Summary

Appendix A is a statement by Dr. Scott Wade which briefly outlines the facts of Eben Alexander's medical condition while he was in his coma, as well as the fact that his recovery was "miraculous" and "truly remarkable" (172).

Appendix B is a numbered list of the nine neuroscientific hypotheses Alexander considered to explain his experience. They are the same as the ones outlined in the manuscript itself, but here they focus slightly more on the scientific evidence and facts. Nevertheless, the main reason for discounting each hypothesis remains the fact that Alexander's neocortex was offline during his near-death experience.

Analysis

Appendix A provides a scientific and medical description of Alexander's illness from the perspective of an objective third-party. This helps to reinforce Alexander's authority as a writer of his own story as it corroborates his description of his illness as well as the miraculous...