Revision as of 21:50, 22 January 2014 editManul (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers8,647 edits Undid revision 591932168 by Der Spion (talk) Do not restore plagiarism. Alexander's response is too extensive already; no need for promotional material plagiarized from Alexander himself.← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 00:46, 25 October 2024 edit undoPlasticwonder (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers5,711 edits ref from NPR | ||
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{{Short description|American neurosurgeon (born 1953)}} | ||
{{About|the neurosurgeon and author|his great-grandfather|Eben Alexander (educator)}} | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2014}} | |||
{{Infobox person <!-- for more information see ] --> | {{Infobox person <!-- for more information see ] --> | ||
| image = <!-- only free-content images are allowed for depicting living people - see ] --> | | image = <!-- only free-content images are allowed for depicting living people - see ] --> | ||
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| name = Eben Alexander III | | name = Eben Alexander III | ||
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| other names = | ||
| birth_date |
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1953|12|11}} | ||
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| birth_place = ], North Carolina, U.S. | ||
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| alma mater = ] <br> (A.B., 1975) <br> ] <br> (M.D., 1980) | |||
| occupation = ], ] | |||
| occupation = Writer, ] | |||
| nationality = American | |||
| period = 21st century | |||
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| movement = | | movement = | ||
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| signature = | | signature = | ||
| website = {{url|http://www. |
| website = {{url|http://www.ebenalexander.com/}} | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Eben Alexander III''' (born December 11, 1953) is an American ] and |
'''Eben Alexander III''' (born December 11, 1953) is an American ] and author. In 2008, he went under a medically-induced ] while being treated for ]. His book '']'' (2012) describes his ] while in the coma.<ref name="Esquire-Aug2013" /> He asserts that the coma resulted in ], that ] is not only a product of the brain and that it can go on to an ].<ref>https://www.npr.org/2014/05/14/310719887/debate-is-death-final</ref> | ||
==Early life and education== | ==Early life and education== | ||
Alexander was born in Charlotte, North Carolina.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/best-seller-proof-of-heaven-author-remembers-winston-salem-roots/article_e3a4132a-3f3f-11e2-af95-001a4bcf6878.html|website=Winston-Salem Journal|title=Best-seller 'Proof of Heaven' author remembers Winston-Salem roots|last=Burkhart|first=Jesse|date=5 Dec 2012|access-date=23 Sep 2019}}</ref> He was adopted by ] and his wife Elizabeth West Alexander and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with three siblings.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.wakehealth.edu/News-Releases/2004/Renowned_Neurosurgeon_Eben_Alexander_Dies_at_91.htm | title=Renowned Neurosurgeon Eben Alexander Dies at 91 | access-date=April 30, 2014 | archive-date=August 25, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825143200/https://www.wakehealth.edu/News-Releases/2004/Renowned_Neurosurgeon_Eben_Alexander_Dies_at_91.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article9122126.html|website=The Charlotte Observer|title='Proof of Heaven' author discusses his adoption at the Westin uptown |last=Washburn|first=Mark|access-date=23 Sep 2019}}</ref> He attended ], ] (A.B., 1975), and the ] (M.D., 1980).<ref name="Esquire-Aug2013" /> | |||
Alexander attended ] (class of 1972), ] (A.B., 1975), and the ] (M.D., 1980). | |||
==Medical career == | |||
Alexander was an Intern in General Surgery at Duke University Medical Center, a resident at Duke, Newcastle (U.K.) General Hospital. He was a resident and research fellow at ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ndestories.org/dr-eben-alexander/ |title=Dr. Eben Alexander – NDE |publisher=NDE Stories |date= |accessdate=2014-01-05}}</ref> and ] and is certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the ] (F.A.C.S.). | |||
Alexander has taught and had appointments at ], ], ], ], ], ] et al.<ref name="Esquire-Aug2013">{{cite magazine |last=Dittrich |first=Luke |date=August 2013 |title=The Prophet: An Investigation of Eben Alexander, Author of the Blockbuster "Proof of Heaven" |url=http://www.esquire.com/features/the-prophet |magazine=] |location=New York City |publisher=Hearst Communications, Inc. |pages=88–95, 125–126, 128}} Page 95: "On August 6, 2008, the patient filed a $3 million lawsuit against Alexander, accusing him of negligence, battery, spoliation, and fraud. The purported cover-up, the changes Alexander had made to the surgical report, was a major aspect of the suit. Once again, a lawyer was accusing Alexander of altering the historical record when the historical record didn't fit the story he wanted to tell."</ref> | |||
==Career== | |||
===Academic and clinical appointments=== | |||
Alexander has taught at ], Brigham and Women's Hospital, ], ], and the ] Medical School. | |||
While practicing medicine in Lynchburg at the Lynchburg General Hospital, Alexander was reprimanded by the Virginia Board of Medicine for performing surgery incorrectly. In 2007, twice within a month, he operated on the wrong segment of patients’ spinal column. In one of the cases, Alexander did not initially reveal his mistake as he believed the surgery had been beneficial; even though it wasn't the intended operation. He was sued by the patient for damages totalling $3 million in August 2008. The case was dismissed by the plaintiff in 2009 without comment from an attorney. Due to these mistakes, Alexander temporarily lost his privileges at the hospital and was forced to pay a $3,500 fine to the Virginia Board of Medicine. Alexander completed ethics and professionalism training to maintain an unrestricted medical license in the state.<ref>{{cite web |last=Thompson |first=Dave |title=Neurosurgeon reprimanded by state board |url=http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/neurosurgeon-reprimanded-by-state-board/article_ad7ef3c2-f705-11e2-99b8-0019bb30f31a.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215140232/https://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/neurosurgeon-reprimanded-by-state-board/article_ad7ef3c2-f705-11e2-99b8-0019bb30f31a.html |archive-date=15 Feb 2020 |access-date=23 Sep 2019 |website=The News & Advance|date=July 28, 2013 }}</ref> | |||
He has had hospital appointments at Brigham and Women's Hospital, ], ], Massachusetts General Hospital, ] Medical Center, and Lynchburg (Virginia) General Hospital-CentraHealth. He currently has been without surgical privileges since 2007.{{ref|Esquire-Aug2013}} | |||
By 2008, Alexander was clinical director of the Brain Program at the ] in Charlottesville.<ref>{{Cite web |last=storyware |date=2009-08-22 |title=Landmark Progress in Noninvasive Treatment of Brain Disorders |url=https://www.fusfoundation.org/posts/landmark-progress-in-noninvasive-treatment-of-brain-disorders/ |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=Focused Ultrasound Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
===Professional activities=== | |||
Alexander is a member of the ] and various other professional societies. He has been on the editorial boards of various journals. | |||
== Near-death experience == | |||
In November 2008, Alexander was suffering from ] inflaming his brain and spinal cord.<ref>{{Cite web |title=To Do No Harm {{!}} Magazine {{!}} The Harvard Crimson |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/2/20/eben-alexander-profile/ |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=www.thecrimson.com}}</ref> He was flailing and in seizure, therefore the doctors put him into a medically-induced ] for his own safety.<ref name="Esquire-Aug2013" /> | |||
==Writing career== | |||
===''Proof of Heaven''=== | ===''Proof of Heaven''=== | ||
{{Main|Proof of Heaven}} | |||
====Content==== | |||
Alexander is the author of the 2012 autobiographical book ''Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife'', in which he asserts that his ] and ] experience (NDE) while in a ]-induced coma in 2008 proves that consciousness is independent of the brain, that death is an illusion, and that an eternity of perfect splendor awaits us beyond the grave — complete with angels, clouds, and departed relatives, but also including butterflies and a beautiful girl in peasant dress who Alexander finds out later was his departed sister.<ref>Alexander, Eben (2012), ''Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife'', ], pg 169.</ref><ref>Alexander, Eben (2012), ''Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife'', ], pg 40.</ref> According to him, the current understanding of the mind “now lies broken at our feet ”— for “What happened to me destroyed it, and I intend to spend the rest of my life investigating the true nature of consciousness and making the fact that we are more, much more, than our physical brains as clear as I can, both to my fellow scientists and to people at large.” Alexander’s book was excerpted in a '']'' magazine cover story in October 2012.<ref>Alexander, Eben (8 Oct 2012), , '']''.</ref> (In May 2012, Alexander had provided a slightly more technical account of the events described in his book in an article, "My Experience in Coma", in ''AANS Neurosurgeon'', the ] of the ].)<ref>{{cite journal |author=Eben Alexander III |year=2012 |title=My Experience in Coma |journal=AANS Neurosurgeon |volume=21 |number=2 |url=http://www.aansneurosurgeon.org/210212/6/1611 |accessdate=2012-11-23}}</ref> | |||
Alexander authored ''Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife'' in 2012. The book expounds on his near-death experience while suffering from a bacterial meningitis and under a medically induced coma. Alexander describes how the experience changed his perceptions of life and the afterlife. | |||
As of July 3, 2013, ''Proof of Heaven'' has been on the ] for 35 weeks.<ref>{{cite news | |||
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2013-07-07/combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction/list.html | |||
|title=Best Sellers | |||
|author=|authorlink= | |||
|date=July 7, 2013 | |||
|work=Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction | |||
|publisher=The New York Times | |||
|accessdate=July 3, 2013 | |||
|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6HqR3wPZS | |||
|archivedate=2013-07-03 | |||
|quote= | |||
}}</ref> | |||
The book was a commercial success but also was the subject of scientific criticism in relation to misconceptions about neurology, such as conflating medically induced coma with brain death.<ref name="Esquire-Aug2013" /><ref name="Harris">{{cite web|url=https://samharris.org/this-must-be-heaven/|title=This Must Be Heaven|last=Harris|first=Sam|author-link=Sam Harris|date=October 12, 2012|access-date=May 26, 2018}}</ref><ref>Sacks, Oliver, , '']'' (December 12, 2012).</ref> A 2013 article in '']'' magazine refuted claims made in the book.<ref name="Esquire-Aug2013" /><ref name="Harris" /> The doctor who treated Alexander stated that certain details cannot be true, such as claims Alexander made about speaking clearly at times he would have been ].{{CN|date=December 2023}} The Esquire article also reported that Alexander had been terminated or suspended from multiple hospital positions, and had been the subject of several malpractice lawsuits and that he settled five malpractice suits in Virginia within a period of ten years.<ref name="Esquire-Aug2013" /><ref name="wired">{{cite magazine |last1=Jarrett |first1=Christian |date=27 December 2013 |title=Butterfly-riding Neurosurgeon Hits Turbulence |url=https://www.wired.com/2013/12/butterfly-riding-neurosurgeon-hits-turbulence/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=27 June 2020}}</ref> | |||
====Criticism and reaction==== | |||
In a wide-ranging investigation of Alexander's story and medical background, '']'' magazine reported (August 2013 issue) that prior to the publication of ''Proof of Heaven'', Alexander had been terminated or suspended from multiple hospital positions, and had been the subject of several malpractice lawsuits, including at least two involving the alteration of medical records to cover up a ].{{r|Esquire-Aug2013}}<ref name="DailyMail-Jul2-13"> | |||
{{cite web | |||
| title = Was 'Proof of Heaven' author hallucinating? | |||
| url = http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2354351/Proof-Heaven-author-multiple-claims-book-debunked-doctor-treated-seven-day-coma.html | |||
| accessdate = July 13, 2013 | |||
}} '']'' Online, Published July 2, 2013. Includes photos of the ''Esquire'' magazine August 2013 cover and the article's author, contributing editor Luke Dittrich, and a response from Alexander on the controversy.</ref> The magazine also found what it claimed were discrepancies with regard to Alexander's version of events in the book. Among the discrepancies, according to an account of the ''Esquire'' article in ], was that "Alexander writes that he slipped into the coma as a result of severe bacterial meningitis and had no higher brain activity, while a doctor who cared for him says the coma was medically induced and the patient was conscious, though hallucinating."<ref name="Esquire-Aug2013" /><ref name="DailyMail-Jul2-13" /><ref name="Forbes-Jul2-13" /> | |||
Among the discrepancies, was that Alexander had written the cause of his coma was bacterial meningitis, despite his doctor telling the reporter that he had been conscious and hallucinating before being placed in a medically induced coma.<ref name="Esquire-Aug2013" /><ref name="Forbes-Jul2-13" /> In a statement responding to the criticism, Alexander maintained that his representation of the experience was truthful and that he believed in the message contained in his book. He also claimed that the ''Esquire'' article "cherry-picked" information about his past to discredit his accounts of the event.<ref name="Forbes-Jul2-13">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/07/02/esquire-unearths-proof-of-heaven-authors-credibility-problems/ |title=Esquire Unearths 'Proof of Heaven' Author's Credibility Problems |author=Jeff Bercovici |magazine=] |accessdate=July 13, 2013}}</ref> | |||
''Proof of Heaven'' was also criticized by scientists, including ] who described Alexander's NDE account on his blog as "alarmingly unscientific", and that claims of experiencing visions while his ] was shut down demonstrated a failure to acknowledge existing brain science with little evidence prove otherwise.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://samharris.org/this-must-be-heaven/|title=This Must Be Heaven|last=Harris|first=Sam|authorlink=Sam Harris|date=October 12, 2012|access-date=May 26, 2018}}</ref> ] and writer ] agreed with Harris, and argued that Alexander had failed to recognize that the experience could have been the result of his cortex returning to full function at the outset of his coma, rather than a supernatural experience.<ref>Sacks, Oliver, , '']'' (December 12, 2012).</ref> In 2012 Alexander responded to critics in a second ''Newsweek'' article,<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Eben Alexander |title=The Science of Heaven|url=http://www.newsweek.com/science-heaven-63823 |magazine=Newsweek |date=November 18, 2012 |accessdate=August 31, 2015}}</ref> where he said that he vividly remembers having periods of hallucination and explains that there was a massive difference between them and his 'fully immersive' visions of the afterlife. Alexander describes the hallucinations in his book, saying that they were disjointed and centred around both random events and his doctors. He then compares them to the "hyper-real" experience of the afterlife, and says they do not match up. He also made a prediction in his book that secular critics, which included himself before his coma, would attempt to discredit him and his experience without looking into it properly. | |||
Alexander presented related lectures around the world in churches, hospitals, medical schools, and academic symposia, besides appearing on TV shows including '']'' with ].<ref>{{cite news | title = Dr. Eben Alexander Says It's Time for Brain Science to Graduate From Kindergarten |author= Ingrid Peschke | url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ingrid-peschke/near-death-experiences_b_4151093.html|work=Huffington Post|date=2013-10-24| access-date = 2014-06-14 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | |||
In November 2012, Alexander responded to critics in a second ''Newsweek'' article: | |||
| title = Dr. Eben Alexander Shares What God Looks Like| url = http://www.oprah.com/own-super-soul-sunday/Dr-Eben-Alexander-Shares-What-God-Looks-Like-Video |publisher=OWN TV| access-date = 2014-06-14 }}</ref> Alexander has also expanded on his NDE in the ]<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Alexander|first1=Eben|title=Becoming Conscious: A Neurosurgeon Discusses his Transformational Experience|url=https://www.cns.org/news-advocacy/congress-quarterly/congress-quarterly-spring-2016/Becoming_Conscious|journal=Congress of Neurological Surgeons|issue=Spring 2016|date=April 15, 2016}}</ref> and the peer-reviewed '']''.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Alexander|first1=Eben|title=Near Death Experiences, the Mind-Body Debate & the Nature of Reality|url=http://www.omagdigital.com/publication/?i=246469&p=3|journal=The Journal of the Missouri State Medical Association|year=2015|volume=112|issue=January/February 2015|pages=17–21|pmid=25812265|pmc=6170087}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Alexander|first1=Eben|title=Near Death Experiences: The Last Word|url=http://www.omagdigital.com/publication/?i=268810&page=1#|journal=The Journal of the Missouri State Medical Association|year=2015|volume=112|issue=July/August 2015|pages=275–282|pmid=26455057|pmc=6170063}}</ref> ''Proof of Heaven'' was included on ] for 97 weeks.<ref>{{cite news | |||
{{bquote|Critics have maintained that my near-death experience, like similar experiences others before me have claimed, was a brain-based delusion cobbled together by my ]s only after they had somehow recovered from the blistering weeklong attack. I also experienced that transitional period, when my mind began to regain consciousness: I remember a vivid paranoid nightmare in which my wife and doctors were trying to kill me, and I was only saved from certain death by a ninja couple after being pushed from a 60-story cancer hospital in south Florida. But that period of disorientation and delusion had absolutely nothing to do with what happened to me before my cortex began to recover: the period, that is, when it was shut down and incapable of supporting consciousness at all. During that period, I experienced something very similar to what countless other people who have undergone near-death experiences have witnessed: the transition to a realm beyond the physical, and a vast broadening of my consciousness. The only real difference between my experience and those others is that my brain was, essentially, deader than theirs.<ref>{{cite news |author=Eben Alexander |title=The Science of Heaven|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/11/18/the-science-of-heaven.html |publisher=''Newsweek'' |date=November 18, 2012 |accessdate=2012-11-26}}</ref>}} | |||
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2014-09-21/paperback-nonfiction/list.html | |||
|title=Best Sellers | |||
|date=September 21, 2014 | |||
|work=Paperback Nonfiction | |||
|publisher=The New York Times | |||
|access-date=October 1, 2014 | |||
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006122814/http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2014-09-21/paperback-nonfiction/list.html | |||
|archive-date=October 6, 2014 | |||
|url-status=dead | |||
|df=mdy | |||
}}</ref> | |||
=== ''The Map of Heaven'' === | |||
==See also== | |||
Alexander's second book, ''The Map of Heaven: How Science, Religion, and Ordinary People Are Proving the Afterlife'', was published in October 2014, where he again asserted the existence of an afterlife and that ]. Alexander framed his observations with quotations from spiritual teachers and paired them with the recent work of scientists with the aim of bridging religion and science.<ref name="db" /> He cross-referenced spiritual experiences from readers and different religions to build his case on what heaven looked like.<ref name="db">{{cite news |last1=Pearson |first1=Patricia |title=Eben Alexander Has a GPS for Heaven |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/eben-alexander-has-a-gps-for-heaven |access-date=3 July 2020 |work=The Daily Beast |date=8 October 2014 |language=en}}</ref> ''The Map of Heaven'' was number 12 on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list during the week ending November 2, 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2014/11/02/paperback-nonfiction/?action=click&contentCollection=Books&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fbooks%2Fbest-sellers%2F2014%2F10%2F19%2Fpaperback-nonfiction%2F®ion=Header&module=ArrowNav&version=Right&pgtype=Reference |title=New York Times |date=2 Nov 2014 |newspaper=New York Times}}</ref> | |||
*'']'' | |||
*'']'' | |||
===''Living in a Mindful Universe''=== | |||
*'']'' | |||
Alexander's third book, ''Living in a Mindful Universe: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Heart of Consciousness'', was coauthored with Karen Newell, cofounder of Sacred Acoustics and published in 2017. | |||
*] | |||
*'']'' | |||
==Personal life== | |||
In 2000, Alexander located his birth parents but he was initially informed that his birth mother did not then wish to meet with him.<ref>{{cite web|author=Burkhart, Jesse|url=http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/best-seller-proof-of-heaven-author-remembers-winston-salem-roots/article_e3a4132a-3f3f-11e2-af95-001a4bcf6878.html|title=Best-Seller 'Proof of Heaven' Author Remembers Winston-Salem Roots|website=Journalnow.com (Winston-Salem Journal)|date=December 5, 2012 }}</ref> Later on his birth mother changed her mind and agreed to meet with him. In 2007, Alexander was finally able to meet with both his birth parents and his birth siblings.<ref name="observer">{{cite web|author=Washburn, Mark|url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article9122126.html|title='Proof of Heaven' Author Discusses His Adoption at the Westin Uptown|website=Charlotte Observer.com}}</ref> | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist |
{{reflist}} | ||
{{cite journal | |||
| last = Dittrich | |||
| first = Luke | |||
| url=http://www.esquire.com/features/the-prophet | |||
| date = August 2013 | |||
| title = The Prophet: An Investigation of Eben ALexander, Author of the Blockbuster "Proof of Heaven" | |||
| journal = ] | |||
| location = New York City | |||
| pages = pp 88–95, 125–126, 128 | |||
| publisher = Hearst Communications, Inc. | |||
| id = | |||
}} Page 95: "On August 6, 2008, the patient filed a $3 million lawsuit against Alexander, accusing him of negligence, battery, spoliation, and fraud. The purported cover-up, the changes Alexander had made to the surgical report, was a major aspect of the suit. Once again, a lawyer was accusing Alexander of altering the historical record when the historical record didn't fit the story he wanted to tell."</ref> | |||
}} | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
{{official website|http://lifebeyonddeath.net}} | * {{official website|http://lifebeyonddeath.net}} | ||
{{Authority control |
{{Authority control}} | ||
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see ]. --> | |||
| NAME = Alexander, Eben | |||
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | |||
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American neurosurgeon | |||
| DATE OF BIRTH = December, 1953 | |||
| PLACE OF BIRTH = ], ] | |||
| DATE OF DEATH = | |||
| PLACE OF DEATH = | |||
}} | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Eben}} | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Eben}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 00:46, 25 October 2024
American neurosurgeon (born 1953) This article is about the neurosurgeon and author. For his great-grandfather, see Eben Alexander (educator).
Eben Alexander III | |
---|---|
Born | (1953-12-11) December 11, 1953 (age 71) Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. |
Alma mater | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (A.B., 1975) Duke University School of Medicine (M.D., 1980) |
Occupation(s) | Writer, neurosurgeon |
Website | www |
Eben Alexander III (born December 11, 1953) is an American neurosurgeon and author. In 2008, he went under a medically-induced coma while being treated for meningitis. His book Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife (2012) describes his near-death experience while in the coma. He asserts that the coma resulted in brain death, that consciousness is not only a product of the brain and that it can go on to an afterlife.
Early life and education
Alexander was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was adopted by Eben Alexander Jr and his wife Elizabeth West Alexander and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with three siblings. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (A.B., 1975), and the Duke University School of Medicine (M.D., 1980).
Medical career
Alexander has taught and had appointments at Duke University Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, University of Massachusetts Medical School, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute et al.
While practicing medicine in Lynchburg at the Lynchburg General Hospital, Alexander was reprimanded by the Virginia Board of Medicine for performing surgery incorrectly. In 2007, twice within a month, he operated on the wrong segment of patients’ spinal column. In one of the cases, Alexander did not initially reveal his mistake as he believed the surgery had been beneficial; even though it wasn't the intended operation. He was sued by the patient for damages totalling $3 million in August 2008. The case was dismissed by the plaintiff in 2009 without comment from an attorney. Due to these mistakes, Alexander temporarily lost his privileges at the hospital and was forced to pay a $3,500 fine to the Virginia Board of Medicine. Alexander completed ethics and professionalism training to maintain an unrestricted medical license in the state.
By 2008, Alexander was clinical director of the Brain Program at the Focused Ultrasound Foundation in Charlottesville.
Near-death experience
In November 2008, Alexander was suffering from bacterial meningitis inflaming his brain and spinal cord. He was flailing and in seizure, therefore the doctors put him into a medically-induced coma for his own safety.
Writing career
Proof of Heaven
Main article: Proof of HeavenAlexander authored Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife in 2012. The book expounds on his near-death experience while suffering from a bacterial meningitis and under a medically induced coma. Alexander describes how the experience changed his perceptions of life and the afterlife.
The book was a commercial success but also was the subject of scientific criticism in relation to misconceptions about neurology, such as conflating medically induced coma with brain death. A 2013 article in Esquire magazine refuted claims made in the book. The doctor who treated Alexander stated that certain details cannot be true, such as claims Alexander made about speaking clearly at times he would have been intubated. The Esquire article also reported that Alexander had been terminated or suspended from multiple hospital positions, and had been the subject of several malpractice lawsuits and that he settled five malpractice suits in Virginia within a period of ten years.
Among the discrepancies, was that Alexander had written the cause of his coma was bacterial meningitis, despite his doctor telling the reporter that he had been conscious and hallucinating before being placed in a medically induced coma. In a statement responding to the criticism, Alexander maintained that his representation of the experience was truthful and that he believed in the message contained in his book. He also claimed that the Esquire article "cherry-picked" information about his past to discredit his accounts of the event.
Proof of Heaven was also criticized by scientists, including Sam Harris who described Alexander's NDE account on his blog as "alarmingly unscientific", and that claims of experiencing visions while his cerebral cortex was shut down demonstrated a failure to acknowledge existing brain science with little evidence prove otherwise. Neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks agreed with Harris, and argued that Alexander had failed to recognize that the experience could have been the result of his cortex returning to full function at the outset of his coma, rather than a supernatural experience. In 2012 Alexander responded to critics in a second Newsweek article, where he said that he vividly remembers having periods of hallucination and explains that there was a massive difference between them and his 'fully immersive' visions of the afterlife. Alexander describes the hallucinations in his book, saying that they were disjointed and centred around both random events and his doctors. He then compares them to the "hyper-real" experience of the afterlife, and says they do not match up. He also made a prediction in his book that secular critics, which included himself before his coma, would attempt to discredit him and his experience without looking into it properly.
Alexander presented related lectures around the world in churches, hospitals, medical schools, and academic symposia, besides appearing on TV shows including Super Soul Sunday with Oprah Winfrey. Alexander has also expanded on his NDE in the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the peer-reviewed Journal of the Missouri State Medical Association. Proof of Heaven was included on The New York Times Best Seller list for 97 weeks.
The Map of Heaven
Alexander's second book, The Map of Heaven: How Science, Religion, and Ordinary People Are Proving the Afterlife, was published in October 2014, where he again asserted the existence of an afterlife and that consciousness is independent of the brain. Alexander framed his observations with quotations from spiritual teachers and paired them with the recent work of scientists with the aim of bridging religion and science. He cross-referenced spiritual experiences from readers and different religions to build his case on what heaven looked like. The Map of Heaven was number 12 on the New York Times bestseller list during the week ending November 2, 2014.
Living in a Mindful Universe
Alexander's third book, Living in a Mindful Universe: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Heart of Consciousness, was coauthored with Karen Newell, cofounder of Sacred Acoustics and published in 2017.
Personal life
In 2000, Alexander located his birth parents but he was initially informed that his birth mother did not then wish to meet with him. Later on his birth mother changed her mind and agreed to meet with him. In 2007, Alexander was finally able to meet with both his birth parents and his birth siblings.
References
- ^ Dittrich, Luke (August 2013). "The Prophet: An Investigation of Eben Alexander, Author of the Blockbuster "Proof of Heaven"". Esquire. New York City: Hearst Communications, Inc. pp. 88–95, 125–126, 128. Page 95: "On August 6, 2008, the patient filed a $3 million lawsuit against Alexander, accusing him of negligence, battery, spoliation, and fraud. The purported cover-up, the changes Alexander had made to the surgical report, was a major aspect of the suit. Once again, a lawyer was accusing Alexander of altering the historical record when the historical record didn't fit the story he wanted to tell."
- https://www.npr.org/2014/05/14/310719887/debate-is-death-final
- Burkhart, Jesse (December 5, 2012). "Best-seller 'Proof of Heaven' author remembers Winston-Salem roots". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- "Renowned Neurosurgeon Eben Alexander Dies at 91". Archived from the original on August 25, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
- Washburn, Mark. "'Proof of Heaven' author discusses his adoption at the Westin uptown". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- Thompson, Dave (July 28, 2013). "Neurosurgeon reprimanded by state board". The News & Advance. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- storyware (August 22, 2009). "Landmark Progress in Noninvasive Treatment of Brain Disorders". Focused Ultrasound Foundation. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
- "To Do No Harm | Magazine | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
- ^ Harris, Sam (October 12, 2012). "This Must Be Heaven". Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- Sacks, Oliver, "Seeing God in the Third Millennium", The Atlantic Monthly (December 12, 2012).
- Jarrett, Christian (December 27, 2013). "Butterfly-riding Neurosurgeon Hits Turbulence". Wired. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
- ^ Jeff Bercovici. "Esquire Unearths 'Proof of Heaven' Author's Credibility Problems". Forbes. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
- Harris, Sam (October 12, 2012). "This Must Be Heaven". Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- Sacks, Oliver, "Seeing God in the Third Millennium", The Atlantic Monthly (December 12, 2012).
- Eben Alexander (November 18, 2012). "The Science of Heaven". Newsweek. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
- Ingrid Peschke (October 24, 2013). "Dr. Eben Alexander Says It's Time for Brain Science to Graduate From Kindergarten". Huffington Post. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
- "Dr. Eben Alexander Shares What God Looks Like". OWN TV. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
- Alexander, Eben (April 15, 2016). "Becoming Conscious: A Neurosurgeon Discusses his Transformational Experience". Congress of Neurological Surgeons (Spring 2016).
- Alexander, Eben (2015). "Near Death Experiences, the Mind-Body Debate & the Nature of Reality". The Journal of the Missouri State Medical Association. 112 (January/February 2015): 17–21. PMC 6170087. PMID 25812265.
- Alexander, Eben (2015). "Near Death Experiences: The Last Word". The Journal of the Missouri State Medical Association. 112 (July/August 2015): 275–282. PMC 6170063. PMID 26455057.
- "Best Sellers". Paperback Nonfiction. The New York Times. September 21, 2014. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
- ^ Pearson, Patricia (October 8, 2014). "Eben Alexander Has a GPS for Heaven". The Daily Beast. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- "New York Times". New York Times. November 2, 2014.
- Burkhart, Jesse (December 5, 2012). "Best-Seller 'Proof of Heaven' Author Remembers Winston-Salem Roots". Journalnow.com (Winston-Salem Journal).
- Washburn, Mark. "'Proof of Heaven' Author Discusses His Adoption at the Westin Uptown". Charlotte Observer.com.
External links
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