The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences

This review of the new book 'The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences' by Dr Penny Sartori is based on two complete readings of it. The book is written approachably, and is noticeably free of typographic errors. It has copious references, all presented in a full scholarly manner, but more important is that a second reading reveals the book's slightly unusual plan and social purpose. It brings into prominence the different aim of the writer, as contrasted with many other authors writing on the topic of personal and conscious experience. Whilst to the outside observer, the subject appears to be no longer alive, yet is in fact very much alive. That there can be such experience at all raises very important questions about the nature of our being-alive, but Dr Sartori's aim is not to prove that we remain alive at a time when outside observers think we are dead, but rather to argue that since humans all die eventually, yet seem to be still alive when they do so, it is our attitude to dying which should change, and therefore also our medical practice at the time when we conclude that our bodies are worn beyond repair and are best discarded. Many will recall that Einstein produced his Special Theory as a result of just such a reversal of the habitual thinking. The book begins conventionally enough, with an account of an experience which grips the attention of the reader. Thereafter, throughout the book, the matter of near-death experiences is dealt with not simply case-by-case, as in many other books, but aspect by aspect as the author brings out a point relating to her main thesis here, and another point elsewhere. As a result, the book is very rationally constructed, and is far more than a sensational account of experience after experience, but without purpose. Dr Sartori's purpose is to influence medical attitudes and practice. Notwithstanding that her main point is that we should change those attitudes and practice, Dr Sartori does provide an epigraph to her very first chapter from Larry Dossey, firmly stating the view that we are immortal. I believe we, her readers, may take it that she agrees that we are probably immortal-in-our-innermost-essence, but is not writing yet another book to prove it. Instead, she notes that NDEs change lives, priorities, and even personalities, emphasising a similarity when she finds it in a number of cases in a chapter devoted to one or another feature of many NDEs. Thus she deals in some detail in chapter 2 with the after-effects of an NDE, turns to childhood NDEs in chapter three, cultural variations in the content of NDEs in chapter 4, and so on, often referring to a case described earlier in the book to bring out a new line of thought. And thoughtful is indeed an apt description, for her argument is grounded in more than two decades of professional experience in the field of care of the dying. Her view is one of which we should all take very careful note. With the ground thoroughly prepared in this way, Dr Sartori begins to turn towards her main argument in chapter eight, showing us that thinking about death has changed over the centuries, which implies that it can change again. Then, in chapter nine, that main argument appears clearly and in detail and so makes a valuable addition to the literature on the subject. At this point I shall bring this review to an abrupt end, for one should not rely on a mere review to glean an impression of any book's content, but, following the reviewer's recommendation, buy it and read it for oneself. The unique thrust of this book makes it well worth doing so.