Review: Death takes on new meaning, an entirely new dimension
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 3, 2012
Washed by "zillions and zillions" of otherworldly pinpoints of bright light, like stars. Being caught up in diorama of your own life. Floating outside your own body, hovering near the ceiling, looking down at the efforts to save you.Nearly all Near Death Experiences (NDEs) include recurring images, sensations and emotions often of euphoria or extreme pleasure.One patient, resuscitated after being declared clinically dead, recalled observing a serial number written on the top of a ventilator in the hospital room. She could repeat the number to the nurses. A janitor was called, got a ladder and climbed to the top of the machine. It contained a serial number. He read the numbers. They matched.Maybe it's time to cue the "Twilight Zone" theme music. But as Erika Hayasaki explores, she finds more and more scientific evidence that death and the way we define the end of life may not be exactly as we think. Consciousness may live on after our heart stops, eyes dilate and our brain waves flat-line.Maybe the sensation of your life flashing in front of you or out-of-body experiences have a physiological explanation but then, again, maybe there's more to it. Hayasaki does a convincing job of research that provides an introduction to current thinking about NDE and the clinical meaning of death.She writes with a clear head and presents a persuasive argument that the finality of death might not be so final. Her essay is also the story of her uncle Richard, who at 43 had a severe heart attack in 1991, was clinically death, then revived and recounts a vivid, believable memory of his out-of-body experience that included communing with a twin brother, who had died at birth."It was instantly like I knew him, and he instantly knew me," Richard said. "I mean, I spent nine months in the womb with this guy. He was sort of there to ease me into this place."Her uncle's story is one of many, gathered from published research and personal interviews. Together they complete a compelling tale and make a convincing argument about finality. I suspect that for many, reading "Dead or Alive" will be a transformative experience. Death will take on a whole different meaning and an entirely new dimension.