"I'm not surprised that a book on suicide would be very personal, but I didn’t expect it to be so damn funny. It's also engaging, thoughtful, and sensitive--although Bering is certainly irreverent, there is a real appreciation of how painful and difficult this topic can be. This is a book for scholars and for a general audience, but it is also entirely suitable for people whose lives have been touched by the suicide of someone they loved.”

Paul Bloom, author of Against Empathy

“Bering’s jokes about the things that make us most squeamish invite us to share his joyful curiosity about human sexuality, to see the world through his eyes...As Bering describes it, the complex interplay between biology, psychology, and culture suggests that what makes us most human—empathy—is also what makes us the most complicated beast of all.”

Bookforum

"Bering's book kept me hooked like a good novel does. Is there an afterlife or not? You need to keep turning the pages to find out, and Bering does a great job of keeping you on the fence. He does so effectively because he is a cautious, skeptical scientist writing about Ian Stevenson - another cautious, skeptical scientist. Well done!" 

Robert Epstein, Ph.D., Senior Research Psychologist, American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology