Proof of Heaven

I just finished listening to Eben Alexander’s Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife. Because I am in the car driving so much I often “read” books this way and I highly recommend it. But back to Dr. Alexander. He was attacked by an infection in his brain and was in a coma for a week. The book is his take on the experience, through a neurosurgeon’s filter. 

The story is an amazing story of the author’s near death experience. He describes the journey, and along the way he tells us about his family and his life as a neurosurgeon. However the core of the book occurs when he takes us inside his hospital room and describes both the medical treatment that was happening around his unconscious self, and the spiritual journey which tells us about.

It’s a comforting and intriguing thought that a learned neurosurgeon and scientist has a near death experience and comes out of it convinced that there is an afterlife. It is of course one of the questions that has defined us as human over the course of tens of thousands of years.

Neanderthal burial sites reflect a formal burial procedure, and many bodies were buried with tools and possessions; which suggests that the deceased was thought to have some need of those tools after death. Research suggests to us that the Göbekli Tepe (a site in Turkey ca. 8-10,000 B.C.) was built for the purpose of religious ceremony. In fact, there have been suggestions that one of the motivations for the move to agricultural/city society was the development of religious ceremony.

However…, back to Dr. Alexander’s book.

The scientist in me still wonders — and there has been some controversy about both Dr. Alexander’s medical practice and his recollections of what happened when he was ill — but the believer in me applauds him! The discussions about Near Death Experiences (NDE) are fascinating, and will continue to be studied by scientists and theologians.

Because Dr. Alexander’s story is so personal I think he made the right choice to do the reading himself for the audio version; it works well for this book. But I generally prefer professional narrators for audiobooks. Usually the ones read by the author are not as impactful for me. By far the most powerful audio book I have ever listened to is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and read by Jeremy Irons.

My rating: 3.5 brains

Neurosurgical Articles of Interest From Top Princeton Surgeon Dr. McLaughlin

Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries like the one that resulted in the death of actress Natasha Richardson after a skiing accident in 2009 often go undiagnosed and are more common than you might expect.

Fighting A Brain Tumor : Act 1 - Informing The Patient

Act One- Fighting a Brain Tumor... Informing the patient. The patient usually knows the words to come long before I sound the first syllable. Almost always, people with cancer in their lives more than look me in the eyes.

Trigeminal Neuralgia : Covid-19 Vaccination

A January 2022 review of medical literature related to COVID-19 vaccination, Trigeminal Neuralgia, and Neurological Complications. What does the medical literature tell us?

Chiari Malformation and Syringomyelia

Chiari Malformation is a disorder in which certain structures in the brain fail to develop normally. SM is a disorder that develops when CSF enters the spinal cord and forms a cavity called a syrinx

COVID-19

A video series from leading Trigeminal Neuralgia expert Mark McLaughlin designed to guide TN patients through this difficult time.

Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia

Glossopharyngeal neuralgia is a condition characterized by recurring episodes of severe pain in the tongue, throat, ear, and area near the tonsils. An overview from Dr. McLaughlin.

Chiari Malformation Type 1

Chiari malformation is a condition in which brain tissue protrudes into the spinal canal. Chiari Malformation Type 1 is one of the four most common types of the condition.

Trigeminal Neuralgia: COVID19 - Video Update

September 2021: Video update with Mark R. McLaughlin, MD. What you need to know about COVID19 and Trigeminal Neuralgia.

Trigeminal Neuralgia in a Time of COVID-19

Video: Stress may result in increased perception of facial pain from Trigeminal Neuralgia. Dr. McLaughlin offers some thoughts on dealing with TN during the coronavirus crisis. April 2020