This was a very compelling and unusual read. Joanna Lander is a psychologist who is trying to figure out the mysteries of the Near-Death Experience (NDE). This is the experience reported by many who supposedly come back from death where they are in a tunnel and see a bright light and possibly relatives or friends waiting for them at the end of the tunnel. But what is really happening? Is this a real experience and proof of an after life or is this a message from a dying brain trying to save itself? Joanna has been interviewing many patients in the hospital where she works in Colorado trying to determine the similarities of the NDE's. Then she hooks up with Dr. Richard Wright who has come up with a way to simulate the NDE using drugs. She becomes involved in a program using volunteers to record their drug-induced NDE's but because the volunteers drop out or have limited use, Joanna volunteers to be a subject and her NDE's are not what she expects!
This novel is full of great characters who share their experiences with Joanna (not always their NDE). These include Maisie, a young girl waiting for a heart transplant who is obsessed with disasters including the Hindenburg, the Lusitania, and later the Titanic. There is also Mr. Wojakowski who was in WWII on the Yorktown, an aircraft carrier that sunk during the war. He is full of interesting stories but are they reliable? Then there is Joanna's old high school English teacher, Mr. Briarly, who has Alzheimer's and may be a key to understanding what Joanna experiences during her NDE experiences.
The book really delved into the mind and how it may work. Joanna was constantly searching for something important on the edge of her consciousness but it kept eluding her. I know I have experienced this feeling many times. Overall, I did really enjoy this with a few reservations. Joanna seems to always be going in circles looking for an answer to fit the mysteries of the NDE's. I think the hospital itself was a metaphor for this with its maze of hallways that are very hard to navigate. And in my opinion, the book could have been cut by about half (its almost 800 pages!), but again it was very compelling reading and enjoyable. I have a few other books by Willis that I hope to get to soon.
This novel is full of great characters who share their experiences with Joanna (not always their NDE). These include Maisie, a young girl waiting for a heart transplant who is obsessed with disasters including the Hindenburg, the Lusitania, and later the Titanic. There is also Mr. Wojakowski who was in WWII on the Yorktown, an aircraft carrier that sunk during the war. He is full of interesting stories but are they reliable? Then there is Joanna's old high school English teacher, Mr. Briarly, who has Alzheimer's and may be a key to understanding what Joanna experiences during her NDE experiences.
The book really delved into the mind and how it may work. Joanna was constantly searching for something important on the edge of her consciousness but it kept eluding her. I know I have experienced this feeling many times. Overall, I did really enjoy this with a few reservations. Joanna seems to always be going in circles looking for an answer to fit the mysteries of the NDE's. I think the hospital itself was a metaphor for this with its maze of hallways that are very hard to navigate. And in my opinion, the book could have been cut by about half (its almost 800 pages!), but again it was very compelling reading and enjoyable. I have a few other books by Willis that I hope to get to soon.
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