Universal Acquires Non-Fiction Bestseller PROOF OF HEAVEN

Universal Pictures has won the rights to Dr. Eben Alexander's non-fiction bestseller, PROOF OF HEAVEN: A NEUROSURGEON'S JOURNEY INTO THE AFTERLIFE, Deadline has confirmed.

Ryan Knighton (COCKEYED, the upcoming film THICK AS THIEVES) is set to adapt Dr. Alexander's uplifting story for the big-screen. As of now, no director is attached to the project.

The book is officially descibed by the publisher as:

"Thousands of people have had near-death experiences, but scientists have argued that they are impossible. Dr. Eben Alexander was one of those scientists. A highly trained neurosurgeon, Alexander knew that NDEs feel real, but are simply fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress.

Then, Dr. Alexander's own brain was attacked by a rare illness. The part of the brain that controls thought and emotion-and in essence makes us human-shut down completely. For seven days he lay in a coma. Then, as his doctors considered stopping treatment, Alexander's eyes popped open. He had come back.

Alexander's recovery is a medical miracle. But the real miracle of his story lies elsewhere. While his body lay in coma, Alexander journeyed beyond this world and encountered an angelic being who guided him into the deepest realms of super-physical existence. There he met, and spoke with, the Divine source of the universe itself.

Alexander's story is not a fantasy. Before he underwent his journey, he could not reconcile his knowledge of neuroscience with any belief in heaven, God, or the soul. Today Alexander is a doctor who believes that true health can be achieved only when we realize that God and the soul are real and that death is not the end of personal existence but only a transition.

This story would be remarkable no matter who it happened to. That it happened to Dr. Alexander makes it revolutionary. No scientist or person of faith will be able to ignore it. Reading it will change your life."

The site reports that numerous studios fought for the rights, though Universal came out on top with an undisclosed, though presumably high, bid.

For the original report, head on over to Deadline.