"The Jacket (The Star-Rover)" by Jack London is a novel published in 1915. The story follows Darrell Standing, a university professor imprisoned at San Quentin, who endures torture through a compression device called "the jacket." To survive, he enters trance states where he walks among the stars and experiences vivid past lives across different ages and cultures. London based the novel on interviews with a former convict who actually endured this torture device. The work blends science fiction with mysticism and reincarnation themes.
Wikipedia page about this book: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star_Rover