''Closer to the Light: Learning from the Near-Death Experiences of Children'' is a 1991 nonfiction book written by

Melvin L. Morse Melvin L. Morse is an American medical doctor who specializes in pediatrics. He has authored several books and articles on paranormal science and near-death experiences in children. Morse was arrested in 2012 and later convicted of child endange ...

and Paul Perry with foreword written by Raymond Moody. The book documented the near-death experiences (NDEs) of 26 children and became a New York Times bestseller.

Summary

''Closer to the Light'' documents real-life accounts of near-death experiences in children. Morse had previously theorized that near-death experiences came from drugs administered during attempts to save someone's life. He conducted a study to determine which drugs caused such experiences but abandoned it after what he believes were credible reports of near death experiences. The results of the study were first published in 1986 in the '' American Journal of Disease in Children'', with ''Closer to the Light'' documenting the study and other accounts of near death experiences in children in 1991.

Reception

The book was reviewed by Stuart W Twemlow in 1991 in the '' Journal of Near-Death Studies''. His view is that a scientifically 'suspect' subject had been well covered and written up in plain language by Morse, whom he praises as 'empathic'. Others who have referred to the book have examined the overall validity of NDEs as evidence of survival after bodily death.

Susan J. Blackmore Susan Jane Blackmore (born 29 July 1951) is a British writer, lecturer, sceptic, broadcaster, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Plymouth. Her fields of research include memetics, parapsychology, consciousness, and she is best known ...

in her chapter 'Near-death experiences' in ''The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience'' discusses various alternative explanations for these experiences, including

expectation Expectation or Expectations may refer to: Science * Expectation (epistemic) * Expected value, in mathematical probability theory * Expectation value (quantum mechanics) * Expectation–maximization algorithm, in statistics Music * ''Expectation' ...

, administered drugs,

endorphins Endorphins (contracted from endogenous morphine) are chemical signals in the brain that block the perception of pain and increase feelings of wellbeing. They are produced and stored in an area of the brain known as the pituitary gland. Hist ...

, anoxia (oxygen depletion) or

hypercarbia Hypercapnia (from the Greek ''hyper'' = "above" or "too much" and ''kapnos'' = "smoke"), also known as hypercarbia and CO2 retention, is a condition of abnormally elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the blood. Carbon dioxide is a gaseous pr ...

(excess carbon dioxide) and temporal lobe stimulation. Both anoxia and hypercarbia are likely to induce at least some of the elements of an NDE, such as the 'light at the end of a tunnel' and the 'out-of-body' experiences. Hypercarbia has long been known to induce strange effects such as seeing lights, visions, disconnection from the body and apparently mystical experiences. Blackmore concludes that temporal lobe stimulation due to anoxia and changes in the limbic system may also account for much of the classical near-death-experience. In closing the chapter she says that the NDE deserves serious research, not to prove survival beyond death but to help in the acceptance of death and tell us more about ourselves.

References

{{Reflist 1991 non-fiction books Books about near-death experiences