Synopsis
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.
About Eben Alexander III M.D.
See more books from this AuthorAlexander uses his medical credentials to substantiate the belief that his reconstructed memories offer conclusive proof of his current religious beliefs; readers who don't share these beliefs will find his account less convincing.
Read Full Review of Proof of Heaven | See more reviews from KirkusAt least he didn't mention a bright white light, but in every other way his account contains just about heavenly cliche known to humankind.
Read Full Review of Proof of Heaven | See more reviews from GuardianThis 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.
Read Full Review of Proof of Heaven...Proof of Heaven is a thought-provoking book clearly challenging the prevailing materialistic paradigm about the nature of the world.
Read Full Review of Proof of Heaven | See more reviews from NY Journal of Books...if you combine the likelihood that Alexander's experience can be explained by worldly sources and the likelihood that he would come to the explanation he did whether or not heaven exists, you have to conclude that his proof is still at the very least incomplete.
Read Full Review of Proof of Heaven...I strongly object to Alexander's, and Newsweek/Beast's and Simon & Schuster's collusion in dressing this up as scientific evidence for heaven, golden-locked lasses, and out-of-body experiences. There is nothing scientific about Alexander's claims or his"proof."
Read Full Review of Proof of Heaven...Proof of Heaven is an extraordinary story about a most extraordinary experience...Dr Alexander argues quite effectively that his NDE was unique.
Read Full Review of Proof of HeavenDr. Alexander speaks repeatedly of the “astonishing clarity,” “vibrant richness,” and “ultra-reality” of his experience. And yet, “while I was in coma my brain hadn’t been working improperly. It hadn’t been working at all” (emphasis his). Important claims. Fascinating to read from a neurosurgeon.
Read Full Review of Proof of HeavenIs Proof of Heaven proof of heaven? Hardly. It’s intriguing. That’s all. But what I fear is that many Christians, to say nothing of non-Christians, will use books like Alexander’s to develop their picture of afterlife (better called afterdeath). Rather than go to Scripture...
Read Full Review of Proof of HeavenThe easy-to-read format of the book makes it accessible to all serious voyagers on earth who want confirmation they are vastly more than their body and brain.
Read Full Review of Proof of HeavenHe has the conviction that an amazing thing happened, not the thing itself. That is as far as one need go to refute “Proof of Heaven” as a work of science. You don’t have to be a brain surgeon.
Read Full Review of Proof of Heaven“Proof of Heaven,” much of which moves deftly between chapters describing Alexander’s otherworldly experience and somber ones describing the stages of his acute medical decline, might not persuade skeptical readers to reconsider their doubts. But receptive readers will find its message of unconditional love comforting.
Read Full Review of Proof of Heaven...Alexander’s reported experience appears surreal to others, it was real to him. When his brain died his consciousness personally journeyed to another world. Second, as the director of research at The Monroe Institute, he possesses a vested interest in explaining the afterlife from an occult and New Age spiritual perspective...
Read Full Review of Proof of HeavenHaving read a handful of accounts on NDE's myself, what I like about Dr Eben's book is his "non religious'' approach which is a rear thing whenever the topic of near death experiences is being discussed.
Read Full Review of Proof of HeavenAlexander’s book is a good read, a pretty fast read, and it’s a true story that shows that a nonspiritual and rigid-thinking scientist can evolve to a more inclusive understanding of his life.
Read Full Review of Proof of HeavenIs Dr. Alexander’s experience, as the title (chosen by his publisher) asserts, “proof of heaven”? No. When all is said and done, it is only his experience, and therefore unverifiable...
Read Full Review of Proof of HeavenMy conclusion is that the “Proof of Heaven” Book is a very lucid and well-written. Dr. Eben makes a convincing case for the afterlife and explains, as a scientist, the amazing experience of not only heaven but of returning to life on earth.
Read Full Review of Proof of HeavenProof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Near-Death Experience and Journey into the Afterlife may not be considered a literary masterpiece but it is absolutely a great work.
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