This is the story of a prominent US neurosurgeon who has a profound afterlife experience while in a coma

When an unknown bacteria attacks Dr Alexander's brain, sending him into a coma, his doctors say and MRIs show that his neocortex – the part of the brain that forms images, makes memories, makes connections – is functionally dead. In other words, Alexander has no capacity for thought.

Miraculously, Alexander wakes seven days later, and recovers all his functions. More than this, he is able to recall, in a profound and detailed way, an extraordinary afterlife experience; remember, he has been pronounced incapable of producing thoughts/images/memories of any kind.

As a neurosurgeon, Alexander is uniquely placed to talk about his illness and the shutdown of his brain, and to speculate on the source of his extraordinary coma experiences.