The secret of all secrets
What happens when we die? Is there life after death? Are the ancient religions right when they promise us a possible paradise? What do those who have had near-death experiences say about this question?
Many books have been published on this subject over the last 50 years. Bestselling author Dan Brown also deals with the near-death experience in his new thriller “The Secret of Secrets”, in which he affirms his belief in life after death.
Years of research for his new book have fundamentally changed his personal view. He now believes in life after death, the 61-year-old told Stern magazine in September 2025, emphasizing: “If you had asked me seven years ago whether I believed in life after death, I would have said no. I was sure that was the end. The great nothingness. Today, I personally imagine it like a car radio receiving a station. Our body is the car radio. Suddenly it breaks down and you can’t hear anything anymore. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the radio waves continue to transmit.”
This is how he imagines, “in very simplified terms,” human consciousness after death. Brown calls the exploration of the soul “the greatest and most important topic of all, especially in times of artificial intelligence,” the “Secret of Secrets,” the mystery of all mysteries. Brown’s novels have sold over 250 million copies worldwide in 56 languages. Will his new book with its surprising theme also become a global bestseller?
People 1,000 or 2,000 or 5,000 years ago did not need books like this. Most were familiar with the spiritual aspects of death. But today, things are very different. It is not enough to document that individual people have visions of “life after death”; one must also prove that such experiences are more than just hallucinations of the dying brain. Fortunately for us, this is possible today.
In Germany, about three million people have had a near-death experience, and in the US, about eight million. Their experiences in brief: they see a bright light, hear music more beautiful than they have ever heard in real life, are welcomed by relatives or friends or “angels,” and simply feel “wonderful.” Almost indescribably good. And most of them don’t want to go back. But when they do return, they lead a new life. Without fear of death and with much more joie de vivre than before.
This experience is a worldwide phenomenon – regardless of religion, gender, or skin color. What is new is that decades ago, those affected were reluctant to talk about their experiences because they were afraid of being declared “crazy.” But today, reports of near-death experiences appear in newspapers, on radio and television, and in books written by neurologists. Of course, millions of individual reports are still subjective and cannot be objectively reproduced scientifically. There are simply no witnesses.
When I conducted the last major television interview on this topic for ARD with death researcher Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, we had to repeat the interview several times at the request of viewers. The prominent but also controversial death researcher had received 23 honorary medical doctorates for her work. In this interview, she said, “Death is a wonderful experience.” Dan Brown also writes his interesting thriller with this intention.
If the author had slimmed down his 800-page work to perhaps 500 pages and dispensed entirely with superfluous ghost characters such as his “Golem,” his declaration of love for the magical city of Prague between Jan Hus and Franz Kafka and between Hradčany, St. Vitus Cathedral, and Charles Bridge would have been even more convincing. In this novel, Prague is the beating heart of Europe.
Brown calls the exploration of the soul “the greatest and most important topic of all, especially in times of artificial intelligence,” the “Secret of Secrets,” the mystery of all mysteries. The social change that can result from more and more knowledge about near-death experiences could be as profound as that brought about by the Industrial Revolution or the printing press. This new book is a fascinating thriller for anyone who loves both science and mysticism.
Dan Brown “The Secret of Secrets” | Doubleday 2025
