What do you think?
Rate this book
Glimpsing Heaven: The Stories and Science of Life After Death
If you caught a glimpse of heaven, would you choose to come back to life? Investigative journalist Judy Bachrach has collected accounts of those who died and then returned to life with lucid, vivid memories of what occurred while they were dead, and the conclusions are astonishing. Clinical death—the moment when the heart stops beating and brain stem activity ceases—is not necessarily the end of consciousness, as a number of doctors are now beginning to concede. Hundreds of thousands of fascinating post-death experiences have been documented, and for many who have died and returned, life is forever changed. These days, an increasing number of scientific researchers are turning their studies to people who have experienced what the author calls death travels -- putting stock and credence in the sights, encounters, and exciting experiences reported by those who return from the dead. Through interviews with scores of these “death travelers,” and with physicians, nurses, and scientists unraveling the mysteries of the afterlife, Bachrach redefines the meaning of both life and death. Glimpsing Heaven reveals both the uncertainty and the surprising joys of life after death.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
99 people are currently reading
1089 people want to read
About the author
Judy Bachrach
5 books30 followersJudy Bachrach is a longtime journalist who has worked for the Washington Post, the Washington Star (as a political columnist) and now is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. Judy’s latest book, GLIMPSING HEAVEN (National Geographic Books) will publish on September 2, 2014. GLIMPSING HEAVEN is a page-turning examination of the factors that contribute to what used to be called a near death experience--and the science behind it.
Pre-order Glimpsing Heaven now wherever books are sold.
Pre-order Glimpsing Heaven now wherever books are sold.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews
June 3, 2015
I found this a difficult read. The writing style did not seem to flow and I had to keep going back to re-read passages. If you've read other books on this topic, you'll find nothing new here. There are better choices. I would recommend, Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives as a place to start.
June 30, 2015
During a breakfast meeting with a client I was surprised that she had come with a driver with her. Her husband, who had always driven for her, was there too. She explained: her husband couldn't drive anymore. Too risky. He had had a major heart attack and stayed in the hospital for more than a month. During one of his several operations he had flat-lined for 30 minutes (I guess that meant he had no brain activity for 30 minutes, maybe for lack of oxygen after his heart had stopped pumping). But he was revived and now sat across the table smiling.
I asked if he remembered anything during those 30 minutes or so, or at anytime when he was being operated on. He said he remembered nothing.
This book is about those who remembered things while they were dead. The author insists they were dead, not just having a near death experience (NDE). The usual stuff: tunnel of light, elevated consciousness, the feeling of home, peace, love, dead relatives, mysterious beings, telepathic communications, etc. Some of my thoughts:
1. They may have been dead insofar as how we define death now is. But do we really know when the dead is dead?
2. I've had dreams with characters interacting with me (sometimes those still alive). And I remember communicating with them (during my dreams) telepathically also. I do not think I was dead during those dream times;
3. Many of these common experiences of the "dead" who had come back to life have some plausible scientific explanations except (in my opinion) one thing: seeing things/people/activities during the time that the person was "dead" in his deathbed, with his eyes closed, his body inert, unresponsive. If a person thinks and is conscious only with a functioning brain and if he sees only with his eyes and hears only with his ears how can this phenomenon be explained?
OK. A conscious individual who is yourself somehow survives after the complete or almost complete cessation of function of the body. But could that be just the brain's last gasp before real death? Or is that just the beginning of a better life--a glimpse of heaven?
Whatever it is we cannot do anything about it. And that's a comforting thought: my death will be just as good as yours.
I asked if he remembered anything during those 30 minutes or so, or at anytime when he was being operated on. He said he remembered nothing.
This book is about those who remembered things while they were dead. The author insists they were dead, not just having a near death experience (NDE). The usual stuff: tunnel of light, elevated consciousness, the feeling of home, peace, love, dead relatives, mysterious beings, telepathic communications, etc. Some of my thoughts:
1. They may have been dead insofar as how we define death now is. But do we really know when the dead is dead?
2. I've had dreams with characters interacting with me (sometimes those still alive). And I remember communicating with them (during my dreams) telepathically also. I do not think I was dead during those dream times;
3. Many of these common experiences of the "dead" who had come back to life have some plausible scientific explanations except (in my opinion) one thing: seeing things/people/activities during the time that the person was "dead" in his deathbed, with his eyes closed, his body inert, unresponsive. If a person thinks and is conscious only with a functioning brain and if he sees only with his eyes and hears only with his ears how can this phenomenon be explained?
OK. A conscious individual who is yourself somehow survives after the complete or almost complete cessation of function of the body. But could that be just the brain's last gasp before real death? Or is that just the beginning of a better life--a glimpse of heaven?
Whatever it is we cannot do anything about it. And that's a comforting thought: my death will be just as good as yours.
August 6, 2016
What happens when we die? A question I ask myself often, always curious and a topic I enjoy exploring through various writings.
I was completely captivated by this book, a subject matter I continually question and read extensively. Bachrach demonstrates her keen journalistic skills with various interviews from people sharing their near death experiences. Varying backgrounds, occupations adding interest – actress, doctors, neuroscientists.
Each chapter reveals information both unfamiliar and familiar with near death experiences. One point mentioned time and time by interviewees – death is not to be feared. The people interviewed openly share their stories and their background pre/post experience. There were similarities as well as differences as to what exactly each person faced. Both stories and participants are fascinating as well as gripping.
If you’re interested in probing as to what happens when you die, give this book a read, you’ll have difficulty putting it down, finding yourself riveted and well educated on a interesting subject matter surely to have crossed your mind on occasion.
I was completely captivated by this book, a subject matter I continually question and read extensively. Bachrach demonstrates her keen journalistic skills with various interviews from people sharing their near death experiences. Varying backgrounds, occupations adding interest – actress, doctors, neuroscientists.
Each chapter reveals information both unfamiliar and familiar with near death experiences. One point mentioned time and time by interviewees – death is not to be feared. The people interviewed openly share their stories and their background pre/post experience. There were similarities as well as differences as to what exactly each person faced. Both stories and participants are fascinating as well as gripping.
If you’re interested in probing as to what happens when you die, give this book a read, you’ll have difficulty putting it down, finding yourself riveted and well educated on a interesting subject matter surely to have crossed your mind on occasion.
December 16, 2014
This is the most comforting book about death I’ve ever read. Oddly, it wasn’t written by a Christian. Bachrach remains an atheist. It’s about near-death experiences, but it has nothing to do with belief. Rather, it’s a study of what “death travelers” report as having experienced.
The thing is, we are better able to study these experiences than ever before, because medicine has advanced so rapidly. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, a frequent way of reviving the dead, has become commonplace. More and more people are brought back from the dead, their brains stuffed with memories of what they experienced. We now have tens of thousands of reported cases.
Some common claims include a lucidity of experience even among people with brain damage like Alzheimers, a feeling of deep bliss, and feeling of going home. Speechless communication with other beings is often reported. Traditional Christian teachings are usually contradicted; warnings of eternal damnation or promises of a blessed eternity to the faithful hold no water with those who have been there and back, and most return with no fear of death. A very common word on the lips of survivors when recounting what they experienced is “love,” but this experience has no correlation with religious attendance. It just doesn’t much matter what you believe. It happens to Christians, Jews, Buddhists and Hindus. It happens whether you believe in an afterlife or not; whether you believe in God or not. Only two of the people Bachrach researched encountered Jesus in the afterlife, and none met up with the devil.
However, some death travelers do still report a deepening of faith. One person recounted that she discovered she was “perfect, endowed with love,” and later realized that so is everyone else. She had never before understood the passage in the Bible about being created in God’s image, and it finally made sense.
The one thing that I found not comforting about Bachrach’s research is how commonly death experiences cause divorce. People who have experienced death often undergo a radical change in priorities. Selfish desires make way for universal concerns–they feel united and at one with rest of the world–and this new focus is hard for spouses to understand.
But are these experiences “real”? We still don’t know, but the experiencers usually insist they are. Bachrach fairly examines the pros and cons and doesn’t pretend to be an expert, but her bias shows. She believes.
National Geographic Society, © 2014, 249 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4246-1514-8
The thing is, we are better able to study these experiences than ever before, because medicine has advanced so rapidly. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, a frequent way of reviving the dead, has become commonplace. More and more people are brought back from the dead, their brains stuffed with memories of what they experienced. We now have tens of thousands of reported cases.
Some common claims include a lucidity of experience even among people with brain damage like Alzheimers, a feeling of deep bliss, and feeling of going home. Speechless communication with other beings is often reported. Traditional Christian teachings are usually contradicted; warnings of eternal damnation or promises of a blessed eternity to the faithful hold no water with those who have been there and back, and most return with no fear of death. A very common word on the lips of survivors when recounting what they experienced is “love,” but this experience has no correlation with religious attendance. It just doesn’t much matter what you believe. It happens to Christians, Jews, Buddhists and Hindus. It happens whether you believe in an afterlife or not; whether you believe in God or not. Only two of the people Bachrach researched encountered Jesus in the afterlife, and none met up with the devil.
However, some death travelers do still report a deepening of faith. One person recounted that she discovered she was “perfect, endowed with love,” and later realized that so is everyone else. She had never before understood the passage in the Bible about being created in God’s image, and it finally made sense.
The one thing that I found not comforting about Bachrach’s research is how commonly death experiences cause divorce. People who have experienced death often undergo a radical change in priorities. Selfish desires make way for universal concerns–they feel united and at one with rest of the world–and this new focus is hard for spouses to understand.
But are these experiences “real”? We still don’t know, but the experiencers usually insist they are. Bachrach fairly examines the pros and cons and doesn’t pretend to be an expert, but her bias shows. She believes.
National Geographic Society, © 2014, 249 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4246-1514-8
April 3, 2015
"Glimpsing Heaven: The Stories and Science of Life after Death" by Judy Bachrach is one of the worst books about the survival of consciousness after physical death that I've ever read. I've read books on this topic by authors like John Edward, George Anderson, Betty Jean Eadie, Don Piper, Todd Burpo, PMH Atwater, and Gary Schwartz. Bachrach's book stands out for the low quality of the writing. I was only a few pages into the book when I double-checked the publisher – yes, National Geographic. I had noticed that there is not a single cover blurb by a prominent author in the field endorsing this book. Now I know why.
I wondered about the author. Was she some fresh-from-prestigious-college cupcake with high-level contacts dashing something off in order to get a publication notch on her belt before she hits the job market?
No, Judy Bachrach is an editor at Vanity Fair and a journalism professor. Sheesh.
The writing in this book is hasty and shallow. On a sentence level, punctuation is used incorrectly. Colons are used: Randomly. After the colon, the next word sometimes does, and sometimes does not, begin with a capital Letter. Randomly tossing capital letters onto words in the middle of sentences is an error. Here's an example from page 165, "…because they bulged like large breasts: Inside they were old…"
It isn't just the sentence-level errors that made this book a disappointment for me. It was the book's shallowness. While reading this book, I kept feeling, over and over, that I wanted to close its covers and go watch youtube. Bachrach talks about Pam Reynolds Lowry, a singer-songwriter, who had a remarkable near death experience. Bachrach's description of Lowry's story was enough to intrigue me, but it was never enough to satisfy me. I wanted to stop reading Bachrach's description of Lowry's experience, and go watch a youtube video of Lowry herself.
Bachrach speaks to and speaks about many who have had near death experiences. Her accounts are sketchy and limited. Who are these people, really? What do they look like, what do they smell like, what motivates them, how do they get through their day? The man who drowned in the above-quoted account divorced his wife. Why? Bachrach doesn't say.
It's as if, as a writer, Bachrach is handling her subject with tongs. She writes from a distance. She never really plunges into the topic; she never gets so wrapped up in it that she must communicate to us the living, messy, pulsing details that would bring it alive for us, the readers.
I've mentioned several authors, above, who write about near death experiences. I would recommend that a curious reader read any of them before considering this book.
I wondered about the author. Was she some fresh-from-prestigious-college cupcake with high-level contacts dashing something off in order to get a publication notch on her belt before she hits the job market?
No, Judy Bachrach is an editor at Vanity Fair and a journalism professor. Sheesh.
The writing in this book is hasty and shallow. On a sentence level, punctuation is used incorrectly. Colons are used: Randomly. After the colon, the next word sometimes does, and sometimes does not, begin with a capital Letter. Randomly tossing capital letters onto words in the middle of sentences is an error. Here's an example from page 165, "…because they bulged like large breasts: Inside they were old…"
It isn't just the sentence-level errors that made this book a disappointment for me. It was the book's shallowness. While reading this book, I kept feeling, over and over, that I wanted to close its covers and go watch youtube. Bachrach talks about Pam Reynolds Lowry, a singer-songwriter, who had a remarkable near death experience. Bachrach's description of Lowry's story was enough to intrigue me, but it was never enough to satisfy me. I wanted to stop reading Bachrach's description of Lowry's experience, and go watch a youtube video of Lowry herself.
Bachrach speaks to and speaks about many who have had near death experiences. Her accounts are sketchy and limited. Who are these people, really? What do they look like, what do they smell like, what motivates them, how do they get through their day? The man who drowned in the above-quoted account divorced his wife. Why? Bachrach doesn't say.
It's as if, as a writer, Bachrach is handling her subject with tongs. She writes from a distance. She never really plunges into the topic; she never gets so wrapped up in it that she must communicate to us the living, messy, pulsing details that would bring it alive for us, the readers.
I've mentioned several authors, above, who write about near death experiences. I would recommend that a curious reader read any of them before considering this book.
September 21, 2014
First, an admission that I went to college with Judy Bachrach; we were in the same class at Chatham College, although we were acquaintances, not friends. And, second, that I had a "near death experience" (I didn't die ... just came very, very close) a few weeks before my freshman year at that college. I had an emergency appendectomy at a small Maine hospital, and was given penicillin ... which I was allergic to. I went into shock, and my blood pressure plunged. My family was called because the hospital was sure I wouldn't make it.
What do I remember that night? Peacefully floating on a warm, red river. The banks were far away, and I was happy. I didn't want to come out of the water. But hospital staff kept pulling me back (taking my blood pressure, which hurt my arm,)and finally I "woke up" to tell them to stop. And the river was gone. And, no: I haven't been scared by death since then.
When I was caring for my mother, who died about ten years ago, I read an assortment of books about what people who are dying seem to see .. or what they remember if they "come back." (My mother saw doves flying around her room the day before she died. She told people we should keep the windows closed.)
So I was very interested in reading Judy's book, both because I'd known her, and because her subject was one I found intriguing. Unfortunately, although she covered her territory well, and added some stories I hadn't heard (e.g. the woman who seemed to have ESP sensitivities after she'd "returned,") and talked to several doctors about the medical reasons people had similar memories and sensations, in the past ten years there don't appear to have been any radically new interpretations, or rationales, for what happens to people immediately after they die. Judy did a good job of summarizing current thinking ... and I agree that, as Baby Boomers age, there will be more talk about this subject. But, for right now, we haven't learned a lot more in the past ten years.
Recommended for anyone who hasn't read a lot on this subject.
What do I remember that night? Peacefully floating on a warm, red river. The banks were far away, and I was happy. I didn't want to come out of the water. But hospital staff kept pulling me back (taking my blood pressure, which hurt my arm,)and finally I "woke up" to tell them to stop. And the river was gone. And, no: I haven't been scared by death since then.
When I was caring for my mother, who died about ten years ago, I read an assortment of books about what people who are dying seem to see .. or what they remember if they "come back." (My mother saw doves flying around her room the day before she died. She told people we should keep the windows closed.)
So I was very interested in reading Judy's book, both because I'd known her, and because her subject was one I found intriguing. Unfortunately, although she covered her territory well, and added some stories I hadn't heard (e.g. the woman who seemed to have ESP sensitivities after she'd "returned,") and talked to several doctors about the medical reasons people had similar memories and sensations, in the past ten years there don't appear to have been any radically new interpretations, or rationales, for what happens to people immediately after they die. Judy did a good job of summarizing current thinking ... and I agree that, as Baby Boomers age, there will be more talk about this subject. But, for right now, we haven't learned a lot more in the past ten years.
Recommended for anyone who hasn't read a lot on this subject.
November 14, 2014
While working as a volunteer at a Washington, D.C. hospice, journalist Judy Bachrach heard stories about people who had died, and then been revived. Her curiosity was piqued, and she began to research that topic. She read Raymond Moody’s book entitled Life After Life, which was published in the early 1980’s. She interviewed doctors, nurses, researchers, and ordinary people who had been “death travelers”.
She found that most people who have undergone this experience are very reluctant to talk about what happened to them for fear of ridicule and/or disbelief by others. In our society, it seems that death is a topic not to be discussed.
However, Judy’s gentle approach and willingness to listen without judging the “travelers” encouraged them to relate their experiences. Ms. Bachrach presents many of the stories in this book. Researchers into this topic are almost unanimously convinced that life does not end at death—that there is another realm awaiting us.
Glimpsing Heaven provides a fascinating glimpse into what we can expect when we die.
Thank you to Goodreads first reads, National Geographic Books, and author Judy Bachrach for giving me the opportunity to read this very interesting, thought provoking book!
She found that most people who have undergone this experience are very reluctant to talk about what happened to them for fear of ridicule and/or disbelief by others. In our society, it seems that death is a topic not to be discussed.
However, Judy’s gentle approach and willingness to listen without judging the “travelers” encouraged them to relate their experiences. Ms. Bachrach presents many of the stories in this book. Researchers into this topic are almost unanimously convinced that life does not end at death—that there is another realm awaiting us.
Glimpsing Heaven provides a fascinating glimpse into what we can expect when we die.
Thank you to Goodreads first reads, National Geographic Books, and author Judy Bachrach for giving me the opportunity to read this very interesting, thought provoking book!
October 10, 2014
I really enjoyed reading this journalistic view of life after death experiences. The stories appealed to me because although I haven't experienced death and returned to life, some of my dreams have been as vivid as some of the death experiences described. I've dreamt I've travelled to the field across the street where I grew up and was enveloped in the stars and planets... which somehow were so close I felt as if I were matter and part of space myself. It was terrifyingly beautiful and filled me with an emotion that nearly burst from my being.
In another dream, I've experienced flight and the ability to float above myself or outside myself. Observing things like in a movie. I was flying so slowly... as if I were swimming the breast stroke.
In a recent dream, I touched the arm of a stranger and was filled with the most delicious love I thought imaginable. I felt loved in every part of my body.
Many of the death experiences are similar to these dreams I've had and if that what happens at death, how lovely. I'm still a bit skeptical, but what a sweet thought. To die and be forever in an interesting dream.
In another dream, I've experienced flight and the ability to float above myself or outside myself. Observing things like in a movie. I was flying so slowly... as if I were swimming the breast stroke.
In a recent dream, I touched the arm of a stranger and was filled with the most delicious love I thought imaginable. I felt loved in every part of my body.
Many of the death experiences are similar to these dreams I've had and if that what happens at death, how lovely. I'm still a bit skeptical, but what a sweet thought. To die and be forever in an interesting dream.
September 21, 2014
The emphasis of this book is on "glimpse"... and that is precisely what it was, an interesting, but somewhat unsatisfactory glimpse" of individual experience's with apparent death. The book is very weak on the "science" of death. I think a summary chapter would have been good...majority do not fear death anymore, many with renewed sense of what is important in life, many do not want to talk about their experience etc.
January 20, 2016
Excellent. Read in one day.
June 6, 2015
Call me a weirdo, but this subject fascinates me. This is the second book on death travels I read within a month of each other - and I'm not obsessed with death. To be fair, I did come at this book from the standpoint of believing there absolutely is something after this life. The recurring concepts of clarity, light, and unequivocal love as part of the death travel experience are compelling. I left the book feeling very hopeful about what's next.
February 29, 2016
“If you caught a glimpse of heaven,would you choose to come back to life?” Glimpsing Heaven: The Stories and the Science of Life After Death by Judy Bachrach . The nonfiction book gives us a personal experience about what happens during life after death,death experiences.”Who hasn't wondered what will happen when we die”? After reading this book, I have a better idea of what we might experience when we 'crossover' and I find some comfort in that.
From the beginning we read about a story of a woman by the name of Pam Reynolds Lowery who experiences heavy vertigo and extreme dizziness. When Pam goes into have a CT scan we come to realize that Pam’s brian is a giant basilar aneurysm, a weakness in the wall that caused it to balloon.Pam was a ticking time bomb and was awaiting death. Anthony Cicoria a orthopedic surgeon, was proud of a chairmanship seminar for physicians on “Controversies in Lumbar Spine Surgery” and his published articles on surgical issues. Anthony is a man of science,an orthopedic surgeon who is a chief of medical staff and chief of orthopedics at New York state hospital. Until one evening when Anthony Cicoria was struck dead by lightning. While dead anthony could feel everything that was indescribable. “I could feel everything, yet I felt at this time Invisible, I had no pain,I could see everything and hear anything clearly”. “Death made me feel young again or reborn”.“I felt my spirit leave my body and I could see my body lay there motionless,while the nurse tried to revive me.”
I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in knowing what Life after death experiences are like. This nonfiction book is on the Christian side when it comes to religion. The book could be for someone who has just lost a loved one or who would like answers on how it feels to leave the body. Glimpsing Heaven I would not recommend for anyone who doesn’t believe in death or the afterlife/heaven. Glimpsing heaven teaches you that life is a gift and not given for eternity and that you should cherish your moments.Glimpsing Heaven is for anyone who has an open mind and willing to take in other people's perspectives and stories. If you were to die today how do think you would die? And What would your story be?
September 12, 2014
The subject of death experience(s) has always been an interest to me and my family. My family's very spiritual. My older brother actually had an experience when he was in a coma. When he woke up he told my mother he saw angels and they asked him if he wanted to go back. He told them yes, because he didn't want to leave my mother. It happened years ago, and after a few days of his experience he didn't remember it. I always wondered why he didn't remember or change his ways. I don't know if him having a child like mind had anything to do with his experience or his memory of it. So it was great reading this book and reading about people who had experiences. If your curious or believe in near-death experiences this is a good book to read. If I wasn't a believer before this book would have really had me questioning my beliefs. How can so many people have these similar stories and we not believe? This book will help you not fear death, because it may not be the end of a journey, but the beginning of a new journey.
June 14, 2021
I've seen television documentary-style shows that interview people who have had NDEs. Their stories are fascinating.
Glimpsing Heaven was interesting, but I would have liked more feedback from people who died and encountered their beloved pets on the other side. I also would have loved to know if the blind here on earth are able to see when they reach the heavenly plane.
It's obvious I am Christian so my interest falls in line with the biblical version of heaven. Of course, it is also somewhat intriguing to read about the life-after-death experiences of those who do not believe in Jesus Christ, but do have their own faith and belief systems.
Glimpsing Heaven was interesting, but I would have liked more feedback from people who died and encountered their beloved pets on the other side. I also would have loved to know if the blind here on earth are able to see when they reach the heavenly plane.
It's obvious I am Christian so my interest falls in line with the biblical version of heaven. Of course, it is also somewhat intriguing to read about the life-after-death experiences of those who do not believe in Jesus Christ, but do have their own faith and belief systems.
February 17, 2016
Truly amazing. Turned my understanding of death upside down and in a positive way. Now I want and I'm trying to translate it into Ukrainian. I want my fellow Ukrainians to know that death is not the end.
Магічна книжка. Перевернула моє уявлення про смерть (у позитив). Готую її переклад на українську, бо хочу, щоб українці знали: смерть - це не кінець.
Магічна книжка. Перевернула моє уявлення про смерть (у позитив). Готую її переклад на українську, бо хочу, щоб українці знали: смерть - це не кінець.
March 19, 2016
Wow. What a good book. Written from a classy perspective. Very kind, well researched, presented in a good light. Good book. I recommend it if you're in to this topic at all. Or if someone near and dear to you is struggling towards the end of life.
September 13, 2014
This was a great book. I would highly recommend it. Incredible stories of people who died and were brought back. It details what people saw and felt during their travels.
December 10, 2016
Very enjoyable and insightful read. Enjoyed the stories very much and they were put together in a great manner. The author has provided a very insightful book
December 24, 2017
A rather superficial look at near-death experiences - including giving too much credence, in my opinion, to paranormal experience and visitations.
December 2, 2020
I found this book fascinating and illuminating. It is a collection of stories about death travels and death experiences gathered by someone who started out sceptical and ended up persuaded that people who return from death really do see light, connect with their loved ones and come back changed.
An experienced hospice worker, the author comes to the topic of death with curiosity and compassion. She is guided in her study by several experts in the field, among them doctors and researchers. She tells the stories of about ten people whom she interviewed in depth, as well as many others whom she met in passing. The stories make excellent reading and provoke a great deal of thought.
I was especially interested in how the experience of death changed people. Most compellingly, they lost their fear of dying because, they said, they were oblivious to the pain their body was going through. Also fascinating were the things they said about new intuitive powers, such as precognition, empathy, wisdom and the ability to see auras. As someone whose grandmother had a near-death experience and possessed strong intuition, I sped through the stories and finished the book feeling greatly comforted.
An experienced hospice worker, the author comes to the topic of death with curiosity and compassion. She is guided in her study by several experts in the field, among them doctors and researchers. She tells the stories of about ten people whom she interviewed in depth, as well as many others whom she met in passing. The stories make excellent reading and provoke a great deal of thought.
I was especially interested in how the experience of death changed people. Most compellingly, they lost their fear of dying because, they said, they were oblivious to the pain their body was going through. Also fascinating were the things they said about new intuitive powers, such as precognition, empathy, wisdom and the ability to see auras. As someone whose grandmother had a near-death experience and possessed strong intuition, I sped through the stories and finished the book feeling greatly comforted.
May 14, 2019
At first, I thought this book was going to be similar to Jeffrey Long's EVIDENCE OF THE AFTERLIFE: THE SCIENCE OF NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES. About 90 pages into the text, however, I was shocked by the author's statements that people (particularly cardiac patients) are coming back to life regularly, and in significant numbers. The physicians interviewed indicated that there is 'a window of opportunity' to bring back a person (to life) of approximately 4 hours.
I think this is a very reassuring book for anyone who has lost someone and is grieving. Other books (physician-written), tend to talk about numbers and general commonalities. This book gives direct quotes from people who have actually died and come back to life. Much of what they have to say is very reassuring.
The upshot of the book seems to be that there is a growing dialogue in the world about near-death experiences. Early on, the people who talked about their experiences were considered mistaken or maybe crazy. Because of the growing number of these experiences, there is more discussion about spending money to investigate these occurrences further.
I think this is a very reassuring book for anyone who has lost someone and is grieving. Other books (physician-written), tend to talk about numbers and general commonalities. This book gives direct quotes from people who have actually died and come back to life. Much of what they have to say is very reassuring.
The upshot of the book seems to be that there is a growing dialogue in the world about near-death experiences. Early on, the people who talked about their experiences were considered mistaken or maybe crazy. Because of the growing number of these experiences, there is more discussion about spending money to investigate these occurrences further.
November 14, 2021
I really enjoyed this book and while I’ve always read this kind of book about NDE, including beginning with Raymond Moody’s Life After Life many years ago, I appreciated that she began her research as a skeptic. A friend loaned me the book thinking I might be interested but she didn’t know that I have another friend who actually had one of these experiences during the birth of her second child. I am only one of 10-12 people she’s ever talked about the experience with because of the disbelief she encounters. And her experience is quite similar overall. It’s is a comfort to realize that death won’t be/doesn’t have to be scary and the idea of eternity makes me want to live a better and more loving, helpful life. We truly don’t have any thing else to look forward to as nothing we have in this material world goes with us but the people we care about. Thank you Judy for a thoughtful and well researched book. And I’m sorry for the loss of your mother.
September 3, 2022
Probably not a whole lot here for those well-read in books concerning the topic of what happens during the immediate aftermath of our deaths, but for a relatively new reader (of which I am one, having only read Dr Moody's seminal Life After Life otherwise), Judy Bachrach does do a really good job in exploring a range of experiences and theories, grounding all of it not so much in a religious context as much as a simply human context. There isn't much in here I struggled to agree with as a Christian, with a pretty traditional Catholic view of the afterlife, and it only sometimes ventures into weirder New Age stuff.
All in all, a respectable, as well as enjoyable and hopeful book that helps one address the still ambiguous question of what exactly dying will be like for those of us yet to glimpse beyond the veil.
All in all, a respectable, as well as enjoyable and hopeful book that helps one address the still ambiguous question of what exactly dying will be like for those of us yet to glimpse beyond the veil.
October 7, 2020
As the current update to the famous Life After Life by Ray Moody (2001), this investigative reporter finds many to interview. She holds serious conversations with NDE folks, their physicians, hospice workers, as well as specialists in Near Death Experience. I come away believing in these glimpses and it provides a very positive view of what after-life, i.e. heaven will be like. Yes, there are negative exposures from some, but the preponderance of evidence gives us a breathtaking view of the spiritual or, for believers, what is found in God's creation. What is most striking in her book are the diversity of stories, told by strong believers, lukewarm spiritualists, and outright atheists. All of them see wonder, vastness, and love. Good read!
June 25, 2025
I found her book to be quite interesting. I did struggle a bit to push through the Chapters because I felt they were a bit long. Although I could see why they would be since there is so much information, I imagine, that is particularly important for a topic such as this. I like that she included the two main pioneers in researching this topic and marking their importance in it. One of the Dr's is actually from Virginia which was really cool because I am from Virginia. I have always wondered what happens to us when we transition from this life and into "death." Our physical bodies are gone and no longer serve a purpose on earth and so begins a decaying stage. However, what about our essence, our souls, our beings. This book goes into details about many different people's experiences. I also find it very interesting that they coined the term near death experience and this book talks about how yes it's called that and yet the experiencers actually died all the way. It isn't near death it's actual death and also coming all the way back to life. There is also changes to those people after their experience. The NDE marks a before an after in these people's lives and so it's like there's a second chance that they are being given to live life. I also think it's important to note that the not so good experiences with dying and coming back to life were discussed.
February 21, 2024
I felt the author actually sounded a bit rude in her tone. I don't even usually write reviews but it really bothered me. She is writing about Nde's and made a comment that sounded like she was annoyed that people at the IANDS conference who had an NDE wanted to share their stories so bad. It just came across rather snobby. There is some good information in general as an introduction to NDE content here but I would reccomend getting your information from a different author as many seem to very genuinely love the topic they write about.
November 18, 2021
No, you won't find a definite answer in this book to the question, "Is there life after death?" No one can answer that. The way the author organizes individual stories and scientists' theories gives a well-rounded over-view of what could be happening, from a factual "other" reality to a bodily response to a mental response. What does happen when you die? This book provides information and makes you think.
February 23, 2025
With my mother just having passed, I really enjoyed this book. So many similarities in the stories, and some of the recounts telling stories of things that they couldn’t have been aware of otherwise. This is a book of stories of people who recounted what their ‘death’ experiences were like, but they were told it ‘wasn’t their time’. I believe them a bit more than some of the more published/well known stories. It gave me comfort to know that there was no pain during the experience involved.
December 14, 2017
It's nice to read about an event you have experienced. Just like two of the ladies in the book, I had an out of body experience during the birth of my second child. Reading about the similarities lets me know I am not alone. Great book. Read it in a day - which is unusual for me. My experience taught me that the body is a shell for the soul each of us have.
March 28, 2019
I felt like this was a good account of different near death experiences with some minor speculation about the science behind the experiences. I also liked that it didn't seem to favor any particular view of the after life. It just presented the accounts of various people and how their experiences played in a role in their lives.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews