''Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back'' is a 2010 ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' best-selling
Christian book written by Todd Burpo and
Lynn Vincent and published by
Thomas Nelson Publishers. The book documents the report of a
near-death experience
A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death which researchers claim share similar characteristics. When positive, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detac ...
by Burpo's three-year-old son Colton.
By April 2012, more than one million ebooks had been sold, and more than 10 million copies had been sold by 2014. A
feature film based on the book was released on April 16, 2014, earning $101 million at the box office.
Summary
Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent co-wrote this book when Todd Burpo's three-year-old son had appendicitis. When Colton's mother Sonja first noticed he was not feeling well she took him to the emergency room and was told that Colton had influenza, as all the tests for a possible appendicitis came back negative. Colton vomited often, and his parents suspected he did not just have influenza. When Todd and Sonja went to a different emergency room with Colton, they were told that Colton had to have an emergency appendectomy or he could possibly die. Months after surviving the emergency surgery to remove his appendix, Colton shared the story of how he left his body during surgery and went to heaven. Colton began describing events and people that seemed impossible for him to have known about. Examples include knowledge of an unborn sister miscarried by his mother in 1998 and details of a great-grandfather who had died 30 years before Colton was born. Colton also explained how he met
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
riding a rainbow-colored horse and sat in Jesus' lap while angels sang songs to him.
Characters
Colton Burpo is the son of Todd Burpo and Sonja Burpo. At the time of the incident, Colton was three years old, Todd Burpo was pastor at a Crossroads church in Nebraska, and Sonja Burpo was a teacher at a local school. Cassie Burpo is Colton's older sister. Pop was Todd Burpo's grandfather, and Dr. O’Holleran was the doctor who performed the emergency appendectomy on Colton.
Response
Sales
Within ten weeks of its November 2010 release, the book debuted at No. 3 on the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' bestseller list; by January 2011 there were 200,000 copies in print; and it reached No. 1 in the ''Times's'' best-selling non-fiction paperback category in March 2011, remaining in the top 10 for some weeks.
Criticism
A variety of Christians have expressed questions regarding the book. ''The Berean Call'', a Christian ministry and newsletter, cited the book for its "extra-biblical" and "problematic" claims, as well as the lack of any medical evidence that the boy was clinically dead during the surgery. Author and pastor
John MacArthur has criticized the book for presenting an un-Biblical perspective on the afterlife. In an interview with ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' magazine, ''Heaven Is for Real'' co-author Lynn Vincent expressed concern that Christians would find the book to be a "hoax" if she included people in heaven having wings.
In 2015,
Alex Malarkey – a boy with a similar story to Colton Burpo's – publicly recanted his own story and book ''
The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven
''The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven: A True Story'' is a best-selling 2010 Christian book that purported to tell the story of Alex Malarkey's experiences in heaven after a traffic accident in 2004. It was published by Tyndale House Publishers in ...
'', stating that his near-death experience described in that book was fictional, and condemned Christian publishers and bookstores for selling popular "heaven tourism" books, which he said "profit from lies."
Following Malarkey's statement, Colton Burpo said that while he acknowledged that some among the public had doubts about his account, he stood by '' Heaven Is for Reals contents nonetheless.
Awards
In less than just one year of being released, this book surpassed the 1 million sales and was awarded the Platinum sales Award. Then in 2014 after seeing 10 million copies, the book was then awarded the Diamond Sales Award.
Film adaptation
In May 2011,
Sony Pictures acquired the film rights of the book. The film was released on April 16, 2014, starring Connor Corum,
Margo Martindale
Margo Martindale (born July 18, 1951) is an American character actress who has appeared on television, film, and stage. In 2011, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for her recurring role as Mags Bennett on '' ...
,
Greg Kinnear
Gregory Buck Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''As Good as It Gets'' (1997).
Kinnear has appeared in many popular films, including '' Sabrina'' (1 ...
,
Kelly Reilly
Jessica Kelly Siobhán Reilly (born 18 July 1977) is an English actress. She first appeared on screen in 1995 on the series '' The Biz''. Her other television work includes starring roles in the British crime drama '' Above Suspicion'' (2009– ...
,
Thomas Haden Church
Thomas Haden Church (born Thomas Richard McMillen; June 17, 1960) is an American actor. After starring in the 1990s sitcom ''Wings'' and playing the lead for two seasons in ''Ned & Stacey'' (1995–1997)'','' Church became known for his film work, ...
, and
Jacob Vargas
Jacob Vargas (born August 18, 1971) is a Mexican-American actor and performer.
Early life
Vargas was born in Michoacán, Mexico, and raised in Pacoima, Los Angeles, California. He was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family. He attended high sc ...
. As of July 2014,
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
rated it at 46%. Critics praised the script and cast, but they were critical of heavy-handed exposition.
See also
*''
The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven
''The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven: A True Story'' is a best-selling 2010 Christian book that purported to tell the story of Alex Malarkey's experiences in heaven after a traffic accident in 2004. It was published by Tyndale House Publishers in ...
'', a fabricated account
of a near-death experience
*''
23 Minutes in Hell
''23 Minutes in Hell'' is a personal book written by Protestant Christian Bill Wiese and published in 2006. The book recounts what the author claims were his experiences in Hell in 1998. The book and the underlying story within it are the topic of ...
''
*''
90 Minutes in Heaven
''90 Minutes in Heaven'' is a 2004 Christian book written by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey. The book documents the author's death and resurrection experience in 1989. ''90 Minutes in Heaven'' remained on the '' New York Times Bestseller L ...
''
*''
Miracles from Heaven''
*
''Proof of Heaven''
*
Howard Storm (author)
References
External links
Dancing Past The Dark website(by
Nancy Evans Bush)
*{{Facebook, heavenisforreal
''The Christian Post'' article on near-death experiences (Criticism about near-death experiences.)
Heaven is for Real Jesus Painting
2010 non-fiction books
Non-fiction books adapted into films
Christian literature
Children and death
Heaven in popular culture
Books about near-death experiences
Thomas Nelson (publisher) books