'Death is But a Dream': Exploring Lessons of Medicine's and Humanity's Greatest Mystery
Dr. Christopher Kerr has cared for thousands of patients who, in the face of death, experience end-of-life dreams and visions that are unlike any other. Described as "more real than real," these end-of-life experiences resurrect past relationships, meaningful events and themes of love and forgiveness, restore life's meaning, and mark the transition from distress to comfort and acceptance.
Drawing on interviews with over 1,400 patients and more than a decade of quantified data for an evidence-based and peer-reviewed published studies, Dr. Kerr reveals that pre-death dreams and visions are extraordinary occurrences that humanize the dying process. He shares how his patients' stories point to death as not solely about the end of life, but as the final chapter of humanity's transcendence.
Dr. Kerr's book also illuminates the benefits of these phenomena for the bereaved, who find solace in seeing their loved ones pass with a sense of calm closure.
Additionally, by showing what doctors are currently doing wrong when it comes to end-of-life care, he explains how to add this new awareness to their practices.
Beautifully written, with astonishing real-life characters and stories, "Death Is But a Dream" is an important contribution to our understanding of medicine's and humanity's greatest mystery, which Dr. Kerr, whose TED Talk has more than 5 million views, will unpack from the JES stage.
Location: Jefferson Educational Society - 3207 State St. Erie, PA 16508
Date/Time: Tuesday, July 14th, 7:00-8:30PM
Admission: $15/person; $25 with guest
Christopher Kerr is the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Executive Officer at Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo where he has worked since 1999. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Chris earned his MD as well as a PhD in Neurobiology. Outside of direct patient care, Chris’ focus is in the area of patient advocacy. His passion is palliative care and a belief that such care should be throughout the continuum of illness. Under Dr. Kerr’s medical leadership, Hospice Buffalo now serves 1,200 patients a day, the majority of whom receive services upstream of hospice care. Dr. Kerr’s background in research has evolved from bench science towards the human experience of illness as witnessed from the bedside, specifically patient’s subjective experiences at the end of life. To date, the research team at Hospice Buffalo has published multiple studies on this topic and documented over 1,500 end-of-life events, many of which are videotaped. This work was the subject of his TEDx Buffalo Talk which has been viewed 5.5 million times. It has been the subject of numerous reports around the world as well as The Oprah Winfrey Podcast, The BBC, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic Monthly, Scientific American Mind, Huffington Post, NY Times Magazine and Psychology Today. It is also featured in a docu-series on Netflix called Surviving Death and a PBS Documentary called Death Is but A Dream. He is also involved in a third documentary, Edge of Life, which has just premiered. Dr. Kerr’s work has also been published in a book (Death Is but A Dream) by Penguin Random House which was released in 2020 in over 10 languages. Dr. Kerr lives on a horse farm in East Aurora, NY.
