Erasing Death: The Science That Is Rewriting the Boundaries Between Life & Death

Sam Parnia · Josh Young

feb 2013 · Harper Collins

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An examination of near-death experiences, the science of resuscitation medicine and the bigger questions about what happens to the human mind after death.

Contrary to popular belief, death is not a moment in time, such as when the heart stops beating, respiration ceases, or the brain stops functioning. Death, rather, is a process—a process that can be interrupted well after it has begun. Innovative techniques, such as drastically reducing the patient's body temperature, have proven to be effective in revitalizing both the body and mind, but studies show they are only employed in approximately half of the hospitals throughout the United States and Europe.

In Erasing Death, Dr. Sam Parnia presents cutting-edge research from the front line of critical care and resuscitation medicine that has enabled modern doctors to routinely reverse death, while also shedding light on the ultimate mystery: what happens to human consciousness during and after death. Parnia reveals how medical discoveries focused on saving lives have also inadvertently raised the possibility that some form of “afterlife” may be uniquely ours, as evidenced by the continuation of the human mind and psyche in the first few hours after death. Questions about the “self” and the “soul” that were once relegated to theology, philosophy, or even science fiction are now being examined afresh according to rigorous scientific research.

With physicians such as Parnia at the forefront, we are on the verge of discovering a new universal science of consciousness that reveals the nature of the mind and a future where death is not the final defeat, but is in fact reversible.

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Sam Parnia, M.D., Ph.D, is a leading expert on cardiac arrest resuscitation, the scientific study of death, mind-brain relationship, and near-death experiences. He is director of resuscitation research and an assistant professor of critical care medicine at the State University of New York. Parnia directs the AWARE Study (AWAreness during REsuscitation). He is a former fellow in critical care medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. Josh Young is a bestselling author and journalist whose work spans entertainment, science, business, and politics. He specializes in co-writing books with notable personalities in diverse fields.