Review: Heaven is for Real

I have always hesistated to read memoirs regarding visits to Heaven and Hell because I am very skeptical of people who write books and go on tour for profit to tell the story of their experiences. I would think that if someone truly had that type of experience that they would not be the least bit concerned with profit and more concerned with freely giving the message they have been given. The Coltons don't strike me as that sort of family, so I was much more open minded about reading this book than listening to the audiobooks and attending the events put on by others who have had near death experiences and visited Heaven or Hell.
With that in mind, I read Heaven is for Real with a critical mind and checked my reactions and thoughts frequently while reading this book. From what I can tell it does seem very plausible that this is a true story and I did find reassurance and inspiration from reading about Colton Burpos experiences in Heaven and the unfolding of the story as he tells it to his family.
Although the Burpos are constantly amazed at the things Colton says, I can recall when my own son was four years old. He picked up on everything and was very good at articulating his thoughts. Considering his father, Todd Burpo is in the ministry, it should not be too surprising for Colton to talk about Heaven and other biblical based stories since I would imagine he has heard conversations regarding these topics since birth. Mr. Burpo several times mentions that he didn't think that Colton could have learned these things from Sunday school, but I would think that would be the least of his exposure to conversations revolving around God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Heaven, Hell, and Satan.
I did enjoy the book and would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Heaven and near-death experiences . It's a short read and I would put the book at about a fifth grade reading level so even younger readers could easily understand this book.

Book read and reviewed by Mom