What happens when you die?

What happens when you die?

If you suffer from a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to the “soul”, “afterlife” or “beings of light”, this is a must-read for you.

Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife is an account of Dr. Eben Alexander’s life-altering near-death experience. With impressive credentials like Massachussetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School under his belt, Dr. Alexander’s life’s calling was the human brain. As a neurosurgeon he had heard many stories from his own patients who, after a cardiac arrest, reported traveling to mysterious realms, talked to the dead, even God himself. Devoted to the scientific point of view and unquestionably left-brain loyal, the good doctor dismissed them as delusions.

Until November 10, 2008 when at age fifty-four he was struck by a rare illness caused by a virulent strain of bacteria that sent him into a coma for seven days. His neo-cortex, the outer surface of the brain that is responsible for language and emotion, shut down.

During that time, Dr. Alexander traveled to the Other Side, or the afterlife as we know it, and encountered “shimmering beings”, experienced the bliss of connection and unconditional love and returned having “known” God.

Referring to himself as a “C & E’er” (one who only darkens the door of a church at Christmas and Easter) for years, the doctor had struggled for a better quality of faith. But the years spent in a scientific world had contributed to his skepticism. In his own words: “Modern neuroscience dictates that the brain gives rise to consciousness–to the mind, to the soul, to the spirit, to whatever you choose to call that invisible, intangible part of us that truly makes us who we are–and I had little doubt that it was correct.”

What happens when you die? The very fact that he woke up from a week-long coma with his brain intact–a medical impossibility by all accounts–was a miracle, proof that he was returned to tell us all, and the scientific tribe in particular, who we really are, where we come from and where we will return to.

Integrating the “science” of what happened to his brain while in coma and his “real” experience of the afterlife, Dr. Alexander’s account bridges the gap between rationale and spirit.

Scott Wade, M.D., one of the doctors who treated him at Lynchburg General Hospital said in a statement: “He presented to the hospital with seizures and a markedly altered mental state, both of which are risk factors for neurological complications or death (mortality over 90%). The 6-day coma increased that to 97%.”

Think about it. Only the Universe could have come up with such a perfect plan. Pick a neurosurgeon who knows the intricate tapestry of the human brain, send him into a coma, and then the afterlife. I mean, who better than Dr. Alexander to champion the truth of the soul to those who are committed to scientific jargon. It’s a miracle.

In the doctor’s own words: “I’m living proof.”

If you’ve read the book, leave a comment about what you thought of it.