Literature Review #5

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Citation:

Kean, Leslie. Surviving Death: a Journalist Investigates Evidence for an Afterlife. Three Rivers Press, an Imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC, 2018.

Author/Summary:

Leslie Kean is a New York Times bestselling author and is also known for her work “UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go On the Record”. She is an investigative journalist who tends to take a skeptical approach in order to ensure the argument is credible. Her book “Surviving Death” takes a close look at the unexplainable attributes of the near death phenomenon. I did not have access to the entirety of Kean’s book; however, the chapters I was able to read were extremely interesting and captivating. The chapters included accounts from Kimberly Clark, the social worker who confirmed the tennis shoe story from Maria, and Pim van Lommel, a researcher who conducted a study on out of body experiences and NDEs. In addition, the chapters gave more information into the story of Pam Reynolds. Kean’s book was also made into a Netflix series. In fact, this series was what made me very interested in the topic of NDEs.

Key Terms:

A key term from this book is “consciousness”. Kean explains that the evidence found within her book proves that the current definition of consciousness needs to be reevaluated. In addition, she discusses that what was thought as the concrete boundary between life and death is actually very unclear and shadowy. People can be clinically dead for minutes, but can still be resuscitated and come to life, like the story of Dr. Mary Neal. Another key term in this book is “veridical OBE”. This is an out of body experience in which the experiencer is able to use the material/ physical word as support and proof of their OBE. In other words, a veridical OBE is when an experiener’s story can be confirmed with physical evidence. Finally, a third key term is the “material aspect”. Similarly to the veridical OBE, the material aspect is the proof that someone can use to show that their experience was real. In the case of Maria, this was the tennis shoe that was on the ledge. 

Three Quotes:

“Dreams tend to be more chaotic, and we forget them over time, but the OBE remains vivid in the memory as something that actually happened. Most experiencers’ lives are forever changed by it as well, and they no longer fear death. The profound transformation that does occur suggests that something very unusual happened- something with more impact than a dream.” (Kean 94).

“Mainly, I have learned that what we call death may not be the end of our awareness, nor our sense of self, nor our relationship to others. Our consciousness does exist outside of time and space and the confines of our bodies. This knowledge because of a simple shoe, provides the comfort of a possible continuity not just when near death, but also at our actual death.” (Kean 91).

“But when combined with other evidence, such as cases of proved past life memories and near death experiences, veridical OBEs strengthen the overall argument for survival by making an independent consciousness something conceivable” (Kean 94).

Value:

While I did not have access to the entirety of this book, the chapters I did read were extremely valuable. The book offered more insights into the story of Maria (tennis shoe) and Pam Reynolds. In addition, this book helped me find a better theoretical framework to base my argument on.