GREAT READS

Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of his Trip to Heaven and Back

Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent.

I have a really long commute to and from work, so I listen to a lot of audio books. I came across a bright yellow audio book titled "Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back," needless to say, it caught my attention. The book is about four-year-old Colton Burpo, who had a trip to heaven. Of course my reaction at first was skeptical, but I was really interested and decided to give it a try; I have an open mind. As it turns out, I was blown away by this little boy's account of heaven.

Told by and read by Todd Burpo, Colton's father, "Heaven is for Real" starts off in a very scary and dark place. It is every parent's nightmare to lose a child and that was seemingly the fate of young Colton in 2003, when his appendix burst and went undiagnosed for days. During surgery, Colton claimed to have gone to heaven and spent time with Jesus, the angels, God and his great-grandfather, whom he had never met.

As Todd recalls, Colton did not come out with his story right after the surgery, but held on to it for some time and told his account over years rather than days. Mr. and Mrs. Burpo decided, rather than badger their son and accidently put ideas in his head, they would back off the subject and let Colton talk about it on his own time as to not influence anything Colton had to say. The account Colton relayed to his family was nothing less than astounding. This is a must read for believers and skeptics alike.

Recommended by Shannon Jackson

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