Three year old Colton Burpo suffered a ruptured appendix which was not diagnosed correctly for over five days. He was a very sick little boy when he finally was taken into surgery in a small Nebraska town.

Colton’s father, Todd Burpo, is the narrator of Colton’s story as it unfolded after his near death experience. This Wesleyn minister and small business owner is amazed by the experiences that his small son shares. Several months after his lengthy hospital stay the family is traveling through the same town and Colton begins to tell of his visit to see Jesus. When asked if he would like to go to visit the hospital again, Colton shares “that’s where the angels sang to me”. Colton went on to share that, while he was having his surgery, he went up where he saw his father praying in a small room and his mother in another room making phone calls. Both events were accurate, although they had never told Colton those details.

As the months pass Colton relates events in a call-it-as-you-see-it way of preschoolers who have not yet “learned either tact or guile.” He tells of meeting his sister in Heaven, a miscarried baby that had never been talked about by his parents, and his great grandfather who died thirty years previously. Colton loved sitting on Jesus’ lap and is insistent that everyone needs to know Jesus so they can go be with Jesus when they die.

Todd intersperses scripture throughout the story correlating Colton’s story with the Bible. Heaven is for Real is an intriguing story that has compelling evidence for Heaven and life with Jesus.