Meet the Author
The physician behind the stories that medicine keeps quiet — and the 200+ doctors who trusted him with their most extraordinary experiences.
Author & Physician
Dr. Scott J. Kolbaba, MD
Dr. Scott J. Kolbaba graduated with honors from the University of Illinois College of Medicine, where he distinguished himself academically before completing his residency at the Mayo Clinic — one of the most competitive training programs in the country. He has practiced internal medicine at Northwestern Medicine in Wheaton, Illinois, for over two decades, earning recognition as a “Top Doctor” by Chicago Magazine for his clinical excellence and patient care.
The book began with a personal experience. Early in his career, Dr. Kolbaba witnessed something in a hospital room that he could not explain through any medical framework he had been taught. Rather than dismiss it, he began asking colleagues a quiet question: “Has anything ever happened to you that you couldn't explain?” The answers stunned him. Physicians he had known for years — skeptical, evidence-driven scientists — began sharing experiences they had never told anyone: ghost encounters in the ICU, near-death experiences that defied neuroscience, miraculous recoveries that contradicted every prognosis, and moments of what they could only describe as divine intervention.
That single question launched a three-year journey. Dr. Kolbaba ultimately interviewed more than 200 physicians across specialties and geography, carefully vetting each account for credibility and consistency. The result is Physicians' Untold Stories, published by Career Press in 2016 and now an Amazon bestseller with a 4.3-star rating from over 1,000 reviews. Kirkus Reviews praised the book for its “compelling accounts” and the strength of its physician-sourced testimony.
Outside of medicine and writing, Dr. Kolbaba's life is defined by family and unlikely hobbies. He and his family support REMM, an orphanage in Romania where they adopted two of their children. He is also a two-time champion grower of Atlantic Giant pumpkins and shares his home with 130-pound Newfoundland dogs — a breed he describes as “the only creatures more stubborn than an attending physician.”
Read full biography →The Physicians Who Shared Their Stories
Physicians' Untold Stories draws on the firsthand testimony of more than 200 physicians from nearly every major medical specialty — emergency medicine, oncology, cardiology, pediatrics, family medicine, surgery, psychiatry, neurology, and more. They represent institutions across the country, from rural clinics and community hospitals to major academic medical centers and teaching hospitals affiliated with research universities. Their combined clinical experience spans thousands of years and millions of patient encounters.
Most of the physicians who contributed chose to remain anonymous. This was not a condition imposed by Dr. Kolbaba; it was a decision the doctors themselves made to protect their professional standing. Medicine is a culture that prizes empirical evidence and reproducibility. Reporting an experience that cannot be measured, replicated, or explained through known physiology carries real professional risk — skepticism from colleagues, questions about judgment, even concerns about fitness to practice. The fact that these physicians shared their stories at all, knowing those risks, is itself remarkable. It speaks to how deeply these experiences affected them and how strongly they felt the stories deserved to be told.
Dr. Kolbaba applied consistent criteria when evaluating accounts for inclusion. Contributors had to be licensed, practicing physicians. Their experiences had to be firsthand — not secondhand anecdotes or stories heard at conferences. Each account was cross-referenced where possible against medical records, colleague testimony, or corroborating details. Stories that could not be independently supported or that showed signs of embellishment were set aside. What remained were the accounts that physicians were willing to stand behind, even at personal cost.
One of the most striking features of the book is the consistency of the accounts across geography, specialty, and personal belief system. Physicians in rural Minnesota described phenomena remarkably similar to those reported by specialists at urban teaching hospitals in Texas or New York. Surgeons with no religious affiliation recounted experiences that echoed those of devout family practitioners. Near-death experiences, deathbed visions, and unexplained recoveries followed recognizable patterns regardless of who witnessed them or where. That consistency does not prove anything — but it raises questions that deserve serious attention from the medical community and the public alike.
The Making of the Book
2012 – 2015
Three Years of Physician Interviews
Dr. Kolbaba conducted in-depth interviews with more than 200 physicians across the United States. He sought out doctors through professional networks, medical society contacts, and word-of-mouth referrals — often traveling to meet them in person. Each interview was recorded, transcribed, and reviewed for accuracy and consistency before being considered for the book.
2016
Published by Career Press
Physicians' Untold Stories was released by Career Press, bringing these carefully vetted accounts to a national audience for the first time. The book was praised by Kirkus Reviews for its compelling narrative and the credibility of its physician sources. It quickly gained traction among readers drawn to the intersection of medicine, spirituality, and the unexplained.
2017 – Present
Bestseller, Speaking Engagements & Continued Impact
The book became an Amazon bestseller in its category, accumulating a 4.3-star rating from more than 1,000 reader reviews. Dr. Kolbaba has since appeared on podcasts, radio programs, and at speaking engagements across the country, sharing the stories and discussing their implications for how we understand consciousness, death, and the limits of medical science. Readers continue to write in with their own experiences, expanding the archive of physician testimony that began with a single question asked in a hospital corridor.
Read the Stories That Changed Everything
Over 200 physicians interviewed. 26 stories that will challenge what you believe about life, death, and everything in between.
Buy on Amazon — 4.3★ (1,018 ratings)