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The Incredible Afterlives of Dr. Stevenson: One Scientist's Epic Quest for Evidence of Reincarnation, Apparitions, Poltergeists, and Other Matters of the Soul
The untold story of an iconoclastic scientist: a psychiatrist who dedicated his career to documenting consciousness after death.
While Ian Stevenson (1918–2007) was an academic psychiatrist with a serious demeanor, right down to his three-piece suits and wingtip shoes, he made his name researching an unusual topic for a behavioral scientist: the afterlife. For over four decades, Stevenson traveled the globe investigating cases of reincarnation, apparitions, possessions, and near-death experiences. At the time of his death, Stevenson was widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in parapsychology, a field devoted to psychic phenomena and paranormal experiences.
Set against the colorful backdrop of parapsychology's rise and fall, from Victorian seances to modern media spectacles, The Incredible Afterlives of Dr. Stevenson captures Stevenson's relentless quest for evidence of consciousness beyond the grave. Jesse Bering, himself a psychologist, interweaves Stevenson's research with vivid stories of the larger-than-life characters who shaped his path—from Eileen Garrett, the fearless medium, to Chester Carlson, the inventor of Xerox photocopying and Stevenson's unlikely patron. Through never-before-seen letters and candid interviews with Stevenson's surviving family members, readers glimpse the inner turmoil of a scientist struggling to balance his revolutionary ideas with the skepticism of his academic peers as well as those closest to him. Along the way, Bering, a researcher whose own trailblazing work on the psychology of afterlife beliefs had led him to believe it was all just an illusion, is forced to rethink his own worldview. Are psychic phenomena examples of our living brains giving credence to the absurd? Or tantalizing glimmers of life after death?
Equal parts scientific detective story and intimate biography, The Incredible Afterlives of Dr. Stevenson shines a light on a significant figure whose life and work have not yet been fully explored. Bering boldly confronts readers with the complicated legacy of a man who many see as a Galileo-like rebel with groundbreaking ideas, ones that still have the power to upend everything we know about what it means to be human.
While Ian Stevenson (1918–2007) was an academic psychiatrist with a serious demeanor, right down to his three-piece suits and wingtip shoes, he made his name researching an unusual topic for a behavioral scientist: the afterlife. For over four decades, Stevenson traveled the globe investigating cases of reincarnation, apparitions, possessions, and near-death experiences. At the time of his death, Stevenson was widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in parapsychology, a field devoted to psychic phenomena and paranormal experiences.
Set against the colorful backdrop of parapsychology's rise and fall, from Victorian seances to modern media spectacles, The Incredible Afterlives of Dr. Stevenson captures Stevenson's relentless quest for evidence of consciousness beyond the grave. Jesse Bering, himself a psychologist, interweaves Stevenson's research with vivid stories of the larger-than-life characters who shaped his path—from Eileen Garrett, the fearless medium, to Chester Carlson, the inventor of Xerox photocopying and Stevenson's unlikely patron. Through never-before-seen letters and candid interviews with Stevenson's surviving family members, readers glimpse the inner turmoil of a scientist struggling to balance his revolutionary ideas with the skepticism of his academic peers as well as those closest to him. Along the way, Bering, a researcher whose own trailblazing work on the psychology of afterlife beliefs had led him to believe it was all just an illusion, is forced to rethink his own worldview. Are psychic phenomena examples of our living brains giving credence to the absurd? Or tantalizing glimmers of life after death?
Equal parts scientific detective story and intimate biography, The Incredible Afterlives of Dr. Stevenson shines a light on a significant figure whose life and work have not yet been fully explored. Bering boldly confronts readers with the complicated legacy of a man who many see as a Galileo-like rebel with groundbreaking ideas, ones that still have the power to upend everything we know about what it means to be human.
- GenresScience
472 pages, Hardcover
Published April 22, 2026
About the author
Jesse Bering
6 books285 followersJesse Bering is an experimental psychologist and a leading scholar in the cognitive science of religion. He is also an essayist and science writer specializing in evolution and human behavior. His first book, The Belief Instinct (W. W. Norton, 2011), was included in the American Library Association’s Top 25 Books of the Year and voted one of the “11 Best Psychology Books of 2011” by The Atlantic. This was followed by a collection of his Webby-award nominated essays, Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That? (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2012), and Perv (2013, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux), a taboo-breaking work that received widespread critical acclaim and was named as a New York Times Editor’s Choice. His most recent book was A Very Human Ending (Doubleday, 2018).
Bering’s writings have been translated into many different languages and reviewed in The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and many other outlets. He has also been featured in numerous documentaries and radio programs, including Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, Conan, Chelsea Lately, Q&A (Australia), and NPR’s All Things Considered.
Bering is Director of the Centre for Science Communication at the University of Otago. He lives in Dunedin, New Zealand with his partner, Juan, and their two cheeky border terriers, Hanno and Kora.
Bering’s writings have been translated into many different languages and reviewed in The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and many other outlets. He has also been featured in numerous documentaries and radio programs, including Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, Conan, Chelsea Lately, Q&A (Australia), and NPR’s All Things Considered.
Bering is Director of the Centre for Science Communication at the University of Otago. He lives in Dunedin, New Zealand with his partner, Juan, and their two cheeky border terriers, Hanno and Kora.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy"
—William Shakespeare, Hamlet
“We can define a scientist as someone who is constantly thinking of alternative explanations.”
“It seems to me the main issue of concern is whether extrasensory perception is a subject fit in a university. Since the subject concerns human phenomena which call for some explanation, it seems to me that a university is the best place for their study. No one is being asked to believe anything about the phenomena in question other than that they deserve study. Many sensible people have examined the evidence on this subject and have reserved judgment. But I regret to note that many others have not examined the evidence and do not reserve judgment. These people it seems to me are in danger of violating the spirit of free inquiry which ought to guide every university . . .”
—Dr. Ian Stevenson
According to his University of Otago website profile, the author of this book, research psychologist and Department-of-Science-Communication Head Jesse Bering, primarily investigates “the cognitive science of religion” with a particular focus “on the cognitive underpinnings of afterlife beliefs.” He’s recently used controlled studies “to explore people's ability to cognitively reconcile religious and scientific beliefs when they are faced directly with experiences or information that challenges their worldviews.”
Given Bering’s research interests, it comes as no surprise that he should choose to write a biography of sorts about the professional life of Ian Stevenson (1918-2007), a controversial Canadian-born psychiatrist who chaired the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Virginia School of Medicine (1957-1967), quietly and doggedly attempted to examine paranormal phenomena through a scientific lens, and struggled to have parapsychology accepted as worthy of academic study. Best known for his travels around the world to investigate reincarnation, collecting more than 3000 cases involving young children’s memories of past lives, Stevenson also looked into near death experiences, apparitions, mediumship, ESP, precognition, dreams, psychedelics and altered states. He disdained popular nonfiction and tabloid sensationalization of this subject matter and saw past-life hypnotic regression as a misguided approach to the study of reincarnation. Given his concern about the way the media presented stories about psychic phenomena and matters related to the afterlife, he was cautious about granting interviews. However, in order to fund his study of unusual phenomena, he determinedly pursued wealthy philanthropists interested in parapsychology. His most notable benefactor was the astronomically rich Chester Carlson, who invented xerography (what we now call photocopying).
To my recollection, I have never read a biography dedicated to the work, challenges, and travails of a scientific researcher, never mind a maverick like Stevenson. While I was familiar with his name before reading this rich and stimulating book, I knew very little of Stevenson’s life, research methods, or personal views. Bering covers all of these topics and more. His style is lively, engaging, and humorous. An added bonus is that the author occasionally supplies information about his own research and personal experiences that is relevant to the subject matter.
Stevenson had a privileged upbringing in Ottawa with a political journalist father and Theosophist mother. Bering suggests that Stevenson’s early exposure to Theosophy—a religious movement drawing on a number of spiritual traditions, including Hinduism and Buddhism—likely set the stage for his investigations into reincarnation later in life. Stevenson was a sickly child, studious and solitary. There’s little doubt that the chronic bronchiectasis he developed in infancy steered him towards a career in medicine. Bering goes on to trace the physician’s career, from his early research in the area of psychosomatic medicine to his achievements as a respected clinical psychiatrist, and finally his work as a careful investigator of unusual psychic states and phenomena.
Early on, Stevenson admired such medical iconoclasts as William Harvey, who challenged medical dogma with his studies on the human circulatory system, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, who, in arguing that childbed (puerperal) fever was a contagious disease spread by doctors, anticipated the germ theory of disease. Both men had met with significant derision by the medical establishment. Stevenson would, as well. Ultimately, however, he succeeded in having his own University of Virginia research group, now known as the Division of Perceptual Studies. “Devoted to the rigorous evaluation of empirical evidence for extraordinary human experiences and capacities,” its primary focus is the investigation of “the mind’s relationship to the body and the possibility of consciousness surviving physical death.” Needless to say, this work “involves studying phenomena that challenge mainstream scientific paradigms regarding the nature of human consciousness.”
Last year, I read a Sun Magazine interview with pediatric psychiatrist Jim B. Tucker who was at the helm of the Division of Perceptual Studies at UVA from 2014 until his retirement in late 2024. It concerned Tucker’s investigation into children’s memories of previous lives. I was eager to read more about Stevenson who pioneered this work, and I jumped at the chance to read a prepublication copy of Bering’s book. To be clear, I am not a believer in reincarnation, but some of the cases Tucker cited are compelling and, I think, worthy of study. Something is going on. What it is, I don’t know. In my time as a teacher and observer of young children, I was often curious about certain kids’ mysteriously intense interests and encyclopedic knowledge of specific subject matter. How could it be explained? Where did it come from?
While I cannot say my views about reincarnation have changed—I’m possibly slightly more skeptical now than I was before reading this book— I can say I found the material presented to be thought provoking. Stevenson’s personal evolution from respected psychiatrist to more-or-less fringe researcher, his methodology, and ideas all intrigued. Having said that, I’ll add that I was occasionally frustrated. With notes, Bering’s book runs to 442 pages, and the larger story of psychical research in the US (and, to some extent, the UK)—including accounts of societies formed, professional rivalries, and the courting of donors to fund scientific investigation—that makes up a significant portion of this book did not engage me.
With a few reservations, I recommend this book.
A solid 3.5, somewhat reluctantly rounded up.
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy"
—William Shakespeare, Hamlet
“We can define a scientist as someone who is constantly thinking of alternative explanations.”
“It seems to me the main issue of concern is whether extrasensory perception is a subject fit in a university. Since the subject concerns human phenomena which call for some explanation, it seems to me that a university is the best place for their study. No one is being asked to believe anything about the phenomena in question other than that they deserve study. Many sensible people have examined the evidence on this subject and have reserved judgment. But I regret to note that many others have not examined the evidence and do not reserve judgment. These people it seems to me are in danger of violating the spirit of free inquiry which ought to guide every university . . .”
—Dr. Ian Stevenson
According to his University of Otago website profile, the author of this book, research psychologist and Department-of-Science-Communication Head Jesse Bering, primarily investigates “the cognitive science of religion” with a particular focus “on the cognitive underpinnings of afterlife beliefs.” He’s recently used controlled studies “to explore people's ability to cognitively reconcile religious and scientific beliefs when they are faced directly with experiences or information that challenges their worldviews.”
Given Bering’s research interests, it comes as no surprise that he should choose to write a biography of sorts about the professional life of Ian Stevenson (1918-2007), a controversial Canadian-born psychiatrist who chaired the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Virginia School of Medicine (1957-1967), quietly and doggedly attempted to examine paranormal phenomena through a scientific lens, and struggled to have parapsychology accepted as worthy of academic study. Best known for his travels around the world to investigate reincarnation, collecting more than 3000 cases involving young children’s memories of past lives, Stevenson also looked into near death experiences, apparitions, mediumship, ESP, precognition, dreams, psychedelics and altered states. He disdained popular nonfiction and tabloid sensationalization of this subject matter and saw past-life hypnotic regression as a misguided approach to the study of reincarnation. Given his concern about the way the media presented stories about psychic phenomena and matters related to the afterlife, he was cautious about granting interviews. However, in order to fund his study of unusual phenomena, he determinedly pursued wealthy philanthropists interested in parapsychology. His most notable benefactor was the astronomically rich Chester Carlson, who invented xerography (what we now call photocopying).
To my recollection, I have never read a biography dedicated to the work, challenges, and travails of a scientific researcher, never mind a maverick like Stevenson. While I was familiar with his name before reading this rich and stimulating book, I knew very little of Stevenson’s life, research methods, or personal views. Bering covers all of these topics and more. His style is lively, engaging, and humorous. An added bonus is that the author occasionally supplies information about his own research and personal experiences that is relevant to the subject matter.
Stevenson had a privileged upbringing in Ottawa with a political journalist father and Theosophist mother. Bering suggests that Stevenson’s early exposure to Theosophy—a religious movement drawing on a number of spiritual traditions, including Hinduism and Buddhism—likely set the stage for his investigations into reincarnation later in life. Stevenson was a sickly child, studious and solitary. There’s little doubt that the chronic bronchiectasis he developed in infancy steered him towards a career in medicine. Bering goes on to trace the physician’s career, from his early research in the area of psychosomatic medicine to his achievements as a respected clinical psychiatrist, and finally his work as a careful investigator of unusual psychic states and phenomena.
Early on, Stevenson admired such medical iconoclasts as William Harvey, who challenged medical dogma with his studies on the human circulatory system, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, who, in arguing that childbed (puerperal) fever was a contagious disease spread by doctors, anticipated the germ theory of disease. Both men had met with significant derision by the medical establishment. Stevenson would, as well. Ultimately, however, he succeeded in having his own University of Virginia research group, now known as the Division of Perceptual Studies. “Devoted to the rigorous evaluation of empirical evidence for extraordinary human experiences and capacities,” its primary focus is the investigation of “the mind’s relationship to the body and the possibility of consciousness surviving physical death.” Needless to say, this work “involves studying phenomena that challenge mainstream scientific paradigms regarding the nature of human consciousness.”
Last year, I read a Sun Magazine interview with pediatric psychiatrist Jim B. Tucker who was at the helm of the Division of Perceptual Studies at UVA from 2014 until his retirement in late 2024. It concerned Tucker’s investigation into children’s memories of previous lives. I was eager to read more about Stevenson who pioneered this work, and I jumped at the chance to read a prepublication copy of Bering’s book. To be clear, I am not a believer in reincarnation, but some of the cases Tucker cited are compelling and, I think, worthy of study. Something is going on. What it is, I don’t know. In my time as a teacher and observer of young children, I was often curious about certain kids’ mysteriously intense interests and encyclopedic knowledge of specific subject matter. How could it be explained? Where did it come from?
While I cannot say my views about reincarnation have changed—I’m possibly slightly more skeptical now than I was before reading this book— I can say I found the material presented to be thought provoking. Stevenson’s personal evolution from respected psychiatrist to more-or-less fringe researcher, his methodology, and ideas all intrigued. Having said that, I’ll add that I was occasionally frustrated. With notes, Bering’s book runs to 442 pages, and the larger story of psychical research in the US (and, to some extent, the UK)—including accounts of societies formed, professional rivalries, and the courting of donors to fund scientific investigation—that makes up a significant portion of this book did not engage me.
With a few reservations, I recommend this book.
A solid 3.5, somewhat reluctantly rounded up.
May 25, 2026
I can’t wrap my mind around death. Freud knew that the unconscious will never accept it. Science provides the facts of death and philosophy does its best to comprehend them, but the undiscovered country still lies beyond. That’s what terrifies me every day. The heaven or hell of some god or another, karmic rewards or punishments through another embodied life, or some entirely unfamiliar netherworld. My nightmares, products as they are, of the unconscious, tell me I’ll live forever.
Luckily for me a Darwinian understanding of life easily brushes aside religious based views of the afterlife and nightmare of being myself for all eternity. But dispensing with myth and religion isn’t enough assurance. Science might have more to say. By destroying teleology, a Darwinian perspective might be suggestive that there is nothing after death, but that’s no guarantee for those of us who think oblivion might be preferred to the spookier alternatives.
I needed someone I could trust to lay it out for me, by taking seriously the possibilities that many physicalists refuse to even consider. Because an unchallenged belief in oblivion has no business providing someone like me any more comfort than the belief in rapture provides for a convinced Christian.
Jesse Bering’s earlier works: ‘The Belief Instinct’ and ‘A Very Human Ending’ were both great companions, helping me to think through big questions: belief in divine purpose seemingly built into our psyche and death unable to be truly comprehended or accepted by it.
This new book is both a challenge and a comfort. It looks deeply at Ian Stevenson, a man who, like Darwin and Freud, was driven by loss and an awareness of suffering but didn’t turn to the easy answers of ancient religions or new spiritualities, instead using science and reason to interrogate our existence.
Bering carefully follows Stevenson through his life and research with an open, yet cautious mind. He asks the right questions about the psychiatrist’s life, never hiding the interests and motives that drove Stevenson as a young man or as a sometimes anti-establishment scientist. In presenting a full, thoroughly researched view of Stevenson, Bering reveals what an honest, genuine seeker he was.
The story of Stevenson and the others he crossed paths with along the way: colleagues, benefactors, and friends, is a very human story, yet it doesn’t allow our belief instincts to prevent the scientist from doing his work. That’s why it can be trusted and taken seriously, unlike the tales told by those all too ready to spoon feed feel good conclusions to a public desperate to buy them.
Ian Stevenson took possibly the closest, most honest and meticulous look ever at the possibility of personal survival after death. It is presented fairly in this book: both a fascinating, well-told biography and a conversation with the reader about the most serious matters of life and death. As I read I found myself asking questions that in the next paragraph would be raised and addressed by Bering in a satisfying if not conclusive way.
What I came closer to is the value of earned consideration rather than quick disregard, placing honesty above reaching the comfort of final conclusions. And also a deep respect for the lives and work of Stevenson and those who supported him, along with an even higher regard for Jesse Bering, whose writing accompanies his readers through hard questions and makes the in-depth research that tries to answer them entertaining and illuminating, offering us a safe ground to walk on when we don’t know where or if our journey will end.
Luckily for me a Darwinian understanding of life easily brushes aside religious based views of the afterlife and nightmare of being myself for all eternity. But dispensing with myth and religion isn’t enough assurance. Science might have more to say. By destroying teleology, a Darwinian perspective might be suggestive that there is nothing after death, but that’s no guarantee for those of us who think oblivion might be preferred to the spookier alternatives.
I needed someone I could trust to lay it out for me, by taking seriously the possibilities that many physicalists refuse to even consider. Because an unchallenged belief in oblivion has no business providing someone like me any more comfort than the belief in rapture provides for a convinced Christian.
Jesse Bering’s earlier works: ‘The Belief Instinct’ and ‘A Very Human Ending’ were both great companions, helping me to think through big questions: belief in divine purpose seemingly built into our psyche and death unable to be truly comprehended or accepted by it.
This new book is both a challenge and a comfort. It looks deeply at Ian Stevenson, a man who, like Darwin and Freud, was driven by loss and an awareness of suffering but didn’t turn to the easy answers of ancient religions or new spiritualities, instead using science and reason to interrogate our existence.
Bering carefully follows Stevenson through his life and research with an open, yet cautious mind. He asks the right questions about the psychiatrist’s life, never hiding the interests and motives that drove Stevenson as a young man or as a sometimes anti-establishment scientist. In presenting a full, thoroughly researched view of Stevenson, Bering reveals what an honest, genuine seeker he was.
The story of Stevenson and the others he crossed paths with along the way: colleagues, benefactors, and friends, is a very human story, yet it doesn’t allow our belief instincts to prevent the scientist from doing his work. That’s why it can be trusted and taken seriously, unlike the tales told by those all too ready to spoon feed feel good conclusions to a public desperate to buy them.
Ian Stevenson took possibly the closest, most honest and meticulous look ever at the possibility of personal survival after death. It is presented fairly in this book: both a fascinating, well-told biography and a conversation with the reader about the most serious matters of life and death. As I read I found myself asking questions that in the next paragraph would be raised and addressed by Bering in a satisfying if not conclusive way.
What I came closer to is the value of earned consideration rather than quick disregard, placing honesty above reaching the comfort of final conclusions. And also a deep respect for the lives and work of Stevenson and those who supported him, along with an even higher regard for Jesse Bering, whose writing accompanies his readers through hard questions and makes the in-depth research that tries to answer them entertaining and illuminating, offering us a safe ground to walk on when we don’t know where or if our journey will end.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I went into this book knowing almost nothing about parapsychology, knowing exactly nothing about Dr. Ian Stevenson, and having only basic background knowledge in theories of reincarnation, seances, and mediumship and how they have been studied scientifically. I came out of this book being much more informed and feeling like I had taken a bit of a whirlwind crash course in the world of parapsychology.
While this book did focus on Dr. Ian Stevenson's work, because of his role in its early days, this book really read as an overview anthology of the work of parapsychologists and the birth of the field, rather than a book about Ian Stevenson specifically. Yes, there were mentions of family and relations, but it was a biography of his work rather than the man himself. I didn't feel as though I knew Stevenson as a person any more going out than I did going in, which did tend to make the personal details, such as his relationship with his first wife, seem a little out of place in the overall scheme of things.
That being said, this was a fabulous book about the study of parapsychology and Dr. Ian Stevenson's work. The book was well researched, and the quips from the author made it a joy to read, especially when the author and I had the same feelings on a case etc. Dr. Stevenson's work was made easily digestible without being oversimplified, which I find is extremely difficult to do, and shows that Dr. Bering has a deep understanding of the man and the field that he has written about. I appreciated where he called out poor research methods, while equally pointing out methods which were solid, and I commend him for approaching this field with an open mind, as it made it that much more digestable for the reader. While I found that this book wasn't what I'd originally thought it would be about (I originally thought it would be more of a personal biography of Dr. Stevenson), the presentation of the subject made me want to keep reading and learning about the impact of this man and to examine my own conceptions of the afterlife. Similarly, I didn't find myself especially bored during any point of this book, and the pacing was very good, dwelling on each subject and person for the perfect amount of time, reflecting their significance in Ian's work and limited personal life. The pacing remained well structured even during description of cases and theories within psychology, which made it that much easier to want to continue reading.
Overall, a very good work and one I enjoyed reading.
While this book did focus on Dr. Ian Stevenson's work, because of his role in its early days, this book really read as an overview anthology of the work of parapsychologists and the birth of the field, rather than a book about Ian Stevenson specifically. Yes, there were mentions of family and relations, but it was a biography of his work rather than the man himself. I didn't feel as though I knew Stevenson as a person any more going out than I did going in, which did tend to make the personal details, such as his relationship with his first wife, seem a little out of place in the overall scheme of things.
That being said, this was a fabulous book about the study of parapsychology and Dr. Ian Stevenson's work. The book was well researched, and the quips from the author made it a joy to read, especially when the author and I had the same feelings on a case etc. Dr. Stevenson's work was made easily digestible without being oversimplified, which I find is extremely difficult to do, and shows that Dr. Bering has a deep understanding of the man and the field that he has written about. I appreciated where he called out poor research methods, while equally pointing out methods which were solid, and I commend him for approaching this field with an open mind, as it made it that much more digestable for the reader. While I found that this book wasn't what I'd originally thought it would be about (I originally thought it would be more of a personal biography of Dr. Stevenson), the presentation of the subject made me want to keep reading and learning about the impact of this man and to examine my own conceptions of the afterlife. Similarly, I didn't find myself especially bored during any point of this book, and the pacing was very good, dwelling on each subject and person for the perfect amount of time, reflecting their significance in Ian's work and limited personal life. The pacing remained well structured even during description of cases and theories within psychology, which made it that much easier to want to continue reading.
Overall, a very good work and one I enjoyed reading.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Science investigates the physical world. Should it also investigate the metaphysical world? I think not a great deal of time, but there are exceptions. After reading countless books on metaphysical topics for decades and having zero need for science to tell me what to believe about those topics, I often think science should stay in its lane. This is especially true about near-death experiences, where you have some doctors, with both questionable motives and mental health, writing questionable books. NDEs are part of a book gravy train that snakes way back to the 1980s.
One of the exceptions mentioned above? Ian Stevenson’s research on reincarnation cases. His work is incredibly dry but incredibly interesting. His life? I never thought about his life or knew anything about him, besides his cases, before reading this book. Author Jesse Bering rarely goes into detail about Ian Stevenson’s specific reincarnation cases, but instead concentrates on his personal and professional life, his views about many metaphysical topics, and reactions to his paranormal research. Plus, how he was able to do such research, even getting a respected medical school to incorporate it into their department. To this day, that research continues in the Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS) at UVA.
Ian Stevenson was a highly respected psychiatrist, as well as chairman of the psychiatry department at UVA. His paranormal research was neither widely accepted nor approved of by his peers, yet he continued to do it for decades. How? According to this book, donated money was how. Lots and lots of money mostly donated by Chester Carlson, the inventor of the xerox machine. Money talks at universities and pays for countless research trips. Without Mr. Carlson’s funds, Dr. Stevenson’s life and career obviously would not have been what it was.
What was Ian Stevenson like as a person? From the description in this book, I greatly liked and admired him. He appeared to truly care about others, not just his research; seemed totally sane; never appeared to be tripping over his ego; and never claimed he knew everything or thought everyone should believe what he believed. In addition, one reason he saw researching reincarnation as important was because there were possibly past life mental or physical issues that carried over to a current lifetime. Discovering those issues could help to better understand them and possibly cure them.
One could probably propose Dr. Stevenson was obsessive at times about researching reincarnation cases, traveling here and there all the time, leaving his wife Octavia at home most of the time. She obviously understandably did not favor substandard transportation and housing. (They had no children, something that they regretted.) It was interesting to note, after Octavia died from diabetes complications, Dr. Stevenson would remarry a notable college professor who did not believe in reincarnation. I think that clearly showed he did not need others to think like he did.
Was his reincarnation research flawless? I don’t know and I don’t care if it did not meet the rigorous rules of scientific research. I don’t believe for a second he fabricated anything or intentionally tried to deceive anyone. How could research of metaphysical things ever meet all the requirements of scientific research? I don’t believe it ever could. Maybe science should just stay in its own lane. Or maybe research done by those like Ian Stevenson is well worth reading and considering by those who don’t need science to dictate what they should or should not think. This book is a well-researched, captivating enough look at a most fascinating and courageous 20th century man, physician and thinker.
(Note: I received a free e-ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher.)
One of the exceptions mentioned above? Ian Stevenson’s research on reincarnation cases. His work is incredibly dry but incredibly interesting. His life? I never thought about his life or knew anything about him, besides his cases, before reading this book. Author Jesse Bering rarely goes into detail about Ian Stevenson’s specific reincarnation cases, but instead concentrates on his personal and professional life, his views about many metaphysical topics, and reactions to his paranormal research. Plus, how he was able to do such research, even getting a respected medical school to incorporate it into their department. To this day, that research continues in the Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS) at UVA.
Ian Stevenson was a highly respected psychiatrist, as well as chairman of the psychiatry department at UVA. His paranormal research was neither widely accepted nor approved of by his peers, yet he continued to do it for decades. How? According to this book, donated money was how. Lots and lots of money mostly donated by Chester Carlson, the inventor of the xerox machine. Money talks at universities and pays for countless research trips. Without Mr. Carlson’s funds, Dr. Stevenson’s life and career obviously would not have been what it was.
What was Ian Stevenson like as a person? From the description in this book, I greatly liked and admired him. He appeared to truly care about others, not just his research; seemed totally sane; never appeared to be tripping over his ego; and never claimed he knew everything or thought everyone should believe what he believed. In addition, one reason he saw researching reincarnation as important was because there were possibly past life mental or physical issues that carried over to a current lifetime. Discovering those issues could help to better understand them and possibly cure them.
One could probably propose Dr. Stevenson was obsessive at times about researching reincarnation cases, traveling here and there all the time, leaving his wife Octavia at home most of the time. She obviously understandably did not favor substandard transportation and housing. (They had no children, something that they regretted.) It was interesting to note, after Octavia died from diabetes complications, Dr. Stevenson would remarry a notable college professor who did not believe in reincarnation. I think that clearly showed he did not need others to think like he did.
Was his reincarnation research flawless? I don’t know and I don’t care if it did not meet the rigorous rules of scientific research. I don’t believe for a second he fabricated anything or intentionally tried to deceive anyone. How could research of metaphysical things ever meet all the requirements of scientific research? I don’t believe it ever could. Maybe science should just stay in its own lane. Or maybe research done by those like Ian Stevenson is well worth reading and considering by those who don’t need science to dictate what they should or should not think. This book is a well-researched, captivating enough look at a most fascinating and courageous 20th century man, physician and thinker.
(Note: I received a free e-ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher.)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews