Beyond: How Humankind Thinks About Heaven

Therapist Wolff (Not Less Than Everything) delivers an elegant if scattered study of the afterlife in this wide-ranging survey. Wolff charts a roughly chronological course from Mesopotamian mythology to contemporary spiritualist thought and along the way introduces readers to Buddhist conceptions of nirvana and enlightenment, Christian beliefs on heaven and damnation, the Hindu cosmos of worlds, Jewish writings on a “Promised Land flowing with milk and honey,” Muslim visions of a “lush” and “sensual paradise,” and many other conceptions of afterlives. Some beliefs merit entire chapters; others—notably Indigenous religions—warrant a paragraph or two. While Wolff provides numerous anecdotes (such as a high-tech New Age retreat in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains), these granular stories cannot overcome the oversimplifications and inconsistencies. For instance, having previously declared that “none of us has ever met anybody who has returned from heaven with a verifiable report,” Wolff concludes by describing an “ultimate inn” where “we’ll be surrounded by our family and friends from earth, and some we’ve just met from the communion of saints.” Spiritualists of any stripe will find much to ponder. [em](May) [/em]