Eben Alexander (author)

In 2012, Alexander authored a semi-autobiographical book Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife, in which he asserted that his self-experience of out of body and near-death experience (NDE), while in a meningitis-induced coma in 2008, suggested that consciousness is independent of the brain and that death is a transition phase into another realm.[7][8] Alexander said in a New York Times interview that he had preferred a title of "An N of One" (a medical trial size of one patient) instead of "Proof of Heaven". He said, believers in heaven were not happy with the title because, "This is not scientific proof."[9]

Alexander's book was excerpted in a Newsweek magazine cover story in October 2012.[10] Alexander provided a slightly more technical account of the events described in his book in an article, "My Experience in Coma", in AANS Neurosurgeon, the trade publication of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.[11]

Since the release of the book, he has presented hundreds of lectures around the world in churches, hospitals, medical schools, and academic symposia, besides appearing on TV shows including Super Soul Sunday with Oprah Winfrey.[12][13] Alexander has also expanded on his NDE in the Congress of Neurological Surgeons[14] and the peer-reviewed Journal of the Missouri State Medical Association.[15][16]

Proof of Heaven was included on The New York Times Best Seller list for 97 weeks.[17]

Alexander's second book, The Map of Heaven: How Science, Religion, and Ordinary People Are Proving the Afterlife, was published in October 2014, where he again asserted the existence of an afterlife and that consciousness is independent of the brain. The Map of Heaven was number 12 on the New York Times bestseller list during the week ending November 2, 2014.[18]

Alexander's third book, Living in a Mindful Universe: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Heart of Consciousness, was coauthored with Karen Newell, cofounder of Sacred Acoustics. Published in 2017, the book discusses attempts to understand the true nature of consciousness backed by scientific findings and cultivating a state of harmony with the universe and our higher purpose. The authors also discuss awareness of spiritual realms and developing experience that leads to profound understanding for a more harmonious and peaceful world.[19][20][21]

In a 2013 investigation of Alexander's story and medical background, Esquire found what it said were discrepancies with regard to Alexander's version of events in the book. Among the discrepancies, was that Alexander had written the cause of his coma was bacterial meningitis, despite his doctor telling the reporter that he had been conscious and hallucinating before being placed in a medically induced coma.[4][22] In a statement responding to the criticism, Alexander maintained that his representation of the experience was truthful and that he believed in the message contained in his book. He argued that the Esquire article "cherry-picked" information about his past to discredit his accounts of the event.[22] A review of his medical records published in the The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease suggested that his coma was not drug-induced and that Alexander's description of his experience was consistent with other near-death experiences rather than a dream or hallucination.[23]

Proof of Heaven was also criticized by scientists, including Sam Harris who described Alexander's NDE account on his blog as "alarmingly unscientific", and that claims of experiencing visions while his cerebral cortex was shut down demonstrated a failure to acknowledge existing brain science with little evidence prove otherwise.[24] Neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks agreed with Harris, and argued that Alexander had failed to recognize that the experience could have been the result of his cortex returning to full function at the outset of his coma, rather than a supernatural experience.[25] In 2012 Alexander responded to critics in a second Newsweek article,[26] where he said that he vividly remembers having periods of hallucination and explains that there was a massive difference between them and his 'fully immersive' visions of the afterlife. Alexander describes the hallucinations in his book, saying that they were disjointed and centred around both random events and his doctors.