Apskaidrotā nāve. Zinātnes atklājumi, kas izmainīs priekšstatus par dzīvi un nāvi

by Sam Parnia, Iveta Boiko (Translator)

Kas ar mums notiek, kad mēs mirstam?

Vai mūsu apziņa turpina dzīvot pēc nāves?

Šī nav grāmata par reliģiju vai filozofiju.

Tas ir zinātnisks, bet aizraujošs stāsts par nāvi, kurā šķetināti daži no svarīgākajiem jautājumiem cilvēces vēsturē. Autors atstāj lasītāja paša ziņā piešķirt jebkādu nozīmi vai izvēlēties ko darīt ar secinājumiem no revolucionāros pētījumos iegūtajiem datiem par smadzeņu impulsiem pat vairākas stundas pēc nāves vai no nāves pieredzi piedzīvojušo liecībām, kas pārsteidzošā veidā papildina cita citu.

Viņa atklājumi apgāž visus mūsu uzskatus un kultūrā iesakņojušos priekšstatus par to, kas ar mums notiek pēc nāves. Tas ir padziļināts skatījums uz nāvi kā ceļu uz pašas dzīves izpratni, kas rosina dzīvot mērķtiecīgāk un apzinātāk.

Nāve ir pavisam citāda, nekā tu domā.

Sems Parnija MD, PhD (Sam Parnia), zinātnieks un ārsts, vairāku starptautisku bestselleru autors, studējis medicīnu Sauthemptonas Universitātē, specializējies intensīvās aprūpes jomā Ņujorkā un ir pasaulē atzīts reanimācijas eksperts. Viens no atpazīstamākajiem speciālistiem, kas zinātniski pēta sirdsdarbības apstāšanos, nāvi un nāvei tuvo pieredzi.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Death

368 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2025

Reviews

[LIsa Noell "Rocking the chutzpah!" · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to Hachette Books, Sam Parnia and Netgalley.
I'll confess right here and now that I like "occasionally" books like this.
Most of my life I've been a lucid dreamer, and I have always believed that there was a reason for that. Turns out that I was wrong.
I guess I finally got so freaking sick that I couldn't dream anymore. I quit dreaming 3 years ago. I think that my body was tired of cannibalizing itself, that it finally decided to take my dreams too.
This was a book that I thought might help. Nope.
It's still a good book. I just hate the thought of dying without a dream.

[Gidi Rosenfeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is nothing but a contemporary Life After Life. There are many novel insights into Near-Death Experiences, or as the author calls them, Recalled Experiences of Death, or REDs. Indeed, many of the people who report these experiences were not "near death". By any meaningful metric, they were dead. This book provides very compelling evidence that NDEs/REDs are real phenomenon that we will all likely experience during the dying process. This does not mean they are proof of the afterlife or experiences of heaven or hell, but natural experiences that happen during death contaning a specific series of events thought to be universal. This alone is a profound finding, and transforms the dying process from something inherently unconscious to something that involves a conscious experience. Hence the title of the book, Lucid Dying.
Those looking for proof of life after death will not find much in this book. We will likely never have answers to the question of what happens after we die. But it is becoming clearer that a profound conscious inner process occurs post-mortem, and if we are to believe the anecdotes of those who have experienced the gray zone, this has implications for all of who are still living. One does not need to accept any particular metaphysical view to believe that we will all have this experience, and that when we die, we will ultimately face every single one of our actions.
Similarly, those open to the idea that consciousness is not created by the brain, but mediated by it, will appreciate some of the insights in this book. NDEs/REDs are one of the most compelling pieces of evidence we have for some form of dualism, as they occur during times of little-to-no brain activity. From a physicalist perspective there is indeed a discernable spike of activity that happens after/during death that may correlate to NDEs/REDs, but either way one must still confront the fact that a largely inactive brain can produce such a profound experience. One must also wonder what possible evolutionary advantage this could offer, as it does seemingly nothing for survival.
Approach this book with an open mind, and you will surely walk away with a greater appreciation of the mystery of consciousness, life and death.

[Lynn Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. In Lucid Dying, Dr Parnia provides scientific evidence for a "grey zone" of consciousness after the heart stops but before the patient is pronounced irretrievably dead. A small percentage of revived patients are able to remember and report the vivid experiences they had during this time - their "recalled experience of death." As a decades-long student and practitioner of Buddhism, these reports sounded very familiar to me - they match up with the experiences the Buddhist literature describes as awaiting us in the Bardo of the Between (between death and the next life) - for example, in the Tibetan Book of the Dead. One could say that the whole of Buddhist teaching is directed toward guiding us to live a selfless, compassionate and moral life NOW so that we can have a positive experience in the Bardo and beyond. The Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path is this guide. Buddhist meditation is not only a source of wisdom about our true nature and the true nature of reality, but also a preparation for dying, so that it can be experienced as lucidly and wisely as possible. Experienced Buddhist meditators are able to simulate the death experience while still alive - they experience the vast expansion of consciousness, then come back. I recommend anything written by Ajahn Brahm from Western Australia, or B.Alan Wallace from the USA. Also worth looking into for parallels is Jeffery A. Martin's scientifically validated research (USA) and training courses on non-dual experience. Morgue's book, Metarationalism (2024) provides an ontological mathematics model to explain the Source as Light experienced by Parnia's patients. To learn how to practice shamanic ascension, where one accesses the higher dimensions where a deceased loved one has journeyed, I recommend Michael Harner's book, Cave and Cosmos (2013).

[Lecy Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting topic but I struggled with the ethics of the studies shared in this book.
Resuscitating pig brains after the animal had been slaughtered seems….. wrong, and honestly, the descriptions of the animal experiments performed to study how the brain functions and can be kept alive after death were a bit too gruesome for me at times. Usually this type of book would be at the top of my list for interest's sake, but I struggled with this one. *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm about 3/4ths of the way through this book but I've stopped and won't be finishing it. I've lost my patience with the author. Not to mention that if I'd known that the book would be mostly focused on recounting NDE anecdotes I wouldn't have bought the silly thing at all. The book starts out very interesting - discussing research into "restarting" the brain after a significant time has passed. But then it flips to insisting that all NDEs follow the same map and that they are proof of some kind of life after death. I thought this book was about the process of death, how we've defined death over time, and what that could mean for how we see death in the future, including some discussion of whether there is an afterlife or whether our consciousness is larger, emergent property of the universe. I expected it to be heavily focused on research. But, in reality, the majority of the book is just recounting NDEs and pointing to them as irrefutable evidence there is an afterlife. This book shouldn't be described as being about the science of death in the marketing materials. It's too heavily lopsided towards NDE anecdotes to make that description accurate.

Aside from describing NDEs, Mr. Parnia spends the bulk of the book ranting about NDE skeptics being biased and closed minded but spent no time reflecting on how his own biases and previous beliefs are driving his conclusions and assumptions. If I had the time, energy, or desire, I could point out Mr. Parnia's biases point-by-point through the book. I won't be doing that but I will point out a few things:

First, Mr. Parnia insists that all NDEs follow a very specific format. But the NDEs he chose to include in this book are very obviously cherry picked. Why is Mr. Parnia turning a blind eye to the NDEs that are profoundly awful and/or don't follow his positive, proscriptive pattern? Secondly, Mr. Parnia could stand to reflect upon the trajectory of how aliens have been described over the course of history. The trend of skinny, large head, big eye, gray/green aliens arose with the influence of popular media that depicted them that way. An expectation was created by the media and people responded to it - possibly unconsciously. Mr. Parnia should reflect on this trend and how it could have implications for the patterns he sees in NDEs. Perhaps the patterns he's noticed are the result of what people expect to happen in those situations and how their brains interpret their experiences based on those expectations. Third, Mr. Parnia should reconsider how heavily he leans on shockingly few anecdotes. One person feeling as if they're separate from their brain after a concussion does some really heavy lifting in the chapters I did manage to stomach before setting the book down. Why? Is the supporting evidence for the claims in this book really that thin and weak?

My only real take away from this book is that, if described accurately and honestly, there is some interesting research happening that could have positive impacts on health outcomes. Hopefully those pig-brain studies lead to protocols that end anoxic brain injuries or that allow us to preserve life past the point we're able to now. Beyond that, I fear this book wasted my time and I regret buying it.

[Lisa J Shultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read multiple books that touch upon the topic of what happens after death from those who have been brought back to life after their heart stopped. I like learning about their experience and contemplating what it all means.
I particularly liked the last chapter of the book. The author wants others to study the passage of death, the grey zone, as he calls it. "Placing a magnifying glass on what happens in the grey zone of death-during our transition from life to death-has started to inform us about the intriguing biology of life and death medically and has also brought a new perspective and raised more questions regarding the experiencing brain."
And, "What has become clear to me from my research is that what matters the most during our lives is the development and growth of our humanity. The real question, then, is: How should I live my life today in a way to accomplish this objective? It is within this context that I would seek to define the meaning and purpose of our lives and the role of spirituality." I like that!

[Izzy Eardstapa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is powerful book, however, the way in which the author approaches psychedelic research toward the end of the work is dismissive, reductive, and altogether a fine example of confirmation bias in action. I am not a purveyor of psychedelics or psychedelic therapy, but I believe a majority of readers engaging in the literature of NDEs have enough general knowledge of the subject to register that psychedelics offer the individual (or the researcher) more than “space aliens” and a “laser show.”

Lucid Dying included no discussion of ego death or of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire, which has shown that there are significant commonalities between NDEs and drug-induced mystical states. We cannot afford to negate entire fields of study because they challenge our personal working models.

That being said, I deeply enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to those in my orbit!

[Mitchell Chiles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot and the reading was very interesting. About halfway through I noticed the same lists and topics coming up over and over. Then the book went on the offensive towards why other scientists are wrong, which is fine but was a little preachy. I wasn't sure how you'd navigate religion in here but I'd say you did well in your approach.

[Paul Sutter]

There is one constant in life, which is we all are going to die eventually. Benjamin Franklin once uttered the famous quote, “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Sam Parnia takes a very deep dive into the subject of death, but rather than turning the book into a bland and depressing read, he take it to a most elevated level, looking at how the subject of death is perhaps not as ambiguous as we once thought. He looks at the scientific literature about the end of life, but the end of life is being challenged, by the fact there have been episodes where people have returned from the dark pale of life.
This does not equate the analogy with horror movies, where people turn into the walking dead. Rather, those declared clinically dead have rallied back to the world of the living, often complete with stories of what they experienced when their heart had ceased beating. Parnia is the Director of Critical Care and Resuscitation Research at the New York University School of Medicine. Within the pages of the book, are numerous occurrences and studies of people whose brains were dead, but exhibited strong surges of electrical activity several minutes after the heart has stopped beating. There is also studies of the brains of pigs after death, discovering there is function that can be brought back even fourteen hours later.
The author looks at past cultures who were trying to come to terms with death and reverse the process, even going so far as to try using fireplace bellows to blow air into the bodies of drowning victims. Some ancient cultures used whipping techniques or blowing smoke in the dead to restore life. Near death experiences are also discussed, and there has often been talk of people who have rallied back for almost certain death. Parnia notes there are eleven common themes in such experiences. Among them are: encountering a being of light, going through a tunnel, seeing they had reached a border or limit, returning to the body, and feelings of peace among them.
It is quite fascinating, those who have had such experiences all offer similar things, giving credence to the notion there is something possibly beyond mortal comprehension, when we do cross over into death and are resuscitated. Another fascinating area mentioned is autoscopy, which is the act of seeing a double of oneself, sort of like a doppelganger. As the brain seemed to be shutting down, many swore they saw themselves observing themselves.
There is hardly a page of the book, that does not offer truly impressive accounts of life, death, and possibly life again after apparent death. It is a mesmerizing book, difficult to put down, but one that keeps going over in your mind long after finishing. It offers science and fact melding together to offer scientific fact about life and death and so much more.

[Suzanne Pender · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was mostly interested in the new research across commonalities in life after death experiences. One of the most fascinating parts is the life review, that for many, included even minor events they had forgotten about. One person, for instance, recalled her pet guinea pig biting her finger after which she threw the little animal on the couch. She not only reviewed the event, she experienced it from the viewpoint of the frightened guinea pig, who was afraid when he bit and by her reaction.

A chapter titled “Needed to Do More: Not As Good As I Thought,” examines the 12 sub themes of the life review, such as: reviewing all of the life events in the presence of a compassionate, loving, luminous being; whatever harm and good done was to oneself; reexperience events from mundane to extreme; need to do better, meaning the purpose of life was to improve themselves as human beings; experiencing behaviors from others’ points of view; big impacts of small actions; small acts of kindness have huge impacts; they wish they had understood their higher purpose so they could have lived more meaningfully…. Also that not only actions, but thoughts are also known and reviewed and thoughts themselves also have impacts! Many say that they felt the pain they caused others and feel the most important thing in life was to take opportunities to help others even if they are the most difficult options. This also applies to animals…

The shared components of those who experience life after death:
1. Vast expansion of consciousness
2. Separation from body with external visual awareness
3. Liberation and weightlessness
4. Hovering or floating around the body
5. Observing body from above
6. Becoming detached from events and body
7. Realization of having died
8. Lucidity wiht reason and clarity of thought
9. Initial confusion (goes away)
10. Taking on transparent or light form
11. 360 degree vision
12. Consciousness pervading everting
13. Shedding the body
14. Connection by a metaphorical cord
15. Selfhood and consciousness not the same as the body

I skimmed through other sections of research (some animal research I didn’t want to read) and consciousness and some became redundant, but overall an interesting book.

[Justin Harnish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parnia's offering on "Lucid Dying" is timely and one of the first serious pieces I've seen on the idea that we might be able to hone our conscious awareness when coming upon what I call the "Great Distinction." Parnia also starts in a compelling way, showcasing research done on reviving pig brain functionality long after good sense would believe it possible. The ethical question of conscious suffering of pig brain's in vats slows the researchers from not sedating these brains below the coma level, but the inference is clear that it is likely some conscious experience was consistent before brain resuscitation, the pig was lucid during death.

Parnia goes onto show a negative experiment where reports of near-death experiences failed to recall symbols placed where they could only be remotely viewed. Unfortunately, for the rest of the book, Parnia goes on to blast the scientific community for not having the insight to see that death is likely conscious in times and ways not backed by evidence. Parnia wants this conjecture to be true more than he proves it and it's hard to read. There are numerous lists to nowhere that make conjecture from NDE anecdotes that have not been proven consistent. There is more to discover here and Parnia will likely be on the front lines, but this book is not the final but more the first argument.

[Giada Da Ros]

Sam Parnia è un medico che ha dedicato la vita professionale a studiare da un punto di vista scientifico i cosiddetti casi di pre-morte o quelle che più propriamente chiama RED -
recalled experiences of death.

Invita a non pensare a vita e morte in termini binari. Morire è come entrare nell'oceano, non sei immediatamente tutto sommerso, ma c'è una "zona grigia" dalla quale con la tecnologia in evoluzione in futuro saremo in grado di tornare.

L'analisi di moltissime testimonianze lo porta a spiegare cosa persone di età, periodi, zone geografiche e credenze diverse riportano in modo uniforme nelle RED: ipercoscienza;
visone a 360 gradi; conoscenza di tutto e riconoscimento di più elevati livelli di saggezza; essere accompagnati da figure luminose e amorevoli; riviere tutto, anche i dettagli, facendo esperienza di tutte le emozioni e i pensieri che gli altri hanno avuto rispetto ai propri comportamenti;
autovalutazione etico-morale...quello che conta è come ci si è comportati e le intenzioni. Essere nel nostro corpo è come essere nella caverna di Platone.

Ci si interroga sulla coscienza: è davvero un' emanazione del cervello o qualcosa di diverso?
Una lettura affascinante.

[Joe Bedell · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Lucid Dying” is a fascinating, rigorously researched look into what happens when we die, blending compelling patient stories with groundbreaking science. Dr. Sam Parnia’s work with Recalled Experiences of Death (RED) uses controlled experiments and real accounts from people revived after cardiac arrest, revealing that consciousness may persist beyond clinical death. The book’s clear explanations of brain activity during these moments challenge our understanding of life’s end and open the door to new perspectives on consciousness.

What sets this book apart is its balance of scientific evidence and human experience. Parnia doesn’t claim to have proven the afterlife, but his findings are both thought-provoking and hopeful, suggesting that dying can be a lucid and meaningful process. *Lucid Dying* is a must-read for anyone curious about life’s greatest mystery—insightful, accessible, and truly paradigm-shifting.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book you will be thinking about for a long time. It references many other authoritative experts, lending significant credibility to topics that could very easily raise a skeptical reaction.

I would say this book is written in 3 parts and I might have changed to order of parts 1 and 2 to better prepare the reader for the shocking, relatively recent scientific discoveries summarized in section 1.

1: recent scientific learning related to the brain and death
2: summary of thousands of people’s recalled experiences of death, highlighting the commonality between them all
3: interpreting parts 1 and 2 from different fair and logical perspectives: historical, skeptical, medical, religious

I would have given it 5 stars except for what seemed to me to be a shortfall in editing that allowed too much repetition. Maybe the repetition is intentional to ensure the reader fully grasps significant concepts from different angles, but I found it unnecessary and cumbersome.

[Mark Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started well with objective fact-based research. But in the end, he let his subjective Eastern worldview of "past lives" with the implication of reincarnation slip in while downplaying experiences of terror and hostile supernatural beings to the same subjective worldview he injects. The belief of immaterial existance after the physical "soft machine" expires is very reasonable. And his ability to explain that the mind, person, individual is not the result of a phyiscal component of the machine (the brain) but a separate entity not dependent upon phyiscal or chemical interaction or exchanges is well founded - like reason or logic. Both are real but both are immaterial.

[Scott E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The overall arc of the book is fascinating. I was very much a skeptic starting off, but by the end was open to the idea that the brain and self/psyche have a more complicated relationship than just biology. I could have done without the last chapter where the author delves into his personal lessons from the research (conclusions which are seeded throughout so not particularly helpful). I sometimes found myself thinking he stretched in his interpretation of the data/experiences to convince the reader the “science” drove his analysis. But even with those caveats, I found it very thought provoking and worthwhile.

[Richard Pohlmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book outlining research of patients with near death events. It outlines various questions regarding death and how we keep pushing the limits of how to define it. I haven’t been exposed to this subject in the past and thought it was really interesting. The book gets less interesting towards the end as the author argues his view over more traditional view of consciousness and death. Overall it’s a good read that’d I’d recommend for people interested in this subject.

[lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

He definitely did his research and there is a good amount of science reported, perhaps all that can be. After halftime it turns to a lot of testimony which got boring to me. And the reliability of ancient wisdom and testimonies is hard for me to accept from a scientific perspective. He did the best he could with the subject material, a good job, but I guess I wasn’t as interested in this as I thought I’d be. Again probably bc the emphasis on the foofoo stuff.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out with strong research and seemed to be going the distance to change the narrative on what happens at death. Around the halfway point it turned more to anecdotal information and then a course on the history of the afterlife.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC of this book.

[Chris M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be clear, it's not a bad book. On the contrary, the information is sound and based on the latest research in the field of neuroscience. The information about NDEs was objectively good, but if you follow science journals like Nature, then you will likely not learn much in the way of new information. It seems like this book was written for a general audience, but it still has a lot of value.

[theearthpeoples · Rating 2 out of 5]

Half way through, when he represented the possibility in physics that there might be more dimensions than space and time as a fact, I lost faith in how scientific his accounts are. This is by no means a consensus , let alone a fact. I don't mind a book full of speculations, but when the title contains the word "science", I expect the author to spell out the line between science and speculation.

[Michael Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is a fascinating exploration of death and existence. The author investigates Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) and their implications. Delving into the realities of death and our subsequent experiences, it comes highly recommended for those intrigued by the subject of mortality.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

required reading

Stay up on what’s happening in the evolution of consciousness. Not only does dying affect us all, so do the choices you make while living. Make this a choice on your reading list.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very interesting, often repetitive, but very thought-provoking. I especially liked the science in the early going, and the philosophy and ethics at the end.
Fair warning, I've had an NDE, too.

[Johan Kristensson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fascinating research. Started out interesting, but was too repetitious and speculative for my liking. Would have been much better if reduced to a roughly a third of the length with more focus on the science.

[Asher · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I found much of the book interesting, especially the descriptions of the more liminal state between life and death being much wider than previously assumed, it felt too long and repetitious in sections. Much to consider ethically.

[sheila compton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humanity's never ending journey

Profound insight into human existence that is life and death-changing for an open mind willing to embrace a neglected scientific field.

[Kirsty Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book. Loved it and wish there had been more personal testimony included with stories of those who've experienced REDs

[Malum · Rating 5 out of 5]

He almost lost me at the beginning when he was focusing on reviving pig brains, but he pulls it all together and presents a lot of interesting information on NDE studies.

[sheerin · Rating 3 out of 5]

this guy has An Opinion and this whole book is him trying to prove it and u know what. respect the dedication