Lucid Dying: The New Science Revolutionizing How We Understand Life and Death

From internationally renowned expert in resuscitation and New York Times bestselling author Sam Parnia, MD, PhD, comes a groundbreaking look at what happens to us when we die, based on the largest-ever research study run on recalled experiences of death.

Today, for the first time in history, the scientific exploration of death and what happens when we die is real, active and ongoing. Contrary to popular perceptions, this subject is no longer the remit of philosophy, religion, or personal opinion. Truly remarkable scientific discoveries that will fundamentally affect everyone’s lives now and in the future are taking place, yet very few people are aware of them. Most people--including scientists and doctors--maintain strong beliefs about death and its experience. Those beliefs are rooted in traditional, and often cultural, notions of death. But what if all that we have come to believe about death is fundamentally wrong? What if the paradigm we have been operating within no longer exists? What if death is not the end we thought?

Lucid Dying is the first book to share that science. Presenting data derived from multiple groundbreaking studies, Dr. Parnia shows that the entity we refer to as consciousness--our Self--does not seem to become annihilated when we die. In fact, during death, our consciousness vastly expands and leads to a vivid experience that follows a very specific narrative arc.

These studies support that there really is a universal experience of death that is meaningful, transcendent, positive, and transformative--not hallucinatory, delusional, or illusory as previously imagined. In his latest book, Dr. Parnia weaves empirical research with gripping stories to show us the truth of how death is not the end we all thought and how anyone can harness the newfound wisdom to lead deeper, more intentional lives.

Sam Parnia, MD, PhD, is the Director of Critical Care & Resuscitation Research at the New York University School of Medicine, as well as the Co-chair of the cardiac arrest resuscitation clinical service at New York University Langone Health System. Currently, he directs multiple large studies of cardiac arrest across many hospitals in the United States and United Kingdom. He is the author of two books, The New York Times Bestseller, Erasing Death: The Science That is Rewriting the Boundaries Between Life and Death (Harper One) and What Happens When We Die (Hay House). He has regularly appeared on major media outlets on both sides of the Atlantic, including The Today Show, Dr. OZ, NBC, Fox News, Discovery, National Geographic, Popular Science, New Scientist, Time Magazine, The BBC, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times (London), CBS, The Daily Mail, Daily Express, and Frontline, to name a few.