4/5 stars.
Paperback, 128 pages.
Read June 12, 2015.
If you’re looking for a quick and inspiring read then you really should pick up this book. I guarantee you that you’ve never thought about the afterlife in this way regardless of what you believe. This book consists of 41 different short stories that detail different scenarios for the afterlife. Some are what you’d hope they’d be, while some detail a boring or intolerable afterlife or a God that has forgotten about his creations. All of which, make you consider the possibilities of what happens to us when we die.
The author David Eagleman is a bit of an overachiever. Not only is he an accomplished writer who is a New York times bestselling author whose books have been published into 23 different languages, he is also a neuroscientist. Yeah. This guys got it made. Though it’s no surprise that content of this book is so unique knowing that this man works on people’s brains on a daily basis and has probably witnessed his fair share of death in his profession.
This book has been the closest thing to a religious experience that I’ve ever encountered. As I am still somewhat young, the impeding death that affects us all isn’t the most prominent thing on my mind. It’s not that I haven’t experienced loss but in terms of myself, I’ve not yet given much thought to my own death or even what I think the afterlife might be. I believe that those that pass away have a way of being present in your life and that somehow they are always with us. An extremely agnostic approach to death but it’s the only way that feels comfortable for me. This book adds to my agnostic beliefs and comforts me further. Even with the most unpleasant depictions of that afterlife there is still something more tangible about the scenarios depicted in this book than the standard Christian one or even that of Atheist view. The book has a biblical feel in that it provided me some consolation or something more to consider in terms of the afterlife. Even if they are just stories. This is a book that is meant to be re-read. Many times. The beauty of this book is that the stories can be read in any order so you’re looking for something to ponder on or perhaps for some inspiration after a particularly rough day, you can randomly select a story from this book to help to help you reflect
I would not recommend this book for anyone that is fundamentalist with their religion. There are many times in this book in which the concepts of God are played with, mocked and turned right on its head. The concepts in this book are meant to be questioned, pondered and considered so if you’re not up for doing that with your own religion then do not read this book. For everyone else, put this book on your to-read list as soon as possible. Better yet, go and buy a copy and keep it to be re-read whenever you need it.
The Pluviophile Writer 
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