The Lazarus Effect: The Science That is Rewriting the Boundaries Between Life and Death

by Sam Parnia

· How many minutes can you survive after cardiac arrest? · What do new medical techniques teach us about consciousness? · How will these change our views of who we are? In 2012, two football stars collapsed while playing. Both were technically dead yet, while Fabrice Muamba received hypothermia treatment and recovered, his counterpart in another country did not. In The Lazarus Effect , Dr Sam Parnia, a critical care physician and one of the world's leading experts on the scientific study of death, uses fascinating stories, as well as the very latest research, to show what happens to the mind and body during cardiac arrest and death. he also explains how medical advances are revolutionising our chances of survival. Death is no longer a fixed moment in time. What does that mean? And how can we account for the way the human mind continues to function after death has begun? These questions hold profound ethical, scientific and philosophical implications for us all, not least the fact that, soon, we will have more power over life and death than ever before.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Medicine, Death, Medical, Psychology, Health

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 22, 2013

Reviews

[Yudron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best book I have read in years. I highly recommend it.

This doc is an expert in resuscitating people whose hearts have stopped. These days they can use advance techniques involving, but not limited to, chilling the patient, and revive people even hours after they are as dead as a doornail. No breathing, no heartbeat, nothing happening measurable in the brain.

You know the results of CPR are pretty terrible, most folks end up dying within a few days anyway, or having brain damage. The science and the technology now exist to greatly improve outcomes.

There are three main thrusts to this book. The first is the author's campaign to get skilled personnel and devices in place in every ER to do so.

The second is that we should really take seriously what people report they experienced during the time they were dead. Some remember nothing, but a significant percent have so-called Near Death Experiences, which the author would like to rename Actual Death Experiences. He is actually part of a large scientific study of that phenomena. It's fascinating, read it.

The third point is... what is consciousness exactly, from a scientific POV? He reviews the research and current hypotheses, about where thoughts come from, and so on. If someone's brain completely stops functioning during the time they are dead, then resumes functioning and they return as the same personality, where did that consciousness abide during the time the brain was dead? What is it? Where is it?

A fascinating read for people, like me, who are into biological science, consciousness, and the afterlife.

[Jack Lin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too little real content and much too repetitive. The author seems to believe his audience have no working memory and in the end, says that his now 4-year old research program to capture After-Death Experience memories haven't yield a single verifiable result. There's two compelling chapters, one describing the history and field of resuscitation science (from the discovery of CPR to current best practices), and another describing the cellular chemistry involved in cellular decay. The only other interesting chapter describes the universality of After-Death Experiences. Sad to say it, but save your money and listen to Mr. Parnia's radio interviews instead.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can science shed some light on metaphysical questions about the nature of the soul? Maybe, but this book sure doesn't. The best spin I can put on it is the author sincerely wants to believe that consciousness continues after death and he will make whatever logical leaps are necessary to prove this to himself.

There is some interesting history on resuscitation, but the bulk of the book is mostly boring accounts of near death experiences with the author's unconvincing glosses. Only 1-2% of people revived from death report "near death experiences"? No problem, let's assume the other 98% had them & just forgot the experience. And so on.

The author's central theses are that in death the brain "almost instantly" stops functioning (he uses that phrase repeatedly) and that near death experiences ("Actual death experiences" in his idiosyncratic terms) demonstrate that consciousness is not wholly dependent on brain function.

But just in the last week or so a widely-reported study seems to have disconfirmed his first thesis (http://www.uofmhealth.org/news/archiv...). Indeed this book is really the first time I've heard it argued that brain function stops immediately when the heart stops -- I'd always read that the shut-down was gradual, if fairly fast.

Supposing we grant him the first the thesis, though, the second thesis is not really supported by his arguments unless you buy into a very simplistic model of consciousness that assumes we are never fooled about time and chronology in our experiences -- an assumption that that has been disconfirmed in many, many studies by cognitive scientists and neurologists.

All in all it seems like the author, who is no doubt a very capable doctor, is going outside his area of real expertise. The first few chapters cover some interesting developments in resuscitation but the real thrust of the book is that "there might be an after life because hey, near death experiences."

[Kulturowa.Anihilacja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ja tę książkę określiłabym jako graniczną. Ponieważ dzięki niej udałam się w podróż taką stykową, graniczną między nauką i medycyną, a wszystko to by poznać tajniki śmierci. Za sprawą Parnia doświadczyłam tego, że znacznie mniej wyraźną jest bariera między życiem, a śmiercią.

Początek może wydać się zagmatwany, ponieważ autor rozgranicza ustanie czynności życiowych od nieodwracalnej śmierci, co pozornie może wydawać się tym samym, a zupełnie nie jest. Badania nad resuscytacji projekty AWARE pokazują, że mózg i świadomość działają zupełnie inaczej, niż sądzono, bo ja doznałam szoku, że sama śmierć nie jest nagła, to proces, który daje znacznie więcej czasu na przywrócenie życia, niż sobie wyobrażałam.

Dla mnie takim absolutnie kluczowym momentem były opowieści osób, które na własnej skórze doświadczyły stanu bliskiego śmierci. Fascynujące było czytanie o tym jak powrót do „żywych” daje ludziom zupełnie nowe spojrzenie na sens życia i generalnie całe jego przewartościowane.

Parnia ukazuje cały temat zarówno z perspektywy lekarza jak i badacza zadającego pytania i otwartego na zupełnie nowe, które pozostają bez odpowiedzi. Autor nie popadł w tanią sensację i snucie hipotez, wybrał drogę ukazania śmierci jako koniec, a bardziej jako zapoczątkowanie nowego procesu.

Mnie ta książka kupiła totalnie, pobudziła do myślenia i rozważań, lektura zmusza do pytania o sens istnienia i dociekania co jest po śmierci. Książka niesamowicie prowokuje i absolutnie nie wyobrażam sobie, żeby przejść wobec tej treści bezrefleksyjnie i bezemocjonalnie. Połączenie naukowej dociekliwości z ludzkimi doświadczeniami jeszcze bardziej książkę uwiarygadniają. Ona otwiera oczy na rzeczy, o których wolimy nie myśleć, ale pozwala zrozumieć śmierć, co ją oswaja i czyni życie pełniejszym.

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

The title grabbed my attention at the library immediately. Parnia, a doctor, explains death as a process rather than an event. The clinical definition of death is the moment our hearts stop beating, but that is not the same thing as truly being "gone". All of our body's cells must also die before we are irreversibly dead. When our heart stops, it wreaks havoc on our bodies; we must be revived through careful technique if we are to be revived successfully and stay alive. However, there is no government agency or commission demanding medical revival be done in standard protocols on empirical evidence. This is like the aviation industry having no FAA available to oversee and demand safety protocol.

Promising as a popular work on cardiac resuscitation, but ultimately I feel like the editor wasn't doing his or her job with this one. Redundant, redundant...did I mention redundant? It had a few bright spots, but overall it was boring. It probably could have been a good 50-100 pages shorter. I am not one to give up easily on books, but I couldn't finish this one, and it's a shame as the topic itself is fascinating.

[Surbhi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book has extremely interesting topics and raises good questions, but the author stayed subjective and seemed defensive.
The language was very repetitive and similar points were repeated over multiple chapters
However, everyone should take some time to think about such questions.

[Chad Manske · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam Parnia’s “Erasing Death: The Science That Is Rewriting the Boundaries Between Life & Death” is an intriguing exploration of the often-unexamined frontier of dying and resuscitation. Known for his pioneering work in resuscitation science, Parnia delves deep into the boundaries of life and death, offering readers a compelling narrative that is both scientifically rigorous and profoundly thought-provoking. The book is a fascinating dive into the advancements in medical science that challenge our traditional perceptions of death. Parnia meticulously details the cutting-edge research and technological innovations that have made it possible to bring people back from the brink of death, sometimes after their hearts have stopped beating for hours. His engaging writing style transforms complex medical concepts into digestible insights, making the science accessible to readers without a background in medicine. What sets “Erasing Death” apart is Parnia’s ability to weave together personal stories from patients who have experienced near-death experiences (NDEs) with scientific explanations. These narratives add a human touch to the book, making the reader ponder the profound questions of consciousness, the afterlife, and the very essence of life itself. Parnia also critiques the current medical practices and emphasizes the need for a paradigm shift in how death is perceived and managed in clinical settings. His call for an expansion of research into NDEs and the continuation of efforts to improve resuscitation techniques is both urgent and inspiring. While some readers may find the book’s speculative elements controversial, Parnia’s arguments are rooted in empirical research and clinical observations. “Erasing Death” is not just a book for those interested in medical science; it’s a must-read for anyone curious about the mysteries of life and death, and the remarkable potential of modern medicine to redefine them. In sum, Parnia’s work is a captivating blend of science, philosophy, and human interest that challenges us to rethink the possibilities at the edge of mortality.

[Isabella de Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Over all, this is a well-written book, with some good ideas, but mostly biased and repetitive. Giving it 3 stars instead of 2 because of chapter 08, that makes it worth reading.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life after death? Well, apparently there is resuscitation after "clinical death". Sam Parnia is a doctor who specializes in emergency room resuscitation after cardiac arrest.
We all ultimately die of cardiac arrest: the heart stops beating, the lungs stop mixing oxygen and blood, and brain activity ceases due to the lack of oxygen. But in some cases resuscitation has brought the "clinically dead" back to life. This book falls into three parts: 1. The technology and treatment of resuscitation, which the author feels, is poorly understood and developed. 2. The rare claim of some of those resuscitated that they've experienced some kind of event after they've died clinically, including the so-called "out-of-body" experience. And, 3. The whole notion of consciousness.

Raymond Moody wrote THE book on near death experience "Life After Life" in 1975. He coined the phrase. Moody went on to claim that people had lived previous life times. This didn't improve his credibility. Since then the subject has fallen out of favor for lack of more credible evidence and a willingness to test this idea "scientifically".

Dr. Sam Parnia makes a good case for understanding the "dying" process and developing standardized procedures to be used in resuscitation, such as super-cooling the patient. He also has attempted to design an experiment to identify those who have undergone "out of body" experiences during their clinical "death". The problem is that full resuscitation is rare. Few of those cardiac arrests are reversed without brain damage and maybe only 10% of those who do survive undamaged claim any kind of "near death" experience. So, the evidence is pretty thin but Parnia believes that it's strange that it happens at all. So, why does it happen at all? Parnia thinks that consciousness may be some kind of immaterial state of being (not a brain state at all) that actually continues after "death". He's still working on creating experiments to test this fascinating notion.

[Mounir · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been amazed by this book where Sam Parnia re-vived the dilemma that had been raised thousands of years ago by Aristotle and Plato.What happens when we die? Is our Soul or Psyche dies with our body or it stays?Is there relationship between our mind and body?All these questions were flourished again un the book Erasing Death scientifically.
I liked the book,it’s a masterpiece.

[Andy Hickmott · Rating 1 out of 5]

Where was the editor when this bilge was making its way to market? This bloated book contains maybe a handful of facts, padded out with needless (unless its target market is wholly senile) repetition and anecdotes that blur into a featureless jumble of words. A decent editor would have whittled this down to one third of its size. Of course that would have left it barely a pamphlet.

The repetition and redundancy (oh no, am I doing it now?) is on every level. I chose a page at random for this example. A paragraph begins '...in today's modern society...', and goes on '...in the time of Plato and Aristotle in ancient Greece'. I presume 'modern' does not refer to the artistic movement. The time of Plato and Aristotle would seem to pinpoint ancient Greece fairly well (unless Parnia was anxious to specify the location too). Let's go back to the start of the paragraph: 'Although in today's modern society the term soul has taken on a relatively imprecise and mostly religious connotation...'. The point is restated repeatedly over the next few pages. Each paragraph seems to labour its point to death, each chapter to cover ground already picked barren.

But most woeful of all is the shortsightedness of Parnia's conclusions. People who have near-death experiences have memories that seem to relate to the time they were flatlined, and he seems willing to believe these 'experiences' really happened and to go off in search of explanations. Yet he never considers the one glaring common factor - all of his subjects suffered a massive neurological trauma: their brains got shut down and then rebooted. That's going to cause some mess in the greyware!

[Charlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is as interesting for what it is as what it is not. Dr. Parnia covers many aspects, including the history and current trajectory of resuscitation. There are many anecdotes about the afterlife, or the perceived afterlife of those who have "come back", but those anecdotes do not cover much that has not been covered in other books. No new ground is covered, as far as NDEs are concerned.

Of more interest is the science, the frighteningly imperfectly applied science, of bringing people back from the brink and keeping them here for a reasonable amount of time beyond a week or two. Items of note that find their way into the discussion are the implications of more advanced resuscitation techniques and the expanded boundaries they afford the human race. Ultimately, this book examines (if imperfectly) the deeper meaning of the process that is death and the fact that it is not so much a moment in time with a clear end, but something far more nebulous occurrence that is ultimately hard to fully comprehend. Also, of interest, is the story buried within the text of the author's own rationale for investigating this topic and his very personal connection to the subject matter.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I intended to read only a few pages of this book today, but I couldn't put it down. I read it straight through. The author uses a blend of scientific resuscitation research, personal experiences and philosophy, to address fascinating questions about the nature of death and the consciousness. His research finds that under the right conditions it is possible to reverse death *** SEVERAL HOURS*** after the initial occurrence of death - without brain damage - suggesting that death does not occur in a moment, but is n fact a the process of dying takes hours and quite possible days. Through a scientific examination of so-called near death experiences, the author raises fascinating questions about the nature of the consciousness and the reality of an afterlife. Furthermore, he addresses pertinent questions about the systematization of health care ad the ethics of medical declaring of death and resuscitation. I hope this information and technology quickly finds it way universally into every hospital. Absolutely amazing.

[Ina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is basically an exercise in trying to say the same couple of sentences in as many ways as is humanly possible.

Those sentences are roughly as follows:
- The border between life and death is blurry because different tissues expire at different rates.
- The blurriness has been further increased by modern advances in resuscitation (*especially* the method of cooling the body).
- The blurriness poses ethical issues.

That's about it.

If you read the first, middle and last chapters of the book, they all say the same thing. The subject isn't advanced in the slightest throughout the text. Not even via cop-out strategies such as describing individual studies in unnecessary detail or presenting unsubstantiated and not well thought out ideas; both of which are a common way some authors deal with the issue of not having much to say and yet having a book to write.

Because most of the chapters say pretty much the same thing, their names seem pointless. Even having separate chapters for this text seems pointless most of the time.

[Verityf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fascinated by this book. I do admit to skipping over some of the more statistic-heavy and research study focussed chapters of this one, but the personal anecdotes and the many examples of NDEs where the (unconscious) people involved seemed able to give details at a later date about what was happening around them that they could not possibly have known. It's bizarre, and I wonder if they will ever get definitive results of the ongoing study they're doing to try to obtain quantitative (as opposed to qualitative) data on whether out-of-body experiences are some kind of dreamlike hallucination or the result of human consciousness at a time when that human is deemed unconscious. I found this thought-provoking but it's not for everyone.

[Ville Salmensuu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice popular review of the biology of the death process and relatively recent cutting edge of resuscitation science. Intriguing questions on how there can be lucid conscious experiences, including types of near death experience (NDE) and memory formation when there is supposedly no brain activity during cardiac arrest. The author is the chief investigator for the fascinating ongoing AWARE II trial.

[Chris Bull · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just because we can

There is a 20 page essay lurking somewhere in this book.
Really an argument for resuscitation which would be good if we all had socialized medicine and more than a tiny fraction lived a long productive life. However this isn’t so. USA costs are crippling.
Feels like a ghost written book. Irony intended

[Lauri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing and informative on a topic we all can relate to at some point...death! A bit too repetetive at times and that's why I down graded it to a three star effort. I guess I would've given him a five if he had discovered how to avoid death altogether!!

[Clare]

HS offered to review

[Michael Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what to make of this book (although realistically it's more like 2 1/2 stars than 3). Part physicians guide to the physiology of death and resuscitation science, part mystical exploration of near death experiences and part consideration of the existence of self/soul independent of the brain, it isn't entirely clear what the author wants this book to be.

There are times when the Parnia's ponderous writing (page long paragraphs, run-on sentences, etc.) and his discussions of strange efforts to scientifically study near death experiences, make the book downright uncomfortable to read. On the other hand, there is deep insight here on the tremendous advances in "resuscitation science" - the emergency medical procedures taken to preserve brain function and restart the heart during cardiac arrest.

The author is at his best when reviewing the physiology of death and the relatively recent understanding that even after the heart stops and brain activity ceases, "brain cells, liver cells, and muscle cells all have a period of time after the heart stops and a person dies before they become irreversibly damaged." The period before irreversible damage, the author notes, is much longer than originally thought and therefore the long held belief that there is no way back from a cessation of respiration and brain activity is simply not true - that for some period of time, death is fully reversible. Underlying this reality is the truth that "contrary to common understanding, death is not a moment, it's a process - a process that can be interrupted well after it has begun."

Parnia is quick to point out that if there is an chronic, unresolved medical issue that has caused the heart to stop, resuscitating an individual is fruitless without a resolution to the underlying problem. Yet, for many who have suffered heart failure due to accident or injury who are otherwise healthy, resuscitation (even after long periods) can occur without permanent brain damage if managed with the right medical protocols.

The book is at its most compelling when it sticks to science and health policy. For example, the commentary about global systems failure when it comes to emergency cardiac care - in particular the lack of universal acceptance of cooling body temperature as an essential element to prolonging life - is a powerful criticism of our global health care systems and their standards. The evidence that the simple act of cooling the body of someone who has experienced cardiac arrest could literally save thousands of lives across the globe is startling and disconcerting.

With one exception, the book goes off course when it delves into mystical explorations of "near death experiences" and philosophical debate about the existence of an independent self (or soul) beyond the brain. The author's strong suit is not philosophy and the book can veer from rigorously scientific and lucid to downright mystical and bizarre.

The one "aha" moment for me in the independent soul debate came when Parnia pointed out the scientific conundrum related to how a biological structures like brain cells could create human consciousness. "In science, we have not been able to come up with a plausible biological mechanism to account for how a cell or groups of cells working together (i.e. the brain) could possibly generate a thought or collection of thoughts and hence ultimately the entity we call human consciousness. We know how cells make electricity through the movement of chemical molecules, but we just don't know how they could also make thoughts from electricity or chemicals."

Here then, is the miracle of human thought. How do we go from electricity and chemical interactions to human consciousness?

At times rigorous and scientific at others uncomfortably mystical and even odd, this book is a conundrum. I found it worth the effort for the physiology, not the philosophy.

[I saved the book today · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Jak to się dzieje, że pojęcia na pozór tak zasadnicze, uniwersalne i proste jak „życie” i „śmierć” trzeba rewidować i przeformułowywać mniej więcej co cztery dekady? I dlaczego w różnych krajach obowiązują odmienne kryteria stwierdzania śmierci mózgu? W najlepszym razie oznacza to, że nasze czarno-białe rozumienie fundamentalnej kwestii życia i śmierci oraz tego, co dzieje się, gdy umieramy, jest zbyt uproszczone”.

W obliczu utraty bliskich często odczuwamy wzmożone zainteresowanie sprawami ostatecznymi i zaczynamy zastanawiać się, co dzieje się z nami wraz ze śmiercią. Dr Sam Parnia to lekarz i naukowiec zajmujący się badaniem aktywności mózgu i jego procesów podczas resuscytacji i umierania. W swojej publikacji „Granice życia” dostarcza dowodów, że graniczna szara strefa śmierci jest znacznie bardziej rozległa, niż dotychczas nam się wydawało. Wraz z postępem naukowym zmienia się podejście do badania świadomości po ustaniu czynności życiowych. Autor przywołuje badania, w trakcie których rozpatrywano różne aspekty związane ze wspomnieniami osób przywróconych do życia. Dzięki prowadzonym przez niego projektom badawczym AWARE-I i AWARE-II można lepiej zrozumieć relacje osób, które przeżyły stan zagrożenia życia. Wynika z nich, że świadomość trwa nawet po przekroczeniu granicy śmierci. Odczuwana separacja świadomości i tożsamości od ciała, czy przegląd wydarzeń z całego życia z jednoczesnym doświadczeniem ich na nowo z punktu widzenia innych osób, stanowią doświadczenia, które dla pozostałych są trudne do pogodzenia z tym, co dziś wiemy o świecie. Dr Parnia w racjonalny, logiczny i naukowy sposób pokazuje, co już wiadomo i jak wiele jeszcze pozostało do odkrycia, by lepiej poznać naturę ludzkiej świadomości. Przeciekawy temat i b. interesująca lektura pełna źródeł uzupełniających dla zainteresowanych tym tematem.

[anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A co, jeśli śmierć nie jest końcem, a zaledwie początkiem czegoś nowego? Jeśli możemy przywrócić ludziom życie kilka godzin po tym, jak ich serce przestało bić? Co z naszą świadomością? Czy po takim doświadczeniu wrócilibyśmy tacy sami?

Na te i wiele innych pytań próbuje odpowiedzieć w swojej książce dr Sam Parnia, lekarz inaukowiec z Uniwersytetu Nowojorskiego. Podsumowuje lata własnych badań nad wspomnieniami o doświadczeniu śmierci, jednocześnie przybliżając czytelnikom najważniejsze teorie dotyczące tego zjawiska. Wyniki badań szokują. Dlaczego wspomnienia ludzi powracających z "szarej strefy" śmierci są aż tak do siebie podobne, niezależnie od pochodzenia, wieku i wiary? Czy nauka jest w stanie to wytłumaczyć? Skoro mózg jest "martwy", to czemu świadomość pozostaje?

Książka została napisana bardzo przystępnym językiem, a terminologia medyczna wytłumaczona w sposób zrozumiały nawet dla osób, które wcześniej nie miały z nią styczności. Dr Parnia przybliża świadectwa osób, które doświadczyły śmierci, jednak żałuję, że tych opisów nie pojawito się więcej. Zamiast tego mamy ciągte zapętlanie, opisywanie tych samych watków w niemal identyczny sposób, co dla mnie było ogromnym minusem. Być może dr Parnia chciat się upewnić, że czytelnik je zrozumie i zapamięta, ale we mnie budziły ogromną irytację.

Sam temat jest niezmiernie ciekawy. Bardzo podobało mi się naukowe podejście do problemu świadomości, nawet jeśli na ten moment nauka nie jest w stanie zaoferować nam pełnego wyjaśnienia.

Po przeczytaniu pozostaje pytanie: na ile etyczne jest to wszystko? Skoro śmierć nie jest granicą, czy za jakiś czas, tak jak sugeruje dr Parnia, bedziemy ją traktować jako chorobę, którą można wyleczyć?

[współpraca barterowa]

[David Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite an interesting book, actually, that is mainly about two questions:

1. What is death?
2. What is consciousness?

#1 used to be easily answered - it was when the lungs or heart stopped working. The three critical organs here are sort of brain, lungs, and heart, and if any of those three stopped working, the other two would follow almost immediately. And there was no going back from that. But now we have modern resuscitation science which, with proper techniques, can bring people back to life many hours after they have died, or keep them alive (??) when two of the three (or all three?) of those organs have stopped functioning. So what, really, is death?

And #2, when you die, where does your consciousness go or reside? Is your "self" just a creation of your brain, or an independent thing which must interact with your brain? What the author calls "after-death experiences"... because they aren't really "near-death experiences", you are dead, suggests the latter. People are clearly having rational, ordered thought processes when they have no brain activity (meeting God sometimes, or having a life review, or what have you), and sometimes accurately report what transpired in their hospital room when they were dead, a very difficult thing for science to explain for someone with no brain activity. But our scientific understanding of consciousness is still quite poor.

[Diana Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naukowe podejście do śmierci jest mi chyba tym najbliższym, wychodzę z założenia, że energia w przyrodzie nie ginie, jedynie zmienia swoją formę, byłam więc bardzo ciekawa co przestawi mi ta książka.
A współczesna nauka daje nam ciekawe teorie na temat życia i śmierci i tego jak nasz mózg zachowuje się po przejściu na tę drugą stronę.
Sam Parnia, jest czołowym badaczem resuscytacji z NYU. Opisuje on na podstawie badań choćby nad mózgami świnek, że aktywność mózgu po śmierci utrzymuje się jeszcze godzinami, a co więcej nawet po śmierci tworzą się nowe komórki mózgowe.
Na podstawie badań nad osobami, które przeszły śmierć kliniczną, autor wysuwa wnioski, że nasze życie jest jedynie pewną drogą (ani początkiem ani końcem) i że po śmierci bardzo prawdopodobne jest że ruszamy dalej.
Myślę, że to ciekawa lektura, która z drugiej strony opisuje też, że samo przeżycie śmierci dla osoby umierającej wygląda inaczej niż sądzimy, gdyż czuje ona absolutny spokój i zrozumienie.
Co prawda mam poczucie, że w drugiej części książki wiele aspektów jest powtarzanych wiele razy i staje się ona trochę nużąca, natomiast sam początek z wynikami badań jest bardzo ciekawy.
Warto więc otworzyć umysł i samemu przeczytać tę książkę oraz wysunąć określone wnioski :)
To książka która z pewnością zostanie w pamięci, ale też da otuchę tym którzy kogoś stracili.
Tato, widzimy się więc w innym życiu.

[Ana Monteiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few years ago, I became very interested in reading books about death, in its various facets (some technical or medical, others philosophical, some about “near-death experiences”, quite a few personal narratives). This was not due to any morbid or depressive tendencies. Quite the opposite. What I was aiming for was to demystify it, to obtain information to better deal with the concept. A little in the spirit of “memento mori”. The Stoics and medieval philosophers advocated daily thinking about death in order to live better. Not only to take away its power, but to create a more precious and intentional daily life.
It is true that the more familiar the concept of death is, the less threatening it becomes. I still think so, although more recently I have not specifically searched for many non-fiction books on the subject.
This book was part of that phase and that search. I found it emotionally intelligent, informative, and well-constructed.

[Rajiv Hazaray · Rating 3 out of 5]

- it’s by far the most scientific book written on death and post-death state of mind that I have come across.
- good depth in explaining the “process” of death (as against the “event” of death but a lot of repetition - not sure if author intended the repetition to emphasis important concepts
- Author was lead researcher of first scientific study of out of body experience after death. I think author was trying to “sell” the idea that OBE existed even when they could record only two cases in 2,000+ observations ( scientifically insignificant number).
- I would still highly recommend reading this book to get a scientific perspective of death that is largely surrounded by rituals steeped in religions superstition!

[Lynda Heines · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an important book to read if you are at all interested in death. I will admit that it is a hard read, in that there is a lot of technical medical information that was above me. He seemed to go on and on when he could have said a lot of the info in a more concise way. However, there is a lot of good info and it's one of those books that really makes you think. When does death occur? Had the Titanic occurred today, how many lives could have been saved? What is my hospital's procedure in keeping the body and brain cool? Where does the "soul" reside? This should be required reading for medical school. I read this for a book study and we had some great discussions!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Erasing Death is a book about resuscitation following a cardiac arrest, or heart attack. As one reader said, "we no longer view 'death' -- when the heartbeat, breathing, and brainwaves all stop -- as final." Parnia shows that a person who to all appearances is dead, can be revived. Parnia puts it this way: "But we do know that the once held philosophical idea that there is no way back is not accurate and that for a significant period of time after death, death is in fact reversible."

The author calls for more research into near-death experiences, which he prefers calling after-death experiences. He calls on hospitals to be better prepared to treat cardiac arrest patients.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy reading medical non-fiction, and the topic of death and how’s it’s defined and redefined is really interesting to me. However, while I think this book has some good information, I found it a major drag to read. There’s a difference between getting your point across, and beating the reader with it. I feel like the book could be shortened significantly if all the redundancies were taken out, and would’ve made it a much easier read. The title itself is a bit misleading, as I feel like this is more of a redefinition rather than an erasure of death.

Overall, good information, but I’m personally not a fan of the writing style and formatting of the book.

[Jerry Wall]

works on idea of near death experience (NDe) Stuff Moody worked on the Macon, Ga in 195o\s or so.
Deals with episodically those who die stay cool mostly then revive. Mutuel experiences discussed.
Author is an ardent believer in the phenomenon
Episodic and, if it is useful I don't see it.
No way to prepare and utilize the phenomenon. You get it or not, can't plan for it
of cash in on it for extra life experience so far as I can see.
There will be, as with Moody results, much thought about how to use it and much hope.
We'll see. Clearly many want to belief in something good coming from it.