experience.
As a chaplain who attended patients in comas and had the fortune/blessing to hear their
The writing is clear, concise and without empurpled prose to make it more dramatic or more than it should be. Dr. Alexander tells his story, and the stories he was told by those who witnessed his illness and sat by his side, in a straightforward manner. This is a testimony of belief. Honestly, I would feel secure if I was receiving treatment from someone with his faith, rather than a practitioner who viewed life from only a scientific, analytical mindset - that once you draw your last breath the lights go out, end of story, game over. That's it. Like Francis Collins' work, "The Language of God," "Proof of Heaven" shows that science and faith are compatible. They need each other. People who hold religious beliefs will be encouraged to embrace both science and faith after reading this account. I must say, however, that Dr. Alexander's description of his illness and what he went through made me squeamish at times, and I actually had a nightmare about it. It did not diminish my own Christian beliefs.
My recommendation - read this book.
As a chaplain who attended patients in comas and had the fortune/blessing to hear their
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stories after they woke, I was heartened to learn that Dr. Alexander's journey was similar to theirs, for I have heard this story many times.The writing is clear, concise and without empurpled prose to make it more dramatic or more than it should be. Dr. Alexander tells his story, and the stories he was told by those who witnessed his illness and sat by his side, in a straightforward manner. This is a testimony of belief. Honestly, I would feel secure if I was receiving treatment from someone with his faith, rather than a practitioner who viewed life from only a scientific, analytical mindset - that once you draw your last breath the lights go out, end of story, game over. That's it. Like Francis Collins' work, "The Language of God," "Proof of Heaven" shows that science and faith are compatible. They need each other. People who hold religious beliefs will be encouraged to embrace both science and faith after reading this account. I must say, however, that Dr. Alexander's description of his illness and what he went through made me squeamish at times, and I actually had a nightmare about it. It did not diminish my own Christian beliefs.
My recommendation - read this book.
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LibraryThing member Lilac_Lily01
This book is about a Neurosurgeon's near death experience who wrote this book for people who want to believe in a life after death but haven't been able to fully believe in it. The author says that he was a skeptic himself and always dismissed it when his own patients would tell him about their out
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of body experiences while in a coma or other near death condition. Only when he contracted bacterial meningitis and spend 7 days in a coma was he able to fully understand what other patients before him discovered: there is a consciousness outside of our bodies. Dr. Alexander shares his vivid experience with the reader and because he is a neurosurgeon he uses his medical knowledge to analyze the scientific implications of his out of body experience. His conclusion is simple yet profound: there is a GOD and death does not mean the end of our existence. A very interesting and touching book! Show Less
LibraryThing member judithrs
Proof of Heaven: a Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife. Eben Alexander. 2012. I don’t remember where I heard of this book, but when my friend Kim offered to lend it to me, I decided to read it. This is a book I thought I’d ever want to read. The drawing point was the fact that the
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author is a neurosurgeon. Alexander was in a deep stopping treatment when he roused from the coma. While he was in the coma, Alexander is firmly convinced he was lead to a “realm of super-physical existence” in which he met and talked to what he terms is the “Divine Source of the universe.” Alexander was an atheist before this experience and credits this vision with changing his life as a surgeon and a man. It is fascinating to read about his conversion, his research into near-death experiences, and the possible scientific reasons for what happened to him. Show Less
LibraryThing member Tarkie
A scientist tells of his out of body experiences. He does it very thoroughly in a scientific way. While also explaining what his loved ones and friends were going through in their lives. Read by author, very smoothly and calmly told.
LibraryThing member hmskip
Although this book may not qualify as proof in the strict sense, yet it is a valuable piece of evidence. What I appreciate about it is the author's plea for the readmission of the human spirit as a real and important entity separate and apart from the physical, materialistic processes of the human
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body. We are more than a conglomeration of chemical processes and our spirits have existence beyond our physical body. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2012-10-23
Physical description
8.4 inches
ISBN
1451695195 / 9781451695199