Opening Heaven's Door: Investigating Stories of Life, Death, and What Comes After
“The word is out: you don’t die when you die. That’s the message from around 15 million Americans who have experienced a near-death experience, as Patricia Pearson, in sparkling prose, shows in this enormously engaging book. I know, I know: this premise causes serious intellectual indigestion in die-hard skeptics, but we should not be diverted by their leaky arguments. The fear of total annihilation with physical death has caused more suffering in human history than all the physical diseases combined. Pearson’s message is a Great Cure for this Great Fear. This book conveys deep meaning and hope. It takes the pressure off and makes life more fulfilling and joyous. There is only one reason why you shouldnotread this magnificent book: if you have a secret way not to die. But since the statistics so far are against you, let Pearson be your guide.” (Larry Dossey, MD, author of One Mind: How Our Individual Mind Is Part of a Greater Consciousness and Why It Matters)“Pearson brings her blend of humor, sympathy, and keen critical intelligence to a topic that is all too often off limits to writers of her caliber. This is exactly the smart book on the possibility of an afterlife that readers curious about the topic but leery of mush have been looking for.” (Ptolemy Tompkins, author of The Modern Book of the Dead and collaborator with Dr. Eben Alexander on Proof of Heaven an)“Pearson has brought us something rare: a unique blend of gifted storytelling combined with exhaustive scientific research about dying, grief, and spiritual connectivity.Opening Heaven’s Doorleaves us enthralled that death’s mystery may be life’s solution.” (Allan J. Hamilton, MD, author of The Scalpel and the Soul)“In this compelling and provoking read, Patricia Pearson examines death and dying with uncommon thoughtfulness, asking questions too rarely asked. Moving and insightful,Opening Heaven's Dooris an important work for all of us struggling with the inevitably of death.” (Steven Galloway, author of The Confabulist and The Cellist of Sarajevo)“Your life is over the moment you die. So I used to believe,with something like religious fervor. And then I readOpening Heaven’s Door, and such is the power and art, the passion and rigor of Patricia Pearson’s writing that I’m not nearly so sure of myself. This is a splendid book in all the ways a book can be splendid. It is a book to be read and re-read and urged upon friends.” (Barbara Gowdy, author of We So Seldom Loo)“Patricia Pearson’sOpening Heaven’s Dooris a fascinating examination of the conclusion of all our struggles and victories: the instant of death. This omnivorous journey through grief and neuroscience and spirituality carries the reader swiftly along and into places we can never truly know—but Pearson provides an unprecedented glimpse.” (Kevin Patterson, award-winning author of)“‘On the night of my father’s death,’ said the author’s sister at their father’s memorial service, ‘I had an extraordinary spiritual experience.’ How can you put down a book that begins like that? Hardheaded and openhearted, Pearson has brought together riveting accounts of near-death experiences that will shake your assumptions about where life ends, and what death means. For seekers and skeptics alike,Opening Heaven’s Dooris profoundly comforting, questing, and wise.” (Marni Jackson, author of Pain: The Fifth)“This remarkable new book by Patricia Pearson is a rare thing: bringing journalistic rigor to an impossible question… The book succeeds so well because it favors questions over answers, humility over certainty, and (when called for) crunchy ice-breaking humor over earnestness. But mostly it succeeds because of its unabashed concern with love, as it’s experienced not just by those at heaven’s door, but by the human tribe that’s inevitably left behind when someone dies. Love, too, is a mystery that changes us.” (The Globe & Mail)