Born in 1953, Eben Alexander III grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the adopted son of a neurosurgeon father and a devoted mother. He followed in his father’s footsteps and went to medical school to become a neurosurgeon. He went on to teach at Harvard, got married and had two sons. Life was good. But on November 10, 2008, at age 54, Dr. Alexander contracted an extremely rare and deadly form of meningitis and fell into a deep coma. During the seven days the doctors spent trying to revive him, The former skeptic claims he had a near-death experience in which he visited heaven and met God. He battled back from the brink of death, transformed with a new sense of faith, of wonder, and purpose, to share with people what he says he saw beyond the body and beyond the Earth. Watch parts of their conversation below!

Dr. Alexander says that when he woke up in the afterlife, there were no pearly gates or angels. Instead, he says, he had no memory of his life on earth and found himself in a dark place until a beautiful presence took him into another dimension. Watch as he describes his first memories of his near-death experience:



After emerging from the dark place he first found himself in during his near-death experience, Dr. Alexander says, a beautiful woman guided him into another dimension on the wing of a butterfly. Watch as he recalls the experience and shares the message this woman gave him that we can all take to heart:

In 2008, Dr. Eben Alexander contracted a rare form of bacterial meningitis that shut down parts of his brain, put him in a coma and nearly killed him. During this time, he says he saw heaven and writes about the experience in his bestselling book, Proof of Heaven. As he came out of the coma doctors didn't expect him to survive, Dr. Alexander says he didn't remember who his family was. Watch as he shares the most terrifying part of his experience. Plus, which real-life story this reminds Oprah of in this exclusive footage you won't see anywhere else!

Her first novel, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, has received a lot of buzz. So what's the most surprising thing anyone has said about the book? Watch as author Ayana Mathis shares the most delightfully unexpected review she's gotten to date.

Learn how you can participate in Oprah's Book Club 2.0! Then, tune in Sunday, February 3, at 11 a.m. ET/PT for Oprah's television interview with Ayana Mathis on "Super Soul Sunday."