The best non-fiction books about the afterlife
Most lists of books about the afterlife mix research with fiction, memoir and scripture. This one does not. Every title here is non-fiction, and each is a book Brendan D. Murphy draws on in his own work.
They fall into three groups: the near-death research, the accounts of dying and what follows in the wisdom traditions, and the past-life and psychedelic material that asks whether personal identity survives. The reading order below starts with the research and moves outwards.
- 1
Life After Life
Raymond Moody, 1975
The book that gave the near-death experience its name and its common features: the tunnel, the light, the life review. Short and easy to read. Treat it as the start of the field rather than the last word, because later researchers tested its patterns.
Brendan cites it in The Grand Illusion (Science Ain’t Always Scientific)
- 2
Recollections of Death
Michael B. Sabom, 1982
A cardiologist checks what patients said they saw during resuscitation against their medical records. If you want to know whether these accounts hold up against the chart, read this one next.
Brendan cites it in The Grand Illusion (The Mystical Experience; The Occult Aether; Psychokinesis And The Belief Effect)
- 3
Heading Toward Omega
Kenneth Ring, 1985
Kenneth Ring maps the stages of the near-death experience and, more unusually, what it does to people afterwards. The aftereffects are some of the most consistent findings in the field.
Brendan cites it in The Grand Illusion (The Mystical Experience)
- 4
The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences
P.M.H Atwater, 2007
The widest survey in the set: children’s experiences, distressing ones, and the cases that do not fit the tidy pattern. Use it as a reference once you have your bearings.
Brendan cites it in The Grand Illusion (The Question of Consciousness; The Mystical Experience; Thought-Forms)
- 5
Experiencing the Next World Now
Michael Grosso, 2004
A philosopher asks what the near-death and mystical literature means for how we live, not only how we die. A good book to read once the research ones leave you with questions.
Brendan cites it in The Grand Illusion (The Question of Consciousness; Creating And Perceiving The Superhologram; The Human Aura; Telepathy)
- 6
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
Sogyal Rinpoche
The Tibetan account of the stages of dying, written for a general reader. It is the clearest example here of a tradition describing the same territory in its own language, which is the comparison Brendan’s work rests on.
Brendan cites it in The Grand Illusion (The Question of Consciousness; The Mystical Experience)
- 7
Many Lives, Many Masters
Brian Weiss, 1988
A psychiatrist’s account of a patient whose regression sessions moved into past lives. Read it as a case history rather than proof, and set it beside the more systematic reincarnation research.
Brendan cites it in The Grand Illusion (The Question of Consciousness; Science Ain’t Always Scientific; Telepathy)
- 8
The Human Encounter With Death
Stanislav Grof and Joan Halifax, 1977
What people report when they are dying, and what patients and volunteers report in guided psychedelic sessions. It raises the question the research books mostly avoid: how far can an altered state tell us about death?
Brendan cites it in The Grand Illusion (The Mystical Experience)
These books describe what people report. The question left over is what the reports have in common, and what that says about the structure of dying. Brendan’s Consciousness Transition Model is his answer: a cross-tradition map of what consciousness moves through after death. It is set out in Reverse Engineering the Afterlife.
Brendan cites every book here. That does not mean he agrees with all of it.
All 22 books
Take one down to see why it is here and where to find it.
What is the best book on near-death experiences?
For a first book, Life After Life by Raymond Moody, which named the experience and its common features. To test those claims against the evidence, read Recollections of Death by Michael Sabom, a cardiologist who compared patients’ reports with their medical records.
Are there non-fiction books about the afterlife that are based on research?
Yes. The near-death literature, the regression and reincarnation case studies and the accounts of dying are all research-led. Every book on this list is non-fiction and is cited in Brendan D. Murphy’s The Grand Illusion.
Where should I start with books about life after death?
Start with the near-death research, beginning with Moody and then Sabom and Ring, because it is the most systematic body of evidence. Then add one tradition-based book, such as The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, to see how the same territory is described in another language.
What is a good book to read after losing a loved one?
Most of the books here are research, not grief support. Of them, Experiencing the Next World Now and The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying speak most directly to dying and loss. If you are grieving, a bereavement counsellor or support group can help alongside reading.
Is there scientific evidence for an afterlife?
There is a large body of research that mainstream science has not resolved: near-death experiences with reports later checked against the record, children’s past-life memories, and deathbed phenomena. Whether it amounts to proof is contested. Brendan’s Consciousness Transition Model sets out how he reads that evidence.
- The whole bookshelf
- Afterlife (glossary)
- Near-death experience (glossary)
- Reincarnation (glossary)
- Post-mortem consciousness (glossary)
- The best books on near-death experiences
- The best books on consciousness
- The best books on remote viewing
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- The best books on Theosophy
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