Begun in 1994, The Atlanta Study is the first comprehensive investigation of its kind into near-death experiences (NDEs). The study's name hardly captures what lies behind it: life-and-death dramas played out in operating rooms and hospital beds--and simultaneous events unseen by medical personnel but reported with astonishing clarity and conviction by nearly 50 individuals who returned from death's door. Now the founder of The Atlanta Study, Dr. Michael Sabom reveals their impact on the people who have experienced them. From both medical and personal perspectives, he shares the electrifying stories of men and women from all walks of life and religious persuasions. He explores the clinical effect of the NDE on survival and healing and discloses surprising findings. He questions some common conclusions about NDEs. And he scrutinizes near-death experiences in the light of what the Bible has to say about death and dying, the realities of light and darkness, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Case studies of near-death experiences in children reveal the patients' ability to communicate with deceased relatives and friends, as well as their experiences while dead

"What is it like to die? Despite the poet's plaint that no one has returned from that dark land to tell us, there is a growing body of information about the nature of death. Its common, basic features have been confirmed and are presented in this extraordinary book, the first scientific investigation of the near-death experience. From interviews with more than a hundred men and women who have come very close to death or have experienced "clinical" death -- a state in which vital signs such as heartbeat and respiration are entirely absent -- and have survived, Dr. Ring shows that certain elements are common. He confirms that findings reported by Raymond Moody concerning the near-death experience -- a sense of floating out of one's body, of entering a dark tunnel, of experiencing a panoramic life review and of encountering a brilliant golden light. In this book Dr. Ring elaborates on what happens at the threshold of death. He tells of the frequency of these experiences, discusses whether the manner in which one almost died --illness, accident, suicide -- changes the nature of the experience, and probes what role religion has in shaping the approach to death. He shows that the near-death experience is not affected by an individual's ages, sex education, race or religion. He found, however, that the typical near-death experience -- which he calls the "core experience" -- tends to unfold in a series of five stages. the "deeper" the stages, the fewer the people who reach it. The experience tends to end with an encounter with what is described as a "voice" or "presence" that asks whether the person wants to return to life. The aftereffects of the core experience are dramatic and profound. The fear of death tends to vanish, and the total impact is akin to a spiritual rebirth."-Publisher.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The groundbreaking account of life after death that has become a source of comfort, inspiration, and solace to millions “I felt a surge of energy, and my spirit was suddenly drawn through my chest and pulled upward. My first impression is that I was free. . . .” On the night of November 19, 1973, following surgery, thirty-one-year-old wife and mother Betty J. Eadie died. This is her extraordinary story of the events that followed, her astonishing proof of life after physical death. She saw more, perhaps than any other person has seen before and shares her almost photographic recollections of the remarkable details. Compelling, inspiring, and infinitely reassuring, her vivid account gives us a glimpse of the peace and unconditional love that awaits us all. More important, Betty's journey offers a simple message that can transform our lives today, showing us our purpose and guiding us to live the way we were meant to—joyously, abundantly, and with love. Praise for Embraced by the Light “The most detailed and spellbinding near-death experience I have ever heard.”—Kimberly Clark-Sharp, president, Seattle International Association of Near-Death Studies

This book presents the Buddhist approach to facing the inevitable facts of growing older, getting sick, and dying. These tough realities are not given much attention by many people until midlife, when they become harder to avoid. Using a Buddhist text known as the Five Subjects for Frequent Recollection, Larry Rosenberg shows how intimacy with the realities of aging can actually be used as a means to liberation. When we become intimate with these inevitable aspects of life, he writes, we also become intimate with ourselves, with others, with the world—indeed with all things.

Dr. Lerma has devoted his career to compiling anecdotal and scientific research on pre-death hallucinations from countless terminally ill patients. This groundbreaking book shares 16 inspirational stories of children and adults confronting their deaths through the comforting visions of divine beings.

P M H Atwater knows what it's like to die. And the experience so changed her life that she has devoted years to researching the phenomenon of the Near-Death Experience. From her own encounter with life-after-death and from interviews with hundreds of others, she presents this remarkable and reassuring vision into a world beyond the one we know: What it feels like to die; What awaits us after we see the light; Why many who are rescued from death don't want to come back; Why some people encounter hellish experiences; How life changes after a Near-Death Experience and much more!