A Neurosurgeon’s journey into the afterlife
by Eben Alexander
(Paperback, 196 pages)
(First published in the US by Simon & Schuster, US. Published in India by Hachette India)
“I learned who I was up there,
and when I came back, I realized that the last broken strands of who I am down here were sewn up.”
In this semi-autobiographic piece, eminent neurosurgeon, Dr. Eben Alexander, an undisputable man of science, chronicles his illness and its eye-opening aftermath, in an effort and hope that we understand afterlife and our role in the universe in this life. Touted to be unique in the literature of spiritual experiences, his record, pieced together from his notes, promises to explain his near-death experience (NDE) in medical terms.
The book begins with another near-death experience that Dr. Alexander had while pursuing his love of flying when he went skydiving, setting stage for unveiling his understanding of mind and spirit, and how our brain works in the moments of a catastrophe. He then goes on to describe the onset of his illness, a rare and deadly contraction of E. Coli meningitis. The narrative then alternates between his condition as seen by his family and caretakers and his own memories of what he saw and experienced during the following week-long comatose condition.
The limbo of his description is at once vivid, intricate, dazzling but not entirely unfamiliar. One cannot but recall the descriptions Dante’s allegory of Divine Comedy. The unwavering care and dedication of his family and medical faculty is duly chronicled as we navigate to and fro between his recovery room and his mind, even as it has stopped functioning the way we know minds function.
His excursion into the afterlife cannot be his imagination or dream, he claims, as the brain centers that are responsible for imagination and dreaming or even recollecting were completely shut down by his medical condition. The many loose threads of his life come together as he wakes up and goes deep and travels far to search for his roots. What he has witnessed up above satisfyingly connects with his mortal bonds when returns back to his earthly abode.
The topic that since ages has divided skepticism from faith, is explored once more in this detailed chronicle and leaves it up to its readers to choose for themselves. The illustrious and erudite background of the narrator makes this a compelling book on the topic of afterlife to pick up. On putting down, I could however only take in the story it told with a pinch of salt. It may take a way more convincing and detailed account to push hard core skeptics into believing. Regular readers of non-fiction may find this perfectly well-rounded story arc (a staple of good fiction) a tad to incredulous.
That said the book sits fairly well in reading experience with its flowing language and vivid descriptions and reassuring message of unconditional love.
