A bright, passionate journey through murky waters.
A renowned psychiatrist chronicles decades of scientific study of near-death experiences.
Greyson, a professor emeritus of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, draws on a lifetime of direct, evidence-based investigation into NDEs. As such, he offers a highly knowledgeable, well-contextualized inquiry. He is not here to convert but to present his findings along with a variety of insights and themes. He recounts his earliest introduction to NDEs and how he assembled the raw data into hypotheses and discusses the tricky application of practical research questions and protocols to such an amorphous, slippery concept. Greyson presents dozens of illustrative stories—much of the book’s pleasure derives from the author’s concise yet descriptive storytelling—and then tallies a number of distinctive qualities. For example, NDEs are common, typically lead to profound aftereffects (their transformative power is mostly, but not always, positive), reduce fear of death, and amplify one’s focus on living in the moment. Of paramount interest to Greyson is the information that NDEs provide regarding the mind-body problem and “the question of whether our consciousness might be able to continue beyond death.” Ever the scientist, the author is quick to situate his findings as “repeated assessments by experiencers and other researchers” aided by “statistical analyses.” Greyson’s enthusiasm is palpable, but he is always grounded in scientific observation, making conclusions based on where the research leads. “NDEs may be triggered by electrical or chemical changes in the brain that permit the mind to experience separating from the body at the moment of death,” he writes. “There is no inherent conflict between a physical and nonphysical understanding of NDEs….It’s like saying my desk is mahogany—a physical description—and that my desk is a legacy from my grandfather—a nonphysical one. They are both correct, but neither by itself gives a complete description of the desk.”
A bright, passionate journey through murky waters.Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-26303-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: St. Martin's Essentials
Review Posted Online: Dec. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.
The late actor offers a gentle guide for living with more purpose, love, and joy.
Mixing poetry, prescriptive challenges, and elements of memoir, Heche (1969-2022) delivers a narrative that is more encouraging workbook than life story. The author wants to share what she has discovered over the course of a life filled with abuse, advocacy, and uncanny turning points. Her greatest discovery? Love. “Open yourself up to love and transform kindness from a feeling you extend to those around you to actions that you perform for them,” she writes. “Only by caring can we open ourselves up to the universe, and only by opening up to the universe can we fully experience all the wonders that it holds, the greatest of which is love.” Throughout the occasionally overwrought text, Heche is heavy on the concept of care. She wants us to experience joy as she does, and she provides a road map for how to get there. Instead of slinking away from Hollywood and the ridicule that she endured there, Heche found the good and hung on, with Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford starring as particularly shining knights in her story. Some readers may dismiss this material as vapid Hollywood stuff, but Heche’s perspective is an empathetic blend of Buddhism (minimize suffering), dialectical behavioral therapy (tolerating distress), Christianity (do unto others), and pre-Socratic philosophy (sufficient reason). “You’re not out to change the whole world, but to increase the levels of love and kindness in the world, drop by drop,” she writes. “Over time, these actions wear away the coldness, hate, and indifference around us as surely as water slowly wearing away stone.” Readers grieving her loss will take solace knowing that she lived her love-filled life on her own terms. Heche’s business and podcast partner, Heather Duffy, writes the epilogue, closing the book on a life well lived.
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781627783316
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Viva Editions
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
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