生死界線: 針對「迴光返照」首次進行的全面性調查

by Alexander Batthyány, 黃珮玲 (translator), 亞歷山大‧巴提亞尼

迴光返照是相對常見但人們知之甚少的現象。在生命臨近盡頭時，許多人——包括那些遭受腦損傷或中風的人，或因精神疾病或深度癡呆而沉默的人——經歷了看似奇蹟般的迴光返照。他們恢復了清醒和活力，恢復了原本的個性情和記憶，能夠與家人和照護者交談，回憶自己的生活，感謝過去共享的歲月，並常常似乎意識到自己即將死去。

在這本非凡的書中，認知科學家維克多弗蘭克爾研究所所長巴提亞尼（Alexander Batthyány）博士，首次對迴光返照進行了重要的研究與闡述，他利用數百個案例和他在瀕死經驗研究相關領域的研究，系統性地探索了迴光返照現象的種種特性，包括迴光返照發生在誰身上，年齡與性別、發生的時間長度、患者的認知狀態、觸發的原因，以及這個現象傳遞的意義，對我們而言揭示了哪些心靈、自我和意識的本質，大腦是否能夠涵蓋自我，以及生者可以從那些跨越生死界限的人身上學到什麼。

就如作者所言：臨終的時日往往帶來深刻的理解――為生命的故事劃下句點、發現個人經歷的意義，或在嚥下最後一口氣之前實現這個意義。這些全都可能發生，死亡為我們揭示了重要的訊息。

在書中，我們會看到絕望的兒子要重新學習愛一個忘記兒子的父親；生病之前總是和藹可親、善良、體貼的老太太生病之後性情大變，甚至會毆打照顧她的護士；儘管妻子沉睡多年，依然不離不棄每天前去醫院照顧的丈夫……然而，某天迴光返照降臨了，他們的親人回來了，而他們長久以來的悲傷和苦楚，彷彿得到救贖和洗滌，但這發生後不久，所愛之人便離世而去。

迴光返照暗示：人彷彿受制於大腦，僅是物質性的存在。但在迴光返照中，儘管大腦毀壞的機制不可能逆轉，但臨終人們卻奇蹟式地回復到生病之前的模樣，彷彿有凌駕肉體之上的某個靈魂的存在。因而啟示我們：死亡不是結束，而是轉換。

《生死界線》這本書令人驚訝、具權威性且感人至深，打開了一扇通往生命和死亡最具挑戰性的謎團之大門，挑戰了我們對生命、死亡和意識最基本的理解。

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Science, Death, Spirituality, Audiobook, Medicine

227 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 28, 2024

About the author

Prof. Dr. Alexander Batthyány is Director the Research Institute for Theoretical Psychology and Personalist Studies at Pázmány Péter University, Budapest and is faculty Professor for Existential Psychotherapy at the Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis. He is Director of the Viktor Frankl Institute in Vienna. He is author or editor of more than 15 books. His academic work has been translated into 10 languages. He has been invited to give lectures around the world. Batthyány divides his time between Vienna and the Hungarian countryside, where he and his wife and daughters are developing an alternative intentional community.

Reviews

[CanadianReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terminal Lucidity: An episode of unexpected, spontaneous, meaningful, and relevant communication or connectedness in a patient who is assumed to have permanently lost the capacity for coherent verbal or behavioral interaction due to a progressive and pathophysiologic dementing process.

“Everything is biological.”
—Francis Crick, 1962 Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine

“I think we simply have to acknowledge that there is a mystery, transcending any biological or materialist rationale, inherent to our existence.”
—Sir John C. Eccles, 1963 Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine

Alexander Batthyány, PhD holds the Endowed Viktor Frankl Chair of Philosophy and Psychology at the International Academy of Philosophy in the Principality of Liechtenstein. He also directs a research institute in Budapest and teaches psychological and cognitive science theory at the University of Vienna. Batthyány is interested in existential issues within the fields of psychology and psychiatry—death and dying, in particular. In recent years, he has amassed a significant database of reports on a condition which has come to be known as “terminal lucidity” (TL) in which individuals close to death and severely cognitively impaired by dementia, strokes, or other neurodegenerative diseases demonstrate an “unexpected return of clarity, self-awareness, memory, and lucid functioning.” In some cases, the person comes back after years of “being lost.”

Batthyány presents both historical and contemporary accounts of people who had forgotten all or most details of their lives. They did not appear to recognize their loved ones and sometimes did not even know their own names. Then suddenly, briefly, and mysteriously, they became lucid, recovered their memories, engaged with family, and died very shortly after. Most (but not all) family members who witness such episodes regard them as beautiful gifts, which reassure them “that there is something about our personhood—our core self—that is whole, safe, sheltered, sound, and protected in the face of illness and frailty, even in the face of death.”

Batthyány describes some of the research he and his team have undertaken around this medical mystery. To get a sense of how common the phenomenon was, they began by sending a web-based pilot survey/questionnaire to hospices, palliative care units, and nursing homes in German-speaking countries. This was followed by a more structured inquiry sent to randomly selected hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, and online forums worldwide. The team then pored over returned reports— most of them filed by family members, not medical professionals—looking for patterns in demographics, duration of TL episodes, and the time of death, among other things. Patients were divided into four categories according to the coherence and awareness exhibited during the episode. The largest group (close to 80%) experienced a full recovery of memories and verbal skills during an event that typically lasted from ten minutes to a few hours. Ages of patients ranged from eight to 100, but not surprisingly the majority of cases involved people 65 years of age and older, who’d been diagnosed with dementia. Around a quarter of witnesses reported that subjects demonstrated increased energy during the lucid period. Some were said to look ten to fifteen years younger.

A smaller category of patients seemed less verbally coherent. These people were observed speaking to people only they could see: absent or dead family members. The patients stated that they’d soon be leaving; the visitors had come for them. Batthyány points out that this type of episode is not unique to those dying from dementia or other severe neurological disorders. British neurophysiologist Peter Fenwick and his research group have studied and reported on the visitation experiences of people dying of other causes.

Batthyány’s is the first book in English on terminal lucidity. The author brings a humanist rather than a medical or biological perspective to the subject. Early in the book, he engages with questions about our essential nature, contrasting scientific/materialist views of the individual with traditional religious view of the core self as “something indestructible, meaningful, eternal and true beyond illness and possibly even beyond death.” It’s not surprising that he should note this tension, given the subject matter. Severe neurological disease is known to irreparably damage the brain and eventually erase the personality; yet here we have this mysterious phenomenon where the self reappears, albeit briefly. If one’s personhood is dependent on a healthy, functioning brain, how is it that the old self can return when the individual’s gray matter is in ruins? The author intimates that he wants readers to at least be open to more than materialist explanations for this phenomenon.

For the last 200 years, writes Batthyány, religion has been in steady decline and science in the ascendant. While readily acknowledging “the vast repository of scientific research that shows each feeling, emotion, thought, and choice is accompanied by a corresponding brain event,” he seems to be troubled that our inner lives and the idea of the soul are explained away as brain activity alone. Feelings and thoughts, “mind and self—even our longing for meaning and love and compassion” are regarded as mere “products and functions of the brain.” Sadness and grief are no longer a response to life events; they’ve become depression, a condition of “chemical imbalances” or physiological perturbations. Something has been lost in the process. Batthyány reflects that materialism has made it more challenging for man to understand himself, honestly and openly confront his own death, and be present for those who are dying. Terminal lucidity raises questions about the self and meaning. Is it possible that something within us endures in spite of illness? Batthyány recommends caution when it comes to drawing conclusions based on witness reports alone, however. Response bias (participants not answering accurately or truthfully for some reason), error-prone memory, and a natural tendency to embellish stories can colour personal accounts. Prospective longitudinal studies need to be performed on select groups of people.

Drawing on the work and thought of Bruce Greyson, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia, Batthyány entertains the possibility that in extreme states—when a person is close to death or actually dying—the mind may function independently of the brain. He suggests that physics rather than physiology may ultimately explain this, but refrains from describing the theoretical basis for his thinking, stating that it is “too complex” to go into. While the concept of mind-body duality is now out of fashion, the author points out that it was never completely dismissed by some scientists and is being resurrected by others, including a physicist friend of his.

Batthyány’s book is thought-provoking and wide-ranging, but it’s ultimately a speculative, tentative and somewhat impressionistic work, which mainly serves as an introduction to a new area of study. It was only in 2018, after all, that the author and eight other investigators from a variety of disciplines met at the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland to hammer out a definition of terminal lucidity and to consider research strategies for a phenomenon with revolutionary implications. Studying these lucid episodes could potentially lead to treatments for seemingly irreparable brains. The group recognized at the outset that their work could touch on many aspects of being and remaining human “even in the face of a debilitating neurological disorder.”

I admit to being disappointed that the author didn’t at least mention some of the medical hypotheses about what might be going on. A recent (June 2023) article in Scientific American gives an overview of new research that “shows surprising activity levels in dying brains and may help explain the sudden clarity many people with dementia experience near death.” It presents the views of a number of medical doctors and researchers, among them: Sam Parnia, Christopher Kerr, Andrew Peterson, and Jimo Borjigin. To end, it seems apt to quote University of Pennsylvania geriatrician and medical ethicist Jason Karlawish, whose observations about those with dementia resonate with Batthyány’s: Rather than assuming their consciousness has been irrevocably changed, “we should still pay close attention to their mind because some aspects are still there, though they may be quite damaged.”

Rating: a solid 3.5, rounded up

[Jamie Park · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is beautiful and well researched. When I did hospice I saw this a few times myself. People "rally" a day or two before they pass on. They can suddenly walk, remember people, and wrap up some loose ends. We knew to watch for it and prepare the family for the end. Usually after they rally they start talking to people who passed on before. It is beautiful and not well studied.
If you want some faith or something to make death seem more "acceptable" for yourself, this book is a good way to start.
I will likely buy a copy.

Thank you for the ARC.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an absolutely fascinating topic. I’ve long heard of this phenomenon from friends with their families/friends who are nurses, but have not experienced it first hand.

The book is filled with anecdotal stories, while also touching on the ways that these stories are being verified. It touches on near death experiences as well, as there appears to be some potential overlap here. I love that this book handles these things, but doesn’t go off the deep end for religion. It made me much more receptive to what was being said.

I found it interesting that the author mentioned this is the first book in English that covers the phenomenon, but it doesn't really reference the other texts much, only mentioning that the research is still very new. I feel that the book may be a bit preemptive, in that there are no answers, or really any firm theories positioned here, but it was interesting never the less.

Finally, at the end, I did find it a bit limiting and stereotypical that Batthany opted to rail on Nihilism, which I’m a firm believer of. I believe that you can be a Nihilist and also believe that you have an impact on the world, and pay things forward with a positive attitude. You don’t need to believe in an afterlife to engage with your surroundings. To me, I believe that the notion that there is nothing left of you after you are gone is an incentive to leave a lasting positive impact, as you’ll only live on in the legacy that you’ve left in those you interacted with while in your corporal being. That’s an overwhelming positive vibe to me - true goodness, in that you’re not doing things to earn an afterlife, but doing them because you are simply trying to do your very best in the hopes that those who come after you have better chances.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

[ashsmashstars · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a deep dive and fascinating read about things that have been proven with science and things that have not. A thin line that we walk between life and death, lucid or not. Anyone can pick up this book and learn something new!

[Ian Wardell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preamble

The rally, or the last hurrah, which in recent years has been termed terminal lucidity, refers to where a person, typically suffering from dementia or some other neurological disorder, suddenly and seemingly miraculously reverts to their pre-dementia original selves. This usually occurs shortly before death. I'll provide a summary of the salient points of this book followed by a few of my thoughts.


A summary of the book

According to Alexander Batthyány, states of intoxication and other induced exceptional psychological states pose a relatively weak argument against an enduring self or soul. This is for the simple reason that such conditions are temporary, and the original self soon returns. So, here, it cannot be the case that the original self was ever destroyed. The original self was there all along, but temporarily hidden.

It is seemingly very different with dementia. The progression of dementia appears to actually destroy a person's beliefs, interests, memories, and very character. This, in turn, also implies that normal brains cause our usual standard personality and character. If these suppositions are correct, what can be left of any eternal, immutable soul?

However, terminal lucidity has now demonstrated that the original self can return. This is, to say the least, perplexing since, at least with dementia, the damage to the brain is still there. How is it possible to have a normal, clear, lucid mind with a severely diseased brain if the brain produces consciousness? Indeed, it doesn't seem possible.

The author draws parallels between terminal lucidity and Near-Death Experiences (NDEs). In NDEs, we also have self-consciousness and personhood when these ought to be highly unlikely given the impaired brain states. So despite compromised brain activity during both terminal lucidity and NDEs, individuals have normal if not enhanced mental alertness, vision, and memories. As an aside, whilst the author doesn't mention this, one might wonder about a potential connection to savant syndrome here?

The author posits that both terminal lucidity and NDE's strongly imply that it cannot be the brain, or indeed the whole body, that somehow produces consciousness. And yet, on the other hand, the author also feels this is strongly contradicted by all the other overwhelming evidence that appears to show that consciousness, or the mind, is very much dependent on the proper functioning of one's brain.

The author tries to reconcile what terminal lucidity and NDE's seem to imply with this contrary evidence, by employing two analogies. The first one is that the mind-brain relationship resembles a total solar eclipse. During such an eclipse, we cannot see the sun, we can only see the coronal filaments peeping out from behind the moon. If we did not know better, we would fallaciously infer the moon somehow produces these filaments. Similarly, we fallaciously infer the brain produces consciousness. The other analogy is the mind at large idea. This holds that the brain functions similarly to a “reducing valve”, which filters out a much greater and expanded consciousness to prevent us from being overwhelmed and confused by a vast ocean of conscious experiences.

My Thoughts

The idea that we simply cease to exist when we die derives much of its plausibility from the supposition that as someone approaches death, their consciousness will gradually diminish until finally reaching zero. However, episodes of terminal lucidity and NDEs show that this does not always occur. Indeed, NDErs, despite being on the threshold of death, frequently report that they felt more conscious than they had ever felt when alive. So it seems to me that both terminal lucidity and NDEs — as well as other anomalous phenomena near death such as deathbed visions, crisis apparitions, and shared death experiences — strongly challenge the idea that consciousness is solely produced by the brain.

On the other hand, apparently contradicting this evidence is the undeniable fact that a damaged brain usually leads to a damaged mind. Do the total solar eclipse and the mind at large analogies explain how a soul could exist in the face of all this contrary evidence?

To address the full solar eclipse analogy first. To reiterate, the message is that in a total solar eclipse, just as one might erroneously suppose the moon somehow produces the coronal filaments peeping out from behind the moon, so we erroneously assume the brain is producing consciousness. We need to remind ourselves, though, that brain damage adversely impacts our actual minds as experienced by that person himself. It's not clear to me how the analogy actually addresses this.

What about the mind at large hypothesis where the brain functions as something akin to a reducing valve? I think this is a better analogy, and indeed I have a lot of sympathy for it. However, this has concerns too. For example, Keith Augustine and Yonatan I. Fishman in The Myth of an Afterlife in a chapter called, The Dualist's Dilemma, argue against this “filter” hypothesis when they say:

[W]e would expect the progressive destruction of more and more of the brain’s “filter” by Alzheimer’s disease to progressively “free” more and more of consciousness, and thus increase Alzheimer’s patients’ mental proficiency as the disease progresses.

Of course, with terminal lucidity, some Alzheimer’s patients' mental proficiency is indeed increased (which they do not mention), but this is the exception rather than the norm. So the mind at large hypothesis needs to be fleshed out a bit to address this criticism.

I have thought of a simpler analogy, one that avoids such criticisms. Consider the fact that whilst a person has on a pair of eyeglasses their vision will be influenced by the state of the lenses, mostly (but not always) for the worse. For example, the lenses might fog up, or acquire scratches over time, both of which will compromise that person's vision. Yet if they were to take off their eyeglasses, then their vision would be restored to what it was originally.

So whilst wearing eyeglasses, the more badly damaged the lenses are, the worse our vision will get. Notwithstanding this, neither the lenses nor the eyeglasses as a whole, produce our vision. Moreover, there is no conceivable mechanism whereby the lenses, or the eyeglasses as a whole, could actually produce our vision.

The same pertains to the mind and brain. We have a correlation between damage to the brain and how much the mind is impaired, yet there is no conceivable mechanism whereby the brain could produce consciousness. Indeed, this is why we have the hard problem*. So, just as eyeglasses merely affect vision, it seems reasonable from just philosophical grounds alone to suppose brains merely affect (not produce) our mind states. So while the mind, or self/soul is embodied, it will operate through the brain and therefore will be subject to any damage that the brain may acquire. Yet the soul, which is the analogical equivalent to unaided sight in the eyeglasses analogy, remains the same throughout. And this interpretation is bolstered when we take into account all the evidence suggesting an afterlife.

But what about terminal lucidity? I think the eyeglasses analogy covers this too. Consider if both lenses of a pair of eyeglasses get cracked and badly splintered, and a hole develops in one of the lenses through which a person wearing the eyeglasses can see. Perhaps something analogically akin is happening in terminal lucidity — namely, a damaged brain allows the soul to partially bypass it and attain the state of consciousness and cognitive abilities that it would have when disembodied.

In conclusion, I appreciate this book for its potential to both bring terminal lucidity to the wider public's attention and to convey that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to square this phenomenon with the notion that the brain somehow produces the mind. I'm not sure, though, that the author has made it sufficiently clear that the brain merely affecting consciousness is not only a viable alternative but is actually somewhat more plausible than the mainstream position that the brain produces the mind. However, notwithstanding the book's detractions, it's certainly well worth reading.


*This, incidentally, is why many academics prefer to hypothesize that the mind is quite literally the same as brain processes, or it's literally what the brain does i.e. they favour some type of reductive materialism. However, physical processes and conscious experiences are wholly unlike each other, even if the former somehow causes or elicits the latter. So it seems to me that reductive materialism is definitively ruled out.

[Madeline Nixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

And cue the existential crisis coming a day before my birthday… This was a really interesting topic to cover. I’ve known of this happening in those close to death for a while now and experienced with my grandma, but I’ve never really known the history or layers behind it. I thought this did a really great job of humanizing the possible science going on. It did get a bit too clinical at times, but mostly it was really engaging. Definitely want to read more about TL as the research continues to grow.

Thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A doctor's book about his research into a phenomenon called Terminal Lucidity. This is when patients who have been ravaged by various types of dementia, many of them not having spoken in months or years, nor recognized loved ones, suddenly seem to be "like their old selves" for a period of hours (or less frequently, days). They are lucid, recognize those around them, ask and answer questions, regain the sparkle in their eyes and show their old personalities. Death typically follows within hours or days.

The data makes it clear that this is happening , but what it means and the implications about the mind and brain being two different things, will take much more research to understand.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in one day. I read 70%of it in one sitting. It was so good and so fascinating.

[Jelena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terminalna lucidnost (eng. Therminal Lucidity) je kovanica za fenomen kratkotrajnog povratka lucidnosti odnosno pune svijesti kod pacijenata sa teškim neurološkim ili psihijatrijskim stanjima neposredno prije njihove smrti. Najčešće je zabilježen kod stanja koja su prevalentna u modernom dobu kod sve starije populacije, dakle kod demencija ili Alchajmera, ali takođe i kod pacijenata sa povredama mozga, meningitisom i sl. Manifestuje se iznenadnim oporavkom tj. povlačenjem simptoma kod pacijenata čije su kognitivne funkcije prethodno značajno umanjene. Npr. povratak govora kod prethodno neverbalnih pacijenata, povratak memorije i slično. Radi se o slabo dokumentovanom i neustraženom fenomenu koji proučava prof. Alexander Batthyany (nisam sigurna kako se tačno transkribuje pa ću ostaviti ovako). Autor je univerzitetski profesor i direktor Instituta i Arhiva Viktora Frankla u Beču, i praktično nasljednik njegove katedre. On zapravo i ne krije uticaj logorerapije, dualističke filozofije i tri ključne osobe koje su uticale na njegovu misao, a to su pored pomenutog Frankla još i psihijatrica Elizabet Kübler-Ross, te filozof i neurolog, nobelovac J.C. Eccles. Batthyany ovde kombinuje naučno-empirijski pristup sa brojnim svjedočanstvima članova porodice i medicinskog osoblja, gdje potonji možda i najbolje ilustruju važnost i dubinu ovih ponovnih susreta. Fenomen terminalne lucidnosti neobjašnjiv je sa naučne strane i dešava se u slučajevima nepopravljivih oštećenja mozga. Svjedočanstva članova porodice koja su sakupljena u njegovom istraživanju govore o dubokom emotivnom naboju i ljepoti tog nevjerovatnog fenomena, koji ljudima omogućava poslednji smisleni razgovor i susret sa bliskim članom porodice, koji je ujedno i sigurno predskazanje smrti koja nastupa istu noć ili par dana kasnije. Mada je zabilježena u svim dijelovima svijeta i u raznim epohama, TL nije široko zastupljena, procjenjuje se da se javlja u tek oko 6% slučajeva, s tim da je moguće i da je broj nezabilježenih slučajeva mnogo veći. Za razliku od kliničke smrti o kojoj se ovde takođe govori, TL se neposredno opaža od strane članova porodice i osoblja na odjelima palijativne njege.

[AMAO · Rating 5 out of 5]

Threshold: Terminal Lucidity and the Border of Life and Death
by Alexander Batthyány
Pub Date 12 Sep 2023

Most folks find this "Terminal Lucidity" fascinating. Its portrayed in books, music, movies and the like-- due to the life long cliff hanger if leaves folks with after the fact. I personally have seen this with a relative and read more than my share in non-fiction accounts. What I find fascinating is how some topics hijack folks curiosity where they end making it --that topic their life's work even though the reasoning will never change the outcome for those who transition or for those who witness the transition. In any event, although morbid I did find the subject matter engaging and more curious about this topic. Great narration and content.
#NetGalley


Terminal lucidity is a relatively common but poorly understood phenomenon. Near the end of life, many people--including those who have suffered brain injuries or strokes, or have been silenced by mental illness or deep dementia--experience what seems a miraculous return. They regain their clarity and energy, are able to talk with families and caregivers, recall their lives and often appear to be aware of their nearing death.

In this remarkable book, cognitive scientist and Director of the Viktor Frankl Institute Dr. Alexander Batthyány offers the first major account of terminal lucidity, utilizing hundreds of case studies and his research in the related field of near-death studies to explore the mind, the body, the nature of consciousness, and what the living can learn from those who are crossing the border from life to death.

Astonishing, authoritative, and deeply moving, Threshold opens a doorway into one of life's--and death's--most provocative mysteries.

[Natalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This book is going to keep me thinking for a while. Terminal lucidity is a relatively common but poorly understood phenomenon wherein, near the end of life, many people - including those who have suffered brain injuries, strokes, or have been silenced by mental illness or dementia - experience what seems a miraculous "return". They regain energy, their mental clarity, are able to converse with family and caregivers, recall their lives, and often appear to be somewhat aware of their nearing death. This miraculous event is often seen as a gift by surviving loved ones who were given "one last conversation" and the opportunity to say a meaningful goodbye to their loved ones. I've actually experienced this myself when I was at my then husband's grandmother's hospital bedside the day before she died. We were very surprised by how "with it" she was after she'd been unconscious for weeks. However, the nurses explained that she wasn't experiencing a miraculous recovery. They said it was common for patients to have a "last hoorah," as they referred to it, right before they die. Batthyány also experiences a similar situation with his dying grandmother, which is the spark for this research endeavor. While Threshold can be quite technical, bordering on the incomprehensive at times, when Batthyány recounts stories of people who were thought lost to dementia suddenly regaining control of their bodies and reclaiming their memories, much to their family's astonishment, the text suddenly becomes riveting. If you've ever questioned the mind/body/soul alchemy that is the human miracle, I'd recommend Threshold!

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

By definition this is a tough book to write because we understand so little about how 'normal' consciousness works, let alone consciousness near death. This book presents a somewhat reasonable scientific framework, with numerous anecdotal examples and survey data, to attempt to study near death and terminal lucidity experiences.

One goal of the book is to try and provide comfort to people looking for meaning who may not be religious or have lost hope due to personal traumatic experiences. It does also provide some interesting thought exercises around 1) the mind as a real-world filter and 2) different levels of awareness and consciousness, and the presumptive question about which one you're dealing with at any given time.

The book itself however is too long and it is hard to deal with so many anecdotal stories in one book as we have no idea how real or accurate these are, especially since they are by definition provided by people experiencing the traumatic death of a loved one. There is also a fair amount of asking the same rhetorical questions over and over and over again. It also doesn't touch on hard drugs that are known to induce potentially similar experiences (eg. LSD), and what that means, nor is there any technology discussion around neural networks etc.

[Mojca Rudolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ker gre za čisto prvo knjigo na to temo, pa še dobro je napisana, evo zaslužene ocene... Za pojav terminalne lucidnosti sem tako čisto prvič sploh izvedela. Avtorja je začela zanimati, ko se je srečal z nekaj primeri, ko so bolniki z napredovano demenco, Alzheimerjem ali možganskimi poškodbami, nekaj ur ali dni pred smrtjo postali.. to, kar so bili nekoč, vsaj za nekaj ur. Kako je to mogoče, če so možgani popolnoma uničeni?
Odgovora na to uganko ni. Kakor tudi ne na tiste o obsmrtnih doživetjih. Toda avtor je po tem, ko je začel raziskovati, naletel na veliko takšnih primerov. Precej teh pričevanj je v knjigi tudi opisanih. Ne, ne zgodi se vsem, a je odstotek dovolj velik, da avtor ta pojav raziskuje in tudi opiše.
Res fascinantno, pa čeprav pravega odgovora ni, je pa tistim svojcem, ki so bili temu priča, ponudil kakovostno slovo od obolelega svojca. In branje o tem je bilo nekaj posebnega.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book about the sudden return of people who have been lost to Alzheimer's or other such brain illnesses, or accidents. The author clearly believes that there is more to us than just our biological selves, because otherwise where does this person return from? It's a touching and thoughtful discussion. I found it particularly helpful, because the author ties in NDEs, one of which I had as a teenager when I had a traumatic injury while tobogganing. I had difficulty making sense of it at the time, and it was helpful to learn that I am not alone in experiencing this transcendent and life-changing event.

[Peter Forster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am grateful to the author for providing a readable account of a fascinating phenomenon with important implications, both for those close to a person who manifests terminal lucidity (TL) and also for what it implies about the nature of consciousness. The effect of TL is obviously profound on the families involved and the author handles these effects with sensitivity.

It is obviously very early days as far as research into TL is concerned. Most still consists of pulling together personal anecdotes. Batthyany does a decent job of summarising much of this and what it implies.

Overall I'd say this is a valuable contribution to understanding a little understood phenomenon.

[Brookellen99 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rlly interesting case studies of terminal lucidity and near death experiences. I wished it was more on how this applies to existing theories of consciousness. Obviously it’s suggesting that the dual theory is more valid than the materialist perspective, but I wanted it to get more theoretical, like actually discuss specifics. Started doing it in the final few chapters, but then said “sorry guys, too complex for this book”. So I think this is more written for a lay audience, than technical analysis, and I guess it’s all very preliminary still.

[MKF · Rating 2 out of 5]

It becomes obvious early on that the author has a belief in what many call a soul. I think this is why the book switches near the end to focus more on NDEs. The author doesn't really explain how terminal lucidity before death is connected to possible lucidity a person could experience after death. It's an interesting topic but probably not one that should be promoting trendy, spiritual topics if it is to be taken seriously.

[Tiffanie Z. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. My only thought is that it would have been nice to have a chapter on faith, spirituality, religion to complement the. Scientific study. But I guess that’s the point, the book is basically the summation of a study which was strictly psychological and scientific— the testimonials of the people who experienced death and “came back” to tell about was most interesting.

[Malum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at terminal lucidity (with a short trip into the realm of near death experiences at the end) only held back by the fact that we just don't know that much about terminal lucidity at present and so there are a lot of unanswered questions.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fascinating, educational, and well researched book on an equally interesting topic. I learned so much from this and was captivated by it in so many parts. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Jia · Rating 4 out of 5]

科學家願意認真面對科學的盡頭無法解釋的現象，
大腦壞掉了人的意識為何還能清晰展現呢？
是不是有可能，就在生死的邊界，意識就不需要依附著健康的大腦才能展現，
那麼意識和大腦其實是兩種不同的存在？
雖然只有一隻白烏鴉，但這隻白烏鴉確實存在

[Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hugely interesting. A little dry in the middle of the book, but he finishes strong. He’s at his best when he embraces his existentialism.

[Alicia Lemorie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The accounts of terminal lucidity are interesting. Perhaps I misunderstood what this book was about, but I didn’t realize that the book would focus mostly on those stories. I was hoping for a bit more of the science behind the phenomenon. Allusions to a ‘creator’ or some religious explanation for this mystery rather than actual scientific hypothesis was off-putting as well. 🤷🏻‍♀️