In My Time of Dying

How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife

De: Sebastian Junger

Narrado por: Sebastian Junger

A near-fatal health emergency leads to this powerful reflection on death—and what might follow—by the bestselling author of Tribe and The Perfect Storm.

For years as an award-winning war reporter, Sebastian Junger traveled to many front lines and frequently put his life at risk. And yet, the closest he ever came to death was the summer of 2020 while spending a quiet afternoon at the New England home he shared with his wife and two young children. Crippled by abdominal pain, Junger was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Once there, he began slipping away. As blackness encroached, he was visited by his dead father, inviting Junger to join him. “It’s okay,” his father said. “There’s nothing to be scared of. I’ll take care of you.” That was the last thing Junger remembered until he came to the next day when he was told he had suffered a ruptured aneurysm that he should not have survived.

This experience spurred Junger—a confirmed atheist raised by his physicist father to respect the empirical—to undertake a scientific, philosophical, and deeply personal examination of mortality and what happens after we die. How do we begin to process the brutal fact that any of us might perish unexpectedly on what begins as an ordinary day? How do we grapple with phenomena that science may be unable to explain? And what happens to a person, emotionally and spiritually, when forced to reckon with such existential questions?

In My Time of Dying is part medical drama, part searing autobiography, and part rational inquiry into the ultimate unknowable mystery.

©2024 Sebastian Junger (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

God and religion

His interpretation of God and religion and fear of the unknown is very thought provoking.

renewed lust for life

This book reminded me how precious each moment is and how vast our lack of knowledge of the universe is as well.

Lost me during "what?"

Found myself getting a bit sick listening to him talk about blood and the procedures he was going through. Wasn't what I expected after seeing him interviewed on tv.

The scientific detail of the physiological experiences Sebastian had, and then the physics of the universe.

I loved his personal story, but got a bit bogged down in the science of both the medical experience of death and the theorizing of the origins of the world, time, space, merging of worlds—very fascinating, but tedious at times. I did not feel satisfied at the end…but I’m not sure that was the point.

Worth a listen

A very good perspective on NDEs and the value of life and death. He gets into panpsychism toward the end, which is an interesting topic. Despite what some other reviewers have said, I also found the discussion of quantum physics interesting and valuable.

Good book

There was a pitch change at the beginning of the novel which kind of threw me off and led me to believe someone else was reading. But apart from that it was a great novel

Near death experience and quantum mechanics

Neath death experience, quantum mechanics, spirituality all in one. He treads his own near death experience through it all.

Compelling

Another great book, by one of my favorite authors. Perfectly researched and relatable. I hope he never stops writing.
Outstanding.

Surprisingly Unsatisfying

I have read a number of Junger’s books and always found his storytelling quite good and his ability to capture a moment thrilling. There is a lot of that in Dying. His narration of the moment he realizes the terror of his situation is captivating.

For better or worse I found myself in a similar time of peril as my SUV hurtled off the highway and I realized that impact was inevitable with predictable consequence. My reaction at that moment was very different from his but that’s for another time. His tale of Hospitalization and recovery was frighteningly realistic and he intrigued the Reader throughout his journey. I found that part of the book tremendously interesting.

Where I had a problem was with his obsession with his Near Death Experience and his determination to let his experience take over the rest of his Life. This man who had subjected himself to so many life threatening situations recounted in his books was spending hours, days, and weeks grilling doctors over treatments that might prolong his life and living in fear of potentially dangerous experiences. As a survivor, albeit with injuries, I never wanted to think about my crash or the years of treatment and recovery. I put it totally out of my mind.

Granted, everyone deals with their Life events differently and Junger probably wouldn’t have written the book absent his obsession. I also missed the point of his descent into Quantum Theory, which is not his Field, to try to explain NDE’s. More Woo-Woo than we needed.

For those reasons I have to give Dying Three Stars. ***

Stunning

Don’t miss this of the subject appeals. Great writing and a spoken performance that is up to the task.