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

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).

cleverly written by a medic who has worked for years as neurosurgeon both in surgery and research. So his experiences were not based on preconception. Equally he claims that the part of his brain that could have created his experiences was destroyed by the bacterial infection; this is questionable because if it was destroyed how come he is making recovery? Either this part wasn't destroyed, (possibly infected, inflammed or malfiunctioning ) or current knowledge of the human brain is completely wrong. Would not surprise me if it was the latter. Secondly, much was made of his enecephalitis being caused by E.coli, and how rare this is. Sure - but as E. Coli sits happily in the gut, this medic could have caught it from dirty taps, telephone receiver, toilet flush etc - someone who had failed to wash their hands after going to the toilet - leaving E.Coli on the handle, which his hand touched then he transferred the bug to his ear or where-ever. Some medics can be as unhygienic as the next person, I know - I have worked alongside them for 40 years! I have heard it said that any after life existence is initially as anticipated by the individual. He obviously had a religious base. he talked of his local Church. What is important is that he reports awareness when on the current teachings, he should not have been able too, Suggesting either the human brain is more resilient that thought or that he was in a sort of 'between existance' experience. This not decrying the book, it was easy, amusing reading. But just because it is written by a medic should give it no more authenticity than if is written by a streetcleaner - all are valid and require reading, reflecting and seeing how much of it you can accept as being real. There is BOUND to be some poetic license in there - tweaking and embellishing of the content to increase sales - its reading the content and analysing how much you feel truly reflects his experiences. He was certainly brave - or barking - to inform his medical colleagues, this book certainly goes against the general acceptances of the acute sector medical profession. Good on him,. he had this experience as he is brave enough to publish. I wish him a full physical recovery. Many people who report similar near death' experiences report subsequent loss of fear of death, of less materialistic values. He has not mentioned whether he has experienced similar changes ,

This was a quite unbelievable true story that has clearly had profoundly important effects on this man's outlook on life/existence. It goes without saying that near death experiences tend to have dramatic effects on not just the directly affected party but also close relatives and loved ones. In the case of Dr Eben Alexander however his experience goes beyond the typical feelings of increased gratitude and appreciation for all the things that make up life. For Eben he recollects memories of a different state of consciousness whilst in a deep coma. His vivid and lucid descriptions are truly captivating and emotional - it is clear that his mental state was in a place where emotions existed in their purest state. A potentially different state to what we inhabit here on Earth. The 'proof' for Eben was that he reached this place at a time when his brain was recording no activity whatsoever. Unfortunately as stunningly powerful a story this may be - (and I also personally believe in a higher level beyond this earth) - I find there are logical holes in his argument that leave alot more questions than answers. The fact remains that his memories are likely to be very fragmented - there is an argument for example that these feelings he had may have taken up the few moments before he woke from his coma as his brain was firing up again. Also the fact that Eben did not die is of course in itself proof that he did not cease to exist to try out the afterlife. Clearly his brain was still capable of processing worldly thoughts. I will leave this to you to think about as you read it. But certainly this book makes you think about it alot. As you read his descriptions of this 'other place' there is an immense feeling of empathy; almost like you can taste that this must be what it would be like to fully exit our bodies and explore emotion and feeling detached from the impurity of our body. Whilst you will likely ask similar questions from this book it is a wonderfully moving story which touches upon issues that I believe are the most important out of all. Unfortunately it's ironically an area we cannot really find 'proof' of until we move on from this world ourselves.

It has been many years now, that everyday people have debated about the afterlife. Science tells you no but reports from individual say otherwise. Eban has written the most wonderful book, full of insight into a new world. When my Father was being assessed after a stroke this year, the consultant came to me and suggested that there was a lot of new insight into the brain and consciousness and that my Father did not have long to live. I said I had kept up with this theory for a long time and was happy that someone within authority believed this too. Not long after, I came across this great read from someone with a background on the subject. I couldn't believe what I was reading when looking at this guys passed history and found that he worked at one time at one of a group of hospitals that I attended my Fathers bedside when he had no hope for life. I feel that conversation with the Consultant was brought about by my Consultants confirmation from a well respected ex colleague. Reading between the lines too, I now realise this guy has respect at all levels. Its nice to see how history keeps moving forward and gives us more of an understanding on the afterlife along with a reputable Neurosurgeon confirmation to bring it more substance. 2012 was to bring many changes and for me, I don't think it is what most people expected as they expected disaster. Instead they got confirmation of life after death.

I gave this 3 stars for the following reasons. On the plus side, this is a very nice and hopeful story thats easy to read and certaintly cheerful and thought provoking. The author's accounts of what happened to him are very interesting and definitly worth musings and considerations and I found this book to be an enjoyable read that I would recommend. To those mentioning his cases of medical malpractice, while perhaps this somewhat reduces the validity of the book slightly, it doesnt downright proove that he's lieing or anything, he most probably did have this experience as many others also have near death experiences, you can't always judge someone on their past mistakes. There's also been accusations that he exagerated things like the weather conditions, it's a book; I think writers are allowed a little poetic lisence to say it rained a little heavier so as to build up their scene a little more. However, that's just my opinion. On the negative side, I would have liked more about his actual experience, very little of the book is actually devoted to that, the majority telling about his family life and illness leading up to the experience, however, I guess perhaps this is to be somewhat expected, as I'm sure that amount of material alone would be hard pressed to fill a whole book. What there was of his actual experience was very interesting but I did feel it was teasing a bit in terms of implying there was a lot more to tell but then never really saying it. 'Proof of Heaven' as a title is also a bit misleading. Probably the editors choice; there is no 'proof' in this book. If something can not be currently explained by science, that doesnt mean there is no scientific explanation, it just hasn't been discovered yet. However there are some thought provoking arguments and certaintly gives you plenty to think about. All though I think this book is likely not going to convince a lot of people if they don't belive in an afterlife already or are sitting on the fence, I still think it's definitly an experience worth knowing about and would therefore I'd recomend it.

In the past when reading the extract of a book and then buying it I have often been disappointed to find that the extract was the meat of the book and there wasn't much else. NOT SO with this one, though I was wondering if it was going to turn out that way when I first started. I found it interesting and compelling right to the very end. Well written and enjoyable even without the journey into the spiritual world. Quite an amazing story on many levels not to mention the fact that the writer fully recovered from a major life threatening illness that should have at least left him severely damaged if not killed him. More could have been written about this fact but didn't need to be. A very human story and the explanations of his experience rings true to my own intuitions and experiences. I liked the way the chapter alternated between the two realities. I also liked the way he deals with the issues. As with any book that gives some element of theory or ideas I did not agree with all the authors conclusions but this is not that import in order to appreciate this amazing experience. Read it - you might very well enjoy it and it certainly will give you some food for though and meditation.

Ok

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.