A witty, random, utterly earthbound assault on our most pondered unanswered question: What happens when we die?

Does the light just go out and that's that - the million-year nap? Or will some part of my personality, my me-ness, persist? What will that feel like? What will I do all day? Is there a place to plug in my laptop?"

Mary Roach trains her considerable humour and curiosity on the human soul, seeking answers from a varied and fascinating crew of contemporary and historical soul-searchers: scientists, schemers, engineers, mediums, all trying to prove (or disprove) that life goes on after we die.

Along the way she encounters electromagnetic hauntings, out-of-body experiences, ghosts and lawsuits: Mary Roach sifts and weighs the evidence in her hilarious, inimitable style.

There is something irresistible about the cheerfully scatological, cheekily skeptical Mary Roach . . . she delivers precisely what she promises: an informative, diverting romp through a subject that cannot help but captivate.