This is such a sweet and encouraging story, told by Todd Burpo, the father of Colton Burpo, a little boy who was graced with a glimpse of heaven that his family is now sharing with the world. Not only is this a tale of God’s healing, provision, and revelation, but it is also very much the story of a family. Of parents who love their children, of parents suffering to see their son deathly ill, and who struggle to understand his new knowledge of God and passion for evangelism. I’ll admit that I shed a few tears while reading of their challenging passages together as a family.

Collaboratively written by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent, it is difficult to say how much of the writing is Burpo’s and how much is Vincent’s. Burpo has obviously provided all of the material, and since Vincent is making quite a name for herself as a co-author of memoirs and auto-biographical works, it is quite likely that we have her to thank for the clarity and crispness of the writing found in Heaven is For Real. While I don’t know how such collaborative projects generally work, I’m certainly thankful for the professional quality of the writing, and the easy-to-read engaging style that she uses.

Thankfully, Burpo isn’t presenting his son’s experiences as definitive. He shares them humbly, as what they are – words from the mouth of a small child who is still in the tactless, calling things as they are phase of life (you know – when your children point at people in the store and say rude, if honest things about them?) I am relieved that Burpo is sure to use scripture to make connections between his son’s experience and the Word of God, comparing everything that is said to the ultimate revelation that God has given us – the Bible.

While this book is certainly an encouraging exploration of Colton’s child-like explanations of heaven that will bolster faith and rekindle our excitement to reach our eternal home, it is, perhaps more importantly, the story of an event that will hopefully reach out to doubters, to seekers, and help them find their way to heaven’s shores as well.

Reviewed at quiverfullfamily.com



Diana (Australia) (2011/06/08):
I was very interested in reading about a near death experience but found the religious overtones in this book just too overbearing. I would classify this as a Christian book.




Mayflower (USA: PA) (2011/06/14):
This is a charming account of a four-year-old's experience of going to heaven. There will always be believers, and there will always be skeptics. It's your choice to assume the author, who is the boy's father, is giving an accurate account of what happened to their family or not. I don't think the story seemed coached at all. It came across as being sincere.

If this event happened to any other family, the message would still be the same. God is there for us. This is a very endearing story.