Terminal lucidity is a relatively common but poorly understood phenomenon. Near the end of life, many people--including those who have suffered brain injuries or strokes, or have been silenced by mental illness or deep dementia--experience what seems a miraculous return. They regain their clarity and energy, are able to talk with families and caregivers, recall their lives and often appear to be aware of their nearing death.
In this remarkable book, cognitive scientist and Director of the Viktor Frankl Institute Dr. Alexander Batthyány offers the first major account of terminal lucidity, utilizing hundreds of case studies and his research in the related field of near-death studies to explore the mind, the body, the nature of consciousness, and what the living can learn from those who are crossing the border from life to death. [From Amazon]
Author(s): Batthyány, Alexander
Edition: 1
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Year: 2023
Language: English
Commentary: This is a review copy. There is no index and no covers, but it is probably indistinguishable from the published version in other respects. [Astrophel: 13-07-23]
Pages: 242
City: New York
Tags: Death; Near-death Experiences; Terminal Lucidity
Part I. On Being Someone
1. On Being Someone, and Yet to Die 3
A Look Behind the Obvious
Stories and Data: Finding Light in Unlikely Places
Life Stories, Life Meanings, Life Endings
Life, Death and Dignity
Being a Self
2. Death, Disease, and the Question of Who We Are 17
Dementia and the Self
Questions of Life and of Death
Socrates in the Giver’s Hand
Biology and the Self: “And What About the Soul?”
The Enchanted Loom
Mind and Materialism
“First You Take Away the Soul”
Seeing What the Eye Can’t See
3. The Return of the Self 41
“And then, Something Unexpected Happened”
Lessons of Surprise: A Research Workshop at the National Institute
on Aging
The Laurenz Case
The Case of Anna Katharina Ehmer, Known as Käthe
Contemporary Cases
A Gift Wrapped in Pain
4. Setting the Scene 58
Studying, but Above All: Listening
Encounters
Hearing the Call
Part II. Terminal Lucidity
5. Approaching Terminal Lucidity: The Pilot Study
and Its Aftermath 73
Searching for a Phenomenon
IANDS
6. “We Need to Talk”: The Loneliness of Witnessing
the Unexpected 79
Lifting the Veil
“Can This Be Real?”
“Is It Time to Say Farewell?”
7. Casting Out the Nets 96
Going Deeper
A Caveat
8. Witnesses 100
Who Experiences TL?
Age and Gender
Length of Episode
Cognitive State during Lucid Episode
Not Alone in Death
“But Can’t You Hear This Beautiful Music?”
Holding Their Hands
The Last Conversation
Proximity to Patient’s Death
Triggers and Causes
“A Lot of Peace and Acceptance”: Reactions
Hope in Hopeless Places
Part III. Mind at Death, Mind at Large
9. White Crows 141
What Is TL Trying to Tell Us?
Squaring a Circle
10. Mind and Brain in Extreme States 150
Mind and Brain Near Death
At the Limits: Boundary Conditions
Greyson’s Proposal
11. Mind at Death 157
Mindsight
NDEs
12. Perception at the End of Life 162
When Do NDEs Take Place?
Are Perceptions near Death Accurate?
“A Genius When I Was Dead”
13. Mind, Memory, and Vision near Death 173
Thinking and Seeing near Death
Study Results
Seeing near Death
Thinking near Death
14. Relating the NDE and TL 185
Overlaps and Differences between TL and the NDE
“What’s a Mistake but a Kind of Take?”: William James,
Intoxicated
Memory and Vision and the NDE
Bridging the Gap
15. Making Sense of It 193
After the Eclipse
The Soul, Mind at Large
Part IV. Person, Death, and Meaning
16. A Sheltered Self 203
Incomprehensible Beauty, Unconditional Dignity
Care for the Soul
17. Why It Matters 210
Honoring a Legacy
Rehabilitating Hope
Acknowledgments 217
Bibliography 221
Notes 227
Index 235
