Finding Hope and Meaning at Life's End with Dr. Christopher Kerr

Today's special guest, 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 study, 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, Death Is But a Dream: Finding Hope and Meaning at Life's End  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. Beautifully written, with astonishing real-life characters and stories, this book is an important contribution to our understanding of medicine's and humanity's greatest mystery.

Christopher Kerr, MD, PhD, is the CEO and chief medical officer at Hospice Buffalo. Born and raised in Toronto, Kerr earned his MD as well as a PhD in neurobiology and completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Rochester. His research has received international attention and has been featured in The New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, and the BBC. He lives on a horse farm in the small town of East Aurora, New York.