"Proof of Heaven: A neurosurgeon's journey into the afterlife" by Dr. Eben Alexander, a reputable Neurosurgeon and Harvard Medical School professor, will hit the shelves later this month.

Dr. Alexander was in a coma for one week back in 2008 when he underwent what he refers to as an afterlife experience. Claiming many of the same occurrences and feelings of others who have passed and returned, Alexander  refers to his experience as a "hyper-vivid and completely coherent odyssey".

A Christian in name but a true man of science, Dr. Alexander was always skeptical of the stories that came from patients who had claimed a similar experience. But understanding the complexity of his own medical condition (his neocortex ceased to function) and waking from his incredible journey, he now firmly believes in an afterlife and lives his life with even more purpose.

Researchers say about 5% of  US citizens have experienced the afterlife and lived to tell about it. The Columbus Dispatch reports on their similarities...

For researchers, the experiences represent a phenomenon with no single explanation. Few can agree on how people can later recount such high levels of awareness when their brains showed no signs of functioning.

Near-death experiences occur across ages, cultures and religions; with or without medication; and in a variety of circumstances: near-drownings and drug overdoses, catastrophic car crashes and routine medical procedures.

Their similarity inspires conversational cliches — the light at the end of the tunnel, life flashing before one’s eyes — yet no two experiences are completely alike.

Some researchers see them as evidence that consciousness exists outside the body, citing anecdotes about blind people reporting visual details and patients describing their own surgeries with perfect accuracy.

Dr. Alexander's story is being featured in this week's edition of Newsweek.

What do you think about life after death?