Dr. Raymond Moody in his 1975 book Life After Life pioneered the exploration of near-death experiences and since then there have been many other volumes on this widespread phenomenon. Jeffrey Long is a radiation oncologist in Houma, Louisiana, who has been actively involved in research on NDEs, which he defines as "events that take place as a person is dying or, indeed, is already clinically dead." In 1998, he started the Near Death Experience Research Foundation which was launched on the World Wide Web (www.nderf.org) and over a ten-year period gathered information from 1,300 people who had had NDEs. People of every race, creed, and color from around the world, they shared their experiences and answered a 100-page questionnaire. Long believes that a common thread binds these individuals together: facing a tragedy, they were propelled into a state of mystery, wonder, and love that transformed their lives.

The author discusses 12 elements of NDEs and includes illustrations from those who have had them. Some of the elements include out-of-the-body experiences, heightened senses, life review, encountering other beings, either mystical beings or decreased relatives or friends, and encountering or learning special knowledge. The end result of all this testimony, according to Long, is "there is life after death."

He concludes the book with nine points to support this finding: crystal-clear consciousness, realistic out-of-body experiences, heightened senses, consciousness during anesthesia, perfect playback, family reunions, children's experiences, worldwide consistency, and aftereffects. Along the way, Long answers skeptics who question these nine points. He also does a fine job of summarizing some of the transformative changes from NDEs such as increased love for others, psychic events, inexplicable healings, and decreased fear of death.