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Bruce Greyson
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After Paperback – March 15, 2022

by Bruce Greyson (Author)

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Over 100,000 sold!

The world's leading expert on near-death experiences reveals his journey toward rethinking the nature of death, life, and the continuity of consciousness.

Cases of remarkable experiences on the threshold of death have been reported since ancient times, and are described today by 10% of people whose hearts stop. The medical world has generally ignored these “near-death experiences,” dismissing them as “tricks of the brain” or wishful thinking. But after his patients started describing events that he could not just sweep under the rug, Dr. Bruce Greyson began to investigate.

As a physician without a religious belief system, he approached near-death experiences from a scientific perspective. In After, he shares the transformative lessons he has learned over four decades of research. Our culture has tended to view dying as the end of our consciousness, the end of our existence―a dreaded prospect that for many people evokes fear and anxiety.

But Dr. Greyson shows how scientific revelations about the dying process can support an alternative theory. Dying could be the threshold between one form of consciousness and another, not an ending but a transition. This new perspective on the nature of death can transform the fear of dying that pervades our culture into a healthy view of it as one more milestone in the course of our lives. After challenges us to open our minds to these experiences and to what they can teach us, and in so doing, expand our understanding of consciousness and of what it means to be human.

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  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Essentials
  4. Publication date
    March 15, 2022
  5. Dimensions
    5.3 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    125026586X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1250265869
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  1. They most often report that the experience made them feel they are a part of something greater than themselves.
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  2. “The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won’t wait while you do the work.”
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  3. Respecting things that are difficult to measure, rather than dismissing them as unreal, is not rejecting science. It’s embracing science.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“With a well-written and clear narrative delivered in layperson’s terms, this book chronicles Dr. Greyson’s incredible quest to learn all he could about near-death experiences, or NDEs...A must read.”
―Library Journal

“Dr. Greyson 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...A bright, passionate journey through murky waters.”
―Kirkus

“From a less authoritative source, these stories could seem mawkish or flaky. Told here with calm precision, and with a conversational flair, they are both absorbing and convincing. With so much evidence available for further investigation, the most vexing question now is not whether life continues in some form after we die, but why mainstream science is so resistant to the idea.”
―The Daily Mail

"Captivating…a major contribution to the study of what happens when we die, and will quickly prove to be a classic in near-death studies."
―Raymond Moody, M.D., Ph.D., bestselling author of Life After Life

"Dr. Greyson’s work has the potential to completely change our fractured and confused world, offering insights that may lead to an explanation of the nature of consciousness."
―Eben Alexander, M.D., bestselling author of Proof of Heaven

"Dr. Greyson brings to near-death experiences what the Kinsey report established for human sexuality."
―Lisa Miller, Ph.D., professor of Psychology and Education, Columbia University, author of The Spiritual Child

"A medical detective story that will grab your heart…We all owe Dr. Greyson thunderous applause."
―P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D., author of Near-Death Experiences

"A major international book of lasting value."
―Alexander Batthyány, Ph.D., professor of Philosophy and Psychology, International Academy of Philosophy, Liechtenstein Director of the Viktor Frankl Institute, author of Mind and Its Place in the World

"How can you live NOW without knowing what comes AFTER? You need to read this book."
―Carl Becker, Ph.D., D.Psych., professor of Medical Ethics and Policy Science, Kyoto University, author of Breaking the Circle

"Bridges the gap between science and spirituality with elegance."
―Anita Moorjani, bestselling author of Dying to Be Me

"Provides hope to the dying and comfort to those left behind."
―Mary Neal, M.D., former Director of Spinal Surgery, University of Southern California, bestselling author of To Heaven and Back

"This book will define near-death research. It will change the way we live our lives."
―Barbara Bradley Hagerty, M.L.S., NPR Religion Correspondent, author of Fingerprints of God

"Loaded with fresh, exciting, and enormously valuable new understandings."
―Jeffrey Long, M.D., bestselling author of Evidence of the Afterlife

"Both inspiring and deeply personal...a book to savor."
―Kenneth Ring, Ph.D., professor emeritus of Psychology, University of Connecticut, author of Life at Death

"Engaging, appealing, and thoroughly informative…an absolute must-read."
―Sam Parnia, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Medicine and Director of Critical Care & Resuscitation Research, New York University Langone Medical Center, author of What Happens When We Die?

"This book will change the consciousness of many readers in a very positive way."
―Pim van Lommel, M.D., author of Consciousness Beyond Life

"Dr. Greyson’s masterful intellect and laser-sharp focus on scientific rigor make his research recorded in this book virtually irreplaceable."
―Michael B. Sabom, M.D., author of Recollections of Death

"Dr. Greyson takes us on a fabulous tour of near-death experiences in a completely new and engaging way…A must-read for anyone regardless of their religious, spiritual, or scientific background."
―Andrew Newberg, M.D., professor of Emergency Medicine and Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University, author of The Mystical Mind

"Dr. Greyson is both a scientific and medical expert on NDEs and the nature of the mind, and a practicing healer, a psychiatrist who knows how to help people understand and learn from unusual experiences rather than dismissing them as ‘crazy.’"
―Charles Tart, Ph.D., professor emeritus of Psychology, University of California, Davis, author of States of Consciousness

About the Author

Dr. BRUCE GREYSON is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He served on the medical school faculty at the Universities of Michigan, Connecticut, and Virginia. He was a co-founder and President of the International Association for Near-Death Studies, and Editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies. A Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, he has received national awards for his medical research.

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Bruce Greyson

Bruce Greyson

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Bruce Greyson, MD, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry & Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia, is one of the leading experts on NDEs.

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very Important Book: We Are More Then Meat Machines
    Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    A well written empirical demonstration that logically leads to the conclusion that mind transcends matter. This is important. If humans are meat machines and no better than a computer or a brick, then nothing can stop the modern psychopathic dictator from slaughtering humans in the name of a vile, miserable, and unholy state. The horrifying affects of institutional hostility towards God, Abba, Brahman, Atman, The Tau, Nirvana, etc., pick a name, are self evident. The immeasurable sum of execrable deeds and miseries wrought upon the innocents by religion completely pales in comparison to the abject horror unleashed by the totalitarian, atheistic state. These amoral states are the psychopathic children of metaphysical materialism. Consider the Reign of Terror, the Holocaust, the Gulag Archipelago, the Killing Fields, The Great Leap, the Cultural Revolution, and the endemic, homicidal madness of this anti-spiritual, amoral civilization. If there is no divine Soul, then humans are objects.

    Without consideration of NDEs, the purely mechanistic understanding of the Cosmos died 100 years ago. The equations used to describe quantum mechanics require a human observation to bring determinance to the system of physcial states of leptons, bosons and quarks. For example, paired electrons in an orbital are spin up and spin down, but either is neither until observed. Experiments verify this conclusion. Aurhur Eddington concluded that "the stuff of the world is mind-stuff."

    I have no religion per se. They all to bear the same beautiful wisdom. You shoukd know that you do not have to nearly die to find the same perfect KNOWING. If you learn to silence the brain you will experience the true wonder of your true Self and the One! You can experience the truth that Father or any other word or human utterance fails miserably. You can find that dear Father is insufficiently warm and familiar. In silent prayer you are overwhelmed by the subsuming tide of ineffable love. You will experience the exquisite joy and awe of His nearness. You will experience the startled bewilderment of every fiber of being, dissolving into inarticulate, wordless transcendence. Father is wholly inadequate. Words fail miserably! Consciousness dreams this world, walking infinity’s shore, gazing sleepily into the Deep, seeing without seeing. You left the infinite, diving into the finite. You left the infinite, tethered to the Soul. Spirit longs to merge with the infinite. Soul thirsts for union. In silent prayer and meditation you walk transcendence's edge. Hints of the eternal touch the Spirit. You dive into the Infinite. There you find peace and forgetful joy. You are renewed and refreshed, though you cannot stay. You long and ache for deeper prayer with the One.

    But I'm getting off the topic. Do yourself a great good: Read this book. Share this book. Even if you can't learn to dive into the infinite, you won't fear your departure from this finite pause. Fear, not pride, is the source of what humans call evil. Pride and greed are fear's offspring. They create want, ignorance, and wrath. Each human who transcends fear makes this world a step closer to our beautiful destiny. Thank you for this fine book Doc.
    28 people found this helpful
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  • Vital
    5.0 out of 5 stars We are known and loved!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    This book contains lots of NDEs, statistics from NDE studies, and Dr. Greyson's personal story of learning about NDEs as a psychiatrist, all of which are very interesting. In addition, Dr. Greyson realizes that experience and interpretation of experience are distinct, which is very important when dealing with NDEs. He notes that true science is based on method, not claim under investigation.
    The brain uses a lot of resources to maintain the body so it isn't too surprising that out-of-body souls are confronted with subtle senses and boundary confusion. It would have been interesting to know how many maintain some degree of subtle awareness after reestablishing body consciousness.
    The book says that less than 10% report going to hell or outer darkness. Many of these soul prayed fervently to God for help, only to be delivered by either a great Light or a being of Light. How beautiful is that!
    For all its fine qualities, I almost didn’t give this book five stars because Dr. Greyson erroneously suggests that all paths lead to God. In reality, the goal of eastern religions is destruction of mind so that one's energy can "merge" unobstructed into the Void (Buddhism) or non-qualified paramatman (Hinduism) while the goal of western religion is right living to merit eternal soul life in heaven; thus, eastern and western religions are antithetical to each other. They don't even characterize God in the same way so it would have been insightful if he would have separated out the reports from practitioners of eastern religion from those of western religion. Nevertheless, he may be being witty since he claims that 90% of NDE reports says they met God or a godlike being.
    Overall, thank you Dr. Greyson. A friend's father died while I was reading this book and I shared some of the statistics with her. She said that it really helped.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Accu laadt niet
    4.0 out of 5 stars Snel geleverd
    Reviewed in the Netherlands on May 14, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Goed boek, erg dunne pagina's.
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  • Akane
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and amazing book
    Reviewed in Japan on March 7, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    NED is such a very interesting event for humanity. Before I met this book I was scared of death, but I’m not scared to die anymore. Whenever my life ends I will be happy and accept my death.
    I have never had a NED in my life. However, while I was reading this book I felt so calm, peaceful, alive and could feel the experiencer's feelings. Also, I feel like having more confidence than before. I’m not sure how I explain fully my feelings or thoughts. This book made me stronger and want to know more about our minds and brains. One day, I believe that this fascinating research will help and save a lot of people who have mental illnesses or traumas.
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  • Iain g Johnston
    5.0 out of 5 stars A stone in our shoes
    Reviewed in Australia on October 7, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Dr Greyson has put a stone in all our shoes. What he describes in his book are 1500 interviews over 40 years detailing NDEs (Near Death Experiences). These accounts do not fit neatly into most of our cosy pictures of the world. Each account barges in on our immediate lives of breakfasts, birthdays and bills and weather, disturbing our status quo. What are we to think of repeated descriptions of people describing “hyper real” accounts; hovering above their clinically dead corpses?
    As can be seen by reading the one star reviews, “this is just anecdote”, “it is not scientific” are responses some give, which makes you wonder what kind of evidence would satisfy the skeptic? Some, it seems, will stop, remove the shoe, grab the stone and throw it away and beg for amnesia.
    Certainly Dr Greyson comes across as sincerely seeking the truth, following the evidence where it leads, and trying wherever possible to accommodate NDE theory into current scientific models. Being a psychiatrist, he discounts with some authority the plausibility of drug effects, delusions or wishful thinking/ wish fulfillment.
    There is no doubt, there are common themes described in NDE
    1. Meeting with dead relatives and friends, who are youthful and vigorous.
    2. Feelings of ethereal peace
    3. Experiencing a life review at breakneck speed
    4. Encountering a being of transcendental light and palpable love who often gives a personal message and choice to return.
    5. Heightened senses and understanding

    What makes these experiences more believable are
    1. Learning information hitherto unknowable by that person
    2. The subsequent impact and the experiencers lifestyle transformations. (the experiencer really believes they have witnessed an authentic, even hugely expanded reality)
    3. The 5 categories above are common across ages, generations, culture, religious beliefs and history. (Experiencers seem more common now medicine can resuscitate successfully and stigma subdued.)
    4. Dr Greyson is not peddling any obvious wares here in the marketplace of ideas. He has persisted with his studies despite clear opposition and losing his job. He seems an unwilling believer.

    Two studies, AWARE 1 (2014) and AWARE 2 (2023), investigating Recalled Experiences of Death (REDs) also detailed verbatim stories of all 5 categories above. This was done in as near a scientific laboratory conditions any skeptic would demand (25 elite hospitals in the UK and USA). The results are the same.
    The mind, it seems survives physical death. It is stone in our shoe, a real stone which may awake us from our prosaic torpor and give us perspective, meaning and purpose, elevate our understanding of reality and make us behave wiser and better. Why not then believe?
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  • Lincoln Penner
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book
    Reviewed in Canada on July 9, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    NDEs are a topic I discovered by accident after hearing an interview on CBC with a man who experienced one and wrote his own book about it. He referenced Dr. Greyson’s After which is how I came to this book.

    This is an excellent study of the topic of NDEs. Simply learning about other peoples’ NDEs can have a profound change on your life. With that in mind, read this book and enjoy!
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  • Magdalena
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great
    Reviewed in Germany on July 4, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    Book for me.
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