Moody collected information on 150 cases from 1972 to 1975, and published them in Life After Life along with a description of the core characteristics of an NDE. These included the sense of the spirit leaving the body, passage through a dark tunnel, a bright light that calls from the end of the tunnel, an encounter with a deceased loved one or guide, and a rapid review of one's entire life.
1972 到 1975 年間，穆迪蒐集 150 個案例後出版了《來生》一書，並歸納出瀕死體驗的「核心經驗」：靈魂出體、經過漆黑的隧道、遇見已故的親人或嚮導、快速回顧整個人生過程、有耀眼的光芒在隧道盡頭召喚等。