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    90 Minutes in Heaven: My True Story
    90 Minutes in Heaven: My True Story
    90 Minutes in Heaven: My True Story
    Ebook125 pages2 hours

    90 Minutes in Heaven: My True Story

    By Don Piper and Cecil Murphey

    3.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Now available in a special edition for readers age 9-12, 90 Minutes in Heaven is the runaway bestseller about one man's experience with death and life. When Don Piper's car collided with a semi-truck he was pronounced dead at the scene. For the next 90 minutes, he experienced the glories of heaven. Back on earth, a passing minister felt led to pray for the accident victim even though he was told Piper was dead. Miraculously, Piper came back to life, and the pleasure of heaven was replaced by a long and painful recovery.

    An inspiring account for people of all ages, 90 Minutes in Heaven is now poised to touch and comfort children in the same way it has offered encouragement and hope to millions of adults.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBaker Publishing Group
    Release dateNov 1, 2009
    ISBN9781441207067
    90 Minutes in Heaven: My True Story
    Author

    Don Piper

    Don Piper has been an ordained minister since 1985. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller 90 Minutes in Heaven and other popular books. He has appeared on Today, The 700 Club, James Robison's Life Today, and other television and radio programs, and teaches across the United States and around the world. He and his wife, Eva, live in Texas. Learn more at www.donpiperministries.com.

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    Reviews for 90 Minutes in Heaven

    3.5/5

    512 ratings44 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This book is written by a Christian minister who dies in a car crash and through prayer is revived. He describes his experiences in heaven and the succession of miracles that occurred during his slow and painful recovery. A riveting book and a quick read.
    • 3/5
      Any book that talks about heaven I will enjoy reading. But I thought something was missing in this book. The author focused too much on his own struggles and not enough on his experience in heaven. It seemed that the balance between them was missing. It is a very easy read-I finished it in one day and I tend to read slowly.
    • 1/5
      I am so glad I am not the only person so give this book only one or two stars. I'm trying not to feel guilty about giving it such a mow rating, but I just wasn't feeling it. In fact, I could probably classify this book as a DNF (did not finish). I really just scanned the last half of it. I found it to be more disheartening than uplifting and just a bad mood in general.

      I would recommend reading Heaven is for Real instead.
    • 4/5
      What I like is there are very few details from the afterlife - most of the book details Piper's experiences and the effect that his brief visit to heaven had on him.
    • 5/5
      Very inspiring, moving, vivid, rich description of the authors experience of dying, going to heaven and then returning to a long painful recovery in hospital and his subsequent personal journey as the Lord has used him to share his experience with us and bringing numerous persons to faith in Jesus.

      If you are a sceptic looking for proof you will probably be disappointed as near death experiences are personal and subjective by character anyway. Read it with an open mind and take from it what you will.

      It makes me curious to know how consistent near death accounts are compared with common conceptions.
    • 3/5
      Don Piper was not even forty years old when he died in an auto accident. While the accident scene was being cleaned and others were being helped, Don remained under a tarpaulin until someone would come and prise him free as much as possible from the car. Although he was dead, a minister was allowed to sit in the car and pray for him, and amazingly, Don came back to life. This book is told from Don's point of view: what he remembers of heaven and his journey of recovery.While Don's description and experience in heaven was great to read, it only last about two chapters (out of a total of eighteen). Also, he went on about his recovery far too much and repeated himself many times.
    • 5/5
      A really gripping true life story. Interesting near death experience and many instances of helping others. A book that promotes prayer. Don Piper was a minister before the accident and still is today. Don Piper is now sure that he is going to heaven when he dies. A friend lent me this book.
    • 4/5
      Great example of overcoming a life changing event with God's help.
    • 5/5
      Biblical reference is the only detailed account we have that describes the way heaven looks. 90 Minutes in Heaven is a miraculous journey of the senses - depicting the sights, sounds, and feelings found within a mysterious place so unknown to the living. The book means hope and consolation for the terminally ill, the suffering, those who have lost loved ones, and the rest of us who only hope to one day experience the utter peace and pure happiness found on the other side of life. Piper's experience in heaven naturally changed his entire existence - from dealing with his own excruciating recovery, returning to his family, work, and life in general. His perspectives had been changed forever.
    • 3/5
      I've heard a lot about this New York Times bestseller on the Knight Agency blog, so I picked it up out of curiosity. I admit, my faith is frail at this point and I approached it as a skeptic. I can't say it convinced me of anything, but it's an intriguing read and a book I'll pass along to my mom to read.The title tells the basics of the tale: Don Piper died. One instant he was driving down a narrow bridge in Texas, and in the next he was in heaven. It was a place of boundless joy. He felt no regrets, and didn't have a thought of who he had left behind on Earth. Long-dead friends and family welcomed him as they praised together. The music he heard as beyond description. Meanwhile, on Earth, he was declared dead for ninety minutes. Multiple EMTs verified it. No one rushed to extract him from his car as they waited for the coroner. Then a bystander asked to go pray over the dead man, and to shock the dead man was not dead. Don Piper had returned to Earth, to a wrecked and ruined body. No one could explain his survival. Other the next days and months, he almost died again and again. He knew deep, dark depression, and raged at his constant pain and helplessness. However, he survived, and as he opened up about his experience of seeing heaven, that became part of his ministry.What Don Piper dealt with is a miracle. There's no question of that. I marvel at how he has endured so much pain and struggle, and now uses that to tend to others, especially those using the Ilizarov fixator to lengthen bones. He does not come across as a quack. He has faith in his experience, and uses that to comfort others as they confront death or debilitating pain.
    • 4/5
      205/205 quarter 1 This book is about a man,Don Piper,who was driving on his way home from a conference,got into a horrible accident and was pronounced dead. 90 minutes later they found a pulse. His story is about his strife and trials of recovering in a hospital for 13+ months and still incapable of the everyday actions he used to do before his accident. His suffering was one of physical and spiritual.One day a visitor came to him and Don revealed that he had gone into heaven during the 90 minutes he was dead. Don Piper is a strong man.He is the all around family man,very loving, very caring, and wants to help everyone.He is strong in his faith and relationship with God. He is almost stubborn in that he doesn't like people doing the littlest things for him. He doesn't like people to think about him as a hopeless being who needs people to help him going to the bathroom.But throughout the book he realizes he has physical limits and needs people to do things for him. I can relate to this by Don Piper is like my dad. My father doesn't let anyone help him he is headstrong in everything he does. But he is also a very family oriented guy. Since this is a non-fiction book I don't think I would change anything.I would recommend this book to any Christian who is going through a physical suffering or has a family going through a physical suffering.
    • 4/5
      90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN by Don PiperPublished by Baker Publishing GroupISBN-13: 9780800733995This book was purchased by me, at the recommendation from my 2 cousins. Synopsis (borrowed from B&N): He thought it was going to be just another day. God had other plans.Don Piper died instantly when his car was crushed by a semi. While his body lay lifeless inside the ruins of his car, Piper went to heaven. Ninety minutes after the wreck, he miraculously returned to life on earth with only the memory of heavenly bliss. His faith in God was severely tested as he faced an uncertain and grueling recovery. Now he shares his life-changing story with you.If you've ever wondered what heaven was like, if you've ever questioned God's goodness because bad things happen, if you've had trouble believing that heaven is real--this incredible true story will change your life. My Thoughts and Opinion: This past December, while at a family funeral, my cousins and I started to talk about and discuss spiritual books we had read, such as The Left Behind Series. Two cousins mentioned this book and both gave very good verbal reviews on it. Once home, I hopped online and ordered it and since that time it has been in my tbr bookcase. Fast forward to September 5th when I received the news that my Mother had 2 weeks to live. But first a caveat and I apologize in advance if I offend anyone. I am of the Catholic faith and believe that there is an afterlife, Heaven, eternal life. However, I am and always have been curious as to the transition from this life to the next. That's when I felt I must and needed to read this book. I made the decision, and I have such comfort knowing that I was there, to be with my Mom when she made her transition.Don Piper, a Minister, retells his experience of the day he died. What he experienced, what he saw, what he felt. He also writes about the excruciating pain and 30+ operations he had to endure after the accident that took his life for 90 minutes. How for many months that turned into years of recuperation and dealing with anger, depression, hopelessness and wanting to return to Heaven again until he realized what God's plan was for him. If you are a believer, this story will strengthen and confirm that belief. It gave me great solace and reassurance in a very difficult situation. My Rating: 4
    • 4/5
      Author was sincere and believed all that he wrote. He is a Baptist pastor and interpreted his experiences in the light of his beliefs. It stuck out for me that he has never critically examined anything.
    • 2/5
      This book was more about his recovery process and dealing with his depression during his recovery than it was about heaven. He does describe his heaven experience, and then tells how sharing it has affected people.
    • 1/5
      I read this years ago but this book was just forgettable. I didn't even remember reading it until I saw it at the store yesterday and went "ah yes, that book that I read years ago and then forgot all about months ago"
    • 4/5
      A lot to think about. Whether or not your belief system allows you to see this as non-fiction, it was an interesting view into life after a catastrophic accident.
    • 5/5
      Amazingly inspiring story!
    • 3/5
      The early chapters draw you in the true life experience of passing from this earth to what's next. However, it lost its story after that and I found it a bit boaring. I did find the descriptions of the injury and the medical technology applied to heal interesting. This was an OK read but something I will pass along through Book Mooch.
    • 3/5
      This is a story of overcoming extreme odds to have physical, emotional and spiritual life with the punch line that the previewed live in heaven is worth the struggle we have on earth. The author exemplifies winning in this struggle and witnesses the truth not just the struggle but that it's worth it for the prize of heaven.
    • 4/5
      Though I have to admit to a bit of skepticism, I did find the book interesting and well-written in the fact that it is hard to put down and the story flows from chapter to chapter.

      I appreciated Piper's honesty in saying he doesn't know the answers to the "why?" questions but that he trusts there is a purpose behind what he experienced and why he is here. That belief translates well to many life situations. I also appreciate that he wants to encourage and give hope to others who find themselves wearing fixator devices like what he had. Talking to someone who's been through the experience and lived is often a great encouragement--just to know someone understands what you're going through is a great encouragement.

      I received this book several years ago as part of a secret sister exchange but didn't read it until now. I think I understand parts of his experience better now than I might have before 2013.
    • 3/5
      Very inspirational book about Pastor Don Piper's horrific car crash that literally left him dead. He claims he went to heaven and then was brought back to life. He gives a very detailed account of heaven and his short visit there. Thisd serves as giving hope to believers and calm fears of those who worry about an afterlife. Much of the book is about his struggle to heal from his horrible injuries. While he has all my sympathy on his struggle to recover this part of the book does drag on and gets a little boring with all the details. Piper has used his experience to inspire and comfort people giving hope to those facing death and those uncertian about death.
    • 3/5
      Good read with powerful message of hope.
    • 4/5
      very thought provoking! inspiring!
    • 3/5
      A thought provoking true story about a man who died in a car crash. He claims to have spent 90 minutes in heaven before returning to face recovery from his critical injuries. The content of this book actually spends more time discussing the many challenges he faces as he struggles to recover. It also touches many times on the powerful relationships that strengthened him through his recovery. Not much time is spent discussing his 90 minutes in heaven as the title seems to imply he will. A quick, enjoyable read for those who like a biographical read every now and then.
    • 5/5
      Written in straight-forward, simple style without a lot of "religionese," Don Piper has told the story of his devastating accident, his brief time in heaven and his return to a life full of pain and questions. I read it cover-to-cover in two hours and then loaned out my copy. I would recommend this book to just about anybody -- to those with questions about faith, questions about prayer, questions about life and death and pain which we all face to some extent.

      His descriptions of heaven are human ones -- simple, not overly poetic or grandiose, just those of someone who experienced the indescribable and then tried to describe it. I loved the descriptions of the incredible heavenly music and I get the feeling that vast choirs and heightened senses await us there. And despite the incredible experience, Piper found it too personal, too private, and too intimate to share with anyone for over a year after his accident. I'm so glad he found the courage to do so.

      I also love the honesty with which he describes his pain and depression and the inevitable questions that we must face when we have close encounters with the Almighty. The God we meet is often not the one we expected, and while we can't understand why God does what he does, we can no longer deny this God we don't understand. And while we hold these two things together, our lives are changed and grace is showered down amid the ruins of what we thought was important to us.

      A simply-told story of the greatest mystery of all -- you HAVE to read this book!!
    • 2/5
      My response to this book is I became interested in the beginning when Don talked of stopping by in heaven. It is a very slow book with lots of lessons learned and experiences. There were alot of coincidences also such as the last name of his bestfriend, Gentiles and Dons wife Eva (close to Eve).
    • 4/5
      Pastor Piper is in a serious car accident and is found dead in his mangled car. Ninety minutes later, though, a faint pulse is found and he is rushed to the hospital to undergo over a year of intensive, painful therapy that saves his life and allows him to walk again. This book describes his brief visit to heaven and his coming to terms with his "new normal" life.
    • 1/5
      BORING, DELUDED, AND STUPID
    • 4/5
      To begin, I must confess that this is the first book I've ever read from somebody who was pronounced dead and it is not normally subject matter that I would gravitate towards. That being said, Pastor Don Piper's account of his personal struggles dealing with the emotional and physical trauma he experienced in the aftermath of a horrific collision with an 18-wheeler is inspiring to anybody who has had to deal with a life-changing injury. Only a relatively small portion of the book is dedicated to his actual recollections of Heaven which I found a little disappointing given the title of the book, but it is an interesting read nonetheless. The hook of this book might be the account of an almost-realized salvation, but the real miracle in these pages is how so many people bound together and sacrificed for so long to help this man and his family recover after the accident.
    • 3/5
      Too much about the accident and recovery, not enough about the experience of heaven. I was expecting more. I don't think the writing did justice to this man's experience. It's a compelling story but there was something lost in the telling.

    Book preview

    90 Minutes in Heaven - Don Piper

    © 2004, 2009 by Don Piper

    Published by Revell

    a division of Baker Publishing Group

    P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

    www.revellbooks.com

    Ebook edition created 2011

    Ebook corrections 04.18.2016 (VBN), 01.17.2019

    All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher and copyright owners. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

    ISBN 978-1-4412-0706-7

    Scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. NIV ®. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.© Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

    Interior illustrations by Tim Foley.

    To my children,

    Nicole, Christopher, and Joseph—

    all great gifts from God

    CONTENTS

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

    I want to thank Lonnie Hull DuPont for helping me make this book kid-friendly. And I want to thank Baker Publishing Group, Revell, and Dr. Vicki Crumpton for caring about kids so much that they would publish a book like this one. I also thank you for reading this book. May God give you a long and happy life.

    PREFACE

    I love kids. They are so full of life. They are all about possibilities. But they are also all about discovery.

    Not long after we arrive here on earth, we find out that we don’t get to stay. A classmate dies. A grandmother passes away. We might even lose a brother or sister, a mom or dad. That’s what happened to sisters Riley and Tyler Knight. Riley and Tyler’s parents were going to have two more children, but those children did not live. Their parents, Deidre and Jud Knight, are my agents who help me get my books published, including this one.

    Not long ago my son, Chris, and I were to meet with the Knight family at a hotel in Jacksonville, Florida, to talk about new books I am writing. On the way to meet me, Deidre and Riley met a famous person in the elevator, comedian Chris Rock. Riley was so excited to meet such a famous person.

    But Riley had some questions she wanted to ask me when she got off the elevator. Her mother had told her about my book 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life. After meeting me, she said, "I’ve met two famous people today—Chris Rock and Don Piper!" Well, Chris Rock is famous. I’m not so sure about me. But something did happen to me that didn’t happen to Chris Rock. I died and went to heaven, and then I was able to come back!

    Because I went to heaven, Riley wanted to know what heaven is like. While we ate breakfast together, I told her about the many beautiful and amazing things I had seen, and that one day she would see the children in heaven that she had never met here on earth.

    I receive many letters, phone calls, and emails from kids like you who want to know about heaven. Many of them have friends or family members who have died. These children want to know if they will see their loved ones again, and they want to know what they will see and do in heaven when they get there someday. I have tried to answer those questions in this special edition called 90 Minutes in Heaven: My True Story.

    But kids don’t write or call me just to ask about heaven. Many young people want to know about how to help friends and loved ones who are sick. Some ask me about problems at school. And some are very worried about their parents breaking up or making ends meet. One twelve-year-old recently wrote me to ask about faith in dark times.

    Often these letters are sad. Everyone, no matter what age they are, needs hope. This book will help you have hope—hope for eternal life, and hope for a better life now!

    God has blessed me with wonderful parents, a beautiful wife, three very fine children, and a new granddaughter named Carlee. I also have brothers and many friends. I love these people here on earth, but I want to be with them all in heaven someday. And though you and I have not even met, I would like to see you there too.

    As you will discover from reading this book, I went to heaven when I died because I knew the way to heaven. Jesus is the way! I came to accept Jesus as my Savior when I was not much older than you are. And I found that in heaven there is no pain or loneliness or sadness or tears or darkness or failure. Heaven is a perfect place. You will love it there. (Riley Knight, I will see you there, and we’ll meet our other brothers and sisters who loved the Lord too.)

    Yes, heaven is real, and Jesus is the way.

    Don Piper

    March 2009

    PROLOGUE

    I died on January 18, 1989.

    Paramedics reached the scene of the accident within minutes. They found no pulse and declared me dead. They covered me with a tarp so that onlookers wouldn’t stare at me while they attended to the injuries of the others. I was completely unaware of the paramedics or anyone else around me.

    Immediately after I died, I went straight to heaven.

    While I was in heaven, a preacher came on the accident scene. Even though he knew I was dead, he rushed to my lifeless body and prayed for me. Despite the scoffing of the emergency medical technicians (EMTs), he refused to stop praying.

    At least ninety minutes after the EMTs pronounced me dead, God answered that man’s prayers.

    I returned to earth.

    This is my story.

    The Baptist General Convention of Texas holds annual statewide conferences. In January 1989, I attended.

    The conference started on Monday and was scheduled to end on Wednesday. On Tuesday night, I joined a friend named J. V. Thomas for a long walk. We walked and talked for about an hour despite the cold, rainy weather. J. V. remembers that time well.

    So do I, but for a different reason: it would be the last time I would ever walk normally.

    On Wednesday morning the weather got worse. A steady rain fell.

    I had packed the night before, so everything was stowed in my red Ford Escort. As soon as we finished, I said good-bye to all my friends and got into my car to drive back to the church where I was on staff, South Park Baptist Church in Alvin, near Houston.

    When I started the engine, I remembered that three weeks earlier I had received a traffic ticket for not wearing a seat belt. A Texas trooper had caught me. Until I received the ticket, I had not usually worn a seat belt, but after that I changed my ways.

    So I fastened my seat belt. That small act would be a crucial decision.

    There were two ways to get back to Houston and on to Alvin. Each choice is probably about the same distance. That morning I decided to take the Gulf Freeway.

    Many times since then I’ve thought about my decision to take the Gulf Freeway. It’s amazing how we pay no attention to simple decisions at the time they’re made. Yet even the smallest decisions often hold significant consequences. This was one of those choices.

    I didn’t have to drive far before I reached Lake Livingston, a large, beautiful lake. Spanning it is a two-lane highway built up above the level of the lake and extremely narrow. I would have to drive across a long expanse of water on that narrow road until I reached the other side.

    At the end of the highway across the lake is a bridge. Immediately after the bridge, the road rises sharply. It was a dangerous bridge, and as I would learn later, several accidents had occurred on it.

    The steady rain had turned into a downpour. At 11:45 a.m., just before I cleared the east end of the bridge, an eighteen-wheeler semitruck weaved across the center line and hit

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