Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife

A page-turning autobiographical account of a near death experience (NDE), had by an American neurosurgeon. He had this experience over a seven-day period as he lay in a coma induced by an extremely rare form of adult meningitis. The odds were heavily stacked against him. He should not have survived, let alone to survive with all of his faculties, (most people who emerge from meningitis induced comas are in a vegetative state for the rest of their lives).Prior to his NDE Dr Eben Alexander was firmly wedded to the scientist's view of consciousness; that it is a by product of the brain's processing of data that it receives. After his NDE he considers that he knows that this is simply not the case, but rather our consciousness is our soul, which is directly connected to God, or Om as he prefers to call God. The brain is `simply' a data processor.Further he believes, because of what he learnt during his NDE, that all souls are interconnected and that mans' ills arise because we live our lives as if we are each separate beings who must defend our boundaries at all costs. Although he most definitely saw the light at the end of the tunnel, this is by no means a preachy book written by a person newly converted to God. It is not at all evangelical. Rather, because of his scientific background, he presents his experience by comparing and contrasting it with his previously held opinions and beliefs, which by his own admission were often bigoted. He is challenging his fellow scientists to open their eyes, through his experience, to become open- minded to the possibility that the human soul is where it is at.Dr Alexander's writing is intimate and highly accessible. As I say a page-turner. You want to know what happened next. It is most certainly thought provoking and it will be of comfort to those who have lost those they have loved.I commend this book to you.

Eban's journey isn't just incredible, it's astonishing. Eben, an admitted skeptic and atheist from a profession keen to doubt the existence of God or the soul, has a spiritual experience so shocking and so strong that he simply cannot help but change his mind. There are plenty of other reviews here that go into far more detail about his experiences so I will just highlight some things I think are really important:Even if you do not believe the account, this book is an astonishingly good read that you will probably finish in one sitting and immediately want to re-read. Eben is incredibly passionate from the first word to the last. It's pretty clear that Eben was exactly the right person for this to happen to - an atheist and a doctor of neurosurgery with impeccable credentials. Dr Eben provides an entire list of very well reasoned scientific explanations stating why his brain could not possibly have manufactured what he experienced - he was all but brain-dead at the time and shouldn't even have lived, much less made a full and total recovery. The more you read of just what his body survived, the harder it is to doubt that not only was his survival miraculous, but also his illness. But as Eben himself notes, scientists and doctors who he himself knows and work with are openly and unthinkingly dismiss accounts of NDE without bothering to research them or try to see what actually causes them. Eben himself admits that before his coma he was routinely dismissive of anything spiritual.And lastly - no matter whether or not they believe in it or can find evidence for or against it, the scientific community must take this book as a sign that they should not be so blandly dismissive of near death experiences or other phenomena - the latter part of this book sheds an awful lot of light on how closed-minded they can be (and how closed-minded Eben himself was before his experience).

I bought this book as a gift for a loved one. Reading the back cover, and a couple of pages from inside the book, (carefully) I'm now wishing that I'd bought a copy for myself. It seems to be 'tenderly' written and I can feel the memories being recalled in order to share the details of what happened to this Neurosurgeon whilst in a coma. Having had a (sort of) similar occurrence - I died on the operating table, but was eventually brought back - I had VERY clear memories of what happened whilst 'dead'. I recalled these memories to the nurse sat by my bed in intensive care, who then dragged the Sister of the ward into my room to recall those memories to her. She in turn went and got my doctor and asked me to tell him everything that I'd told her. I'd seen things which, I found out, that no patients had ever seen before. A corridor outside the operating room,, which was for staff only. I heard things which only someone in that corridor would have heard. I saw exactly what was going on in the operating room as they tried to bring me back. This and more. Naturally this book 'spoke' to me, and I knew it would be a good read for a relative so I bought it for her, . . . but I think I'll be back to buy a copy for myself.The only downside to the book is that I was disappointed with the quality of the paper inside the book. It looked and felt cheap. But otherwise, the book seems like a great read.