Editing Life After Life (Moody book)

{{Short description|1975 book by Raymond Moody}}
{{about|the 1975 nonfiction book|other books|Life After Life (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox book
| name          = Life After Life: The Investigation of a Phenomenon—Survival of Bodily Death
| image         = Life After Life (Moody book).jpg
| caption       = First edition
| author        = [[Raymond Moody|Raymond A. Moody]]
| subject       = 
| publisher     =  Mockingbird Books
| pub_date      =  1975
| media_type    =  Print
| pages         =  175
| isbn =  978-0-89176-037-5
| oclc          =  12173853
}}
'''''Life After Life''''' is a 1975 book written by [[psychiatrist]] [[Raymond Moody]]. It is a report on a [[Qualitative research|qualitative study]] in which Moody interviewed 150 people who had undergone [[near-death experience]]s (NDEs). The book presents the author's composite account of what it is like to die, supplemented with individual accounts.<ref>[[Clifton D. Bryant]] (2003). [https://books.google.com/books?id=3z9EpgisKOgC&pg=PA138 Handbook of Death and Dying] Sage, p.138.</ref><ref>Michael Marsh. [https://www.jstor.org/pss/3560722 Review: Beyond Death: The Rebirth of Immortality] ''The Hastings Center Report'', Vol. 7, No. 5 (Oct., 1977), pp. 40–42.</ref> On the basis of his collection of cases, Moody identified a common set of elements in NDEs:<ref name=hji/>
<blockquote>
*(a) an overwhelming feeling of peace and well-being, including freedom from pain.
*(b) the impression of being located outside one's physical body.
*(c) floating or drifting through darkness, sometimes described as a tunnel.
*(d) becoming aware of a golden light.
*(e) encountering and perhaps communicating with a "being of light".
*(f) having a rapid succession of visual images of one's past.
*(g) experiencing another world of much beauty.<ref name=hji>Harvey J. Irwin and Caroline Watt. [https://books.google.com/books?id=E3EzxyOufbgC&q=attacks+on+parapsychology An introduction to parapsychology] McFarland, 2007, p. 159.</ref>
</blockquote>

''Life After Life'' sold more than 13 million copies,<ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/03/22/1079939578423.html Towards the light] ''The Age'', March 23, 2004.</ref> was translated into a dozen foreign languages<ref>{{citation|author=Louis E. LaGrand|title=Messages and miracles: extraordinary experiences of the bereaved|publisher=Llewellyn Worldwide|location=St. Paul, MN|year=1999|isbn=1-56718-406-5|page=9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fqguNwt0Y4wC&pg=PA9}}</ref> and became an international best seller, which made the subject of NDEs popular and opened the way for [[near-death studies|many other studies]].<ref>Harvey J. Irwin, Caroline Watt (2007). [https://books.google.com/books?id=E3EzxyOufbgC&pg=PA158 An introduction to parapsychology] McFarland, p. 158.</ref><ref>Duane S. Crowther (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=G0Fz0IgWS9oC&pg=PA19 Life Everlasting] Cedar Fort, p. 19.</ref>

==Reception==
Moody's alleged evidence for an [[afterlife]] was heavily criticized as flawed, both logically and empirically.<ref>[[Barry Beyerstein]]. (1990). ''Evaluating the Anomalous Experience''. In [[Kendrick Frazier]]. ''The Hundredth Monkey and Other Paradigms of the Paranormal''. Prometheus Books. pp. 43–53. {{ISBN|0-87975-655-1}}</ref> The psychologist and skeptic [[James Alcock]] has noted that "[Moody] appears to ignore a great deal of the scientific literature dealing with hallucinatory experiences in general, just as he quickly glosses over the very real limitations of his research method."<ref>[[James Alcock]]. (1981). ''Psychology and Near-Death Experiences''. In [[Kendrick Frazier]]. ''Paranormal Borderlands of Science''. Prometheus Books. pp. 153–169. {{ISBN|0-87975-148-7}}</ref>

The philosopher and skeptic [[Paul Kurtz]] has written that Moody's evidence for the NDE is based on personal interviews and anecdotal accounts and there has been no statistical analyses of his data. According to Kurtz, "there is no reliable evidence that people who report such experiences have died and returned, or that consciousness exists separate from the brain or body."<ref>[[Paul Kurtz]]. (1991). ''Toward a New Enlightenment: The Philosophy of Paul Kurtz''. Transaction Publishers. p. 349. {{ISBN|1-56000-118-6}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|http://www.lifeafterlife.com/}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180810131539/http://raymondmoody.org/ The Raymond Moody Institute]
* [http://thendestories.uk/NDE_story0001.html NDE episodes from the book ''Life After Life'' by Dr. R. Moody]

{{Reincarnation research}}
{{Parapsychology|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1975 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Afterlife]]
[[Category:Books about the paranormal]]
[[Category:Books about near-death experiences]]