Have you ever had questions about copyright law?

I found a great chart on this website that shows public domain copyright law. In the U.S., anything published before 1923 is considered public domain. As bloggers, we need to be aware of copyright law and not publish anything that we need permission to publish.

For example, I’ve noticed some bloggers publishing whole poems or devotionals written by other people after 1923. We can’t be doing this — even if we link to it.

We can quote a few lines, if we’re doing it for review purposes, but we can’t just snag someone’s great poem and post it on our site without permission. The author should be compensated (paid) if the work is under copyright — and anything written after 1978 is under copyright automatically.

As writers, this is a risk we take when posting online — anyone can steal your work as well. If you’d like to write a book someday, be careful what you post online. Some publishers don’t want to buy work that’s already been seen online, even if you only have a small blog readership. What if your work has already been cut and pasted on a bunch of other sites? This could lead to legal problems down the road for your publisher — if someone else claims your work as their own.

Book contracts are getting so complicated these days — and many publishers now want to buy electronic rights to your work. Yet how can you offer them electronic rights if your work has already been published online?

I’ve learned a lot of this from more experienced writers in my writing group — and some of them have had to play the meanie when they’ve found other sites cut and pasting their work without permission.

Just be careful. If you’ve got a great story, think about how you’d feel seeing that story show up on another site under someone else’s name. It might be better to save it and send it to a print publication first … where you’ll always have proof that it belongs to you. (For help with writing markets, check out Sally Stuart’s Christian Writers’ Market Guide).

This chart, When U.S. Works Pass Into the Public Domain, was prepared by Lolly Gasaway of the University of North Carolina. If you’re a serious writer, it’s definitely worth your time to educate yourself on copyright law.

If anyone knows a link to a site about Canadian copyright law or other countries, I’d love to learn more about this.

It’s a new week, and I have a great book sitting right here on my desk that I’d love to give one of you.

Julie Caraboni’s debut novel, Chocolate Beach, is the perfect companion if you’re in the mood to relax and enjoy the spring weather.

Here’s what the back cover says:

Bri Stone has it all: the man of her dreams and their surf-ridin’ teenage son, a chocolate-loving best pal, an adorable beach bungalow, and a kicky job as a Southern California tour bus host.

She also has a few things she didn’t ask for: a know-it-all friend, a snobby mother-in-law, and a Fabio-meets-Dilbert boss. All three of them seem eager to share their strong opinions and suspicions about Bri’s relationship with her husband, Douglas.

When Bri’s rose-colored glasses crack after she finds evidence that Douglas has grown tired of her carefree ways, she resolves to win him back. Can Bri reinvent herself — and recapture his heart?

I enjoyed this book — it was fun to imagine what life would be like living by the beach, as the author does, in Ventura, California. You can read my review of it here. (It’s published by Bethany House.)

If you’d like to enter a drawing to win a free copy, here’s the million-dollar question:

What’s your favorite kind of chocolate?

I’m so curious — do any of you have particular types that are extra special or hard to find? I’ve been craving the dark chocolate Hershey bars with almonds lately. I know — they’re full of sugar and calories — but I figure the darker the chocolate, the more antioxidants (at least it sounds good!), and almonds have protein, right?

How about you?

If you leave a comment, I’ll draw a winner on Friday, March 30 and send the book out to you in time for you to enjoy it in April!

Let’s talk chocolate! 🙂

In the spring of 2005, I started reviewing books for Amazon. It was a little scary — hee hee. Even scarier was the fact that people could vote whether or not my review was helpful. But I discovered I liked reviewing books. Who knew this would become such a passion?

I spent some time at Amazon last week importing my CWO Book Buzz reviews, and I read through some of my old ones. Have I ever mentioned Allen Say’s book, Grandfather’s Journey, here? I don’t think I have.

If you’ve never read anything by Allen Say, you’re in for a treat. Oh, I love his books! Your library probably has dozens in the picture book section — they’re the ones with gold medals on the front.

I distinctly remember the moment I finished this book for the first time. I got up from the couch and went and grabbed my journal and started writing a poem about Japan, having trouble focusing on the page through my tears. It was an awakening for me — and after that, I started entering (and losing) writing contests, as well as submitting (and having rejected) my writing.

In a desperate moment, I wrote Mr. Say a bona-fide fan letter through his publisher, Houghton Mifflin, and he wrote me back! I told him I felt like I wanted to write about Japan but didn’t know how. He said to just write-write-write. Fiction, non-fiction, poems, whatever. I’m still trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do — so for now, I blog.

Here’s my review of Grandfather’s Journey (copied from Amazon):

I was curious about GRANDFATHER’S JOURNEY because our local library had several copies on the shelf, and I always enjoy discovering what makes a book an award winner. Mr. Say’s book won the 1994 Caldecott Medal, the same year Lois Lowry received the Newbery for her book, THE GIVER.

It’s an understatement to say this is one of the most beautiful children’s books ever written. Mr. Say gently describes his grandfather’s youthful journey from Japan to America. On his three-week steamship voyage, he is astonished by the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. After embarking, he explores by train the western landscapes of enormous rock formations and endless farm fields.

During his travels, he meets people of different color, certainly a new sight for him. Say writes, “The more he traveled, the more he longed to see new places…” Eventually, his grandfather settles along the coast of California after briefly returning to Japan to marry his childhood sweetheart.

The couple have a daughter, whom we later learn is Say’s mother, the subject of another stunning picture book, TEA WITH MILK. In time, the grandfather begins to miss Japan, and he decides to return to his homeland, along with his wife and grown daughter.

Say’s watercolor artistry is fantastic, as his skilled brush gracefully ages each character in the book. As a parent, I imagined my own children growing up, and realized how brief is the time we call childhood. The story continues, with the grandfather’s heart truly in two places, America and Japan.

Anyone who has ever traveled abroad can relate to this experience. As I read his book, I wept, because I too have lived in Japan, and part of my heart will always remain overseas. Since this initial reading, I’ve bought several of Say’s picture books, and they have become family favorites.

The greatest literature reaches beyond its pages and connects to the hearts of its readers. Through his timeless words and portraits, Allen Say has clearly accomplished this task.

Do you love watching movies? I rarely get out to the theater to see a new release, but I love renting DVDs and enjoying some microwave popcorn and a good movie by the fire at home.

Still, it’s hard to know what’s good out there — and that’s why I love the list of movies in the back of Sharon Hinck’s newest mom-lit novel, Renovating Becky Miller.

I enjoyed reading the first book in this series, The Secret Life of Becky Miller, because Becky is so much like me — a mom struggling to find balance in her busy life as a wife, mother, and friend. All the while, she’s seeking to find out if she’s supposed to be doing Big Things for God.

Sharon’s second novel is even more adorable — full of laugh-out loud scenes, and each chapter begins with Becky slipping into a daydream where she’s starring in one of the movies she and her husband rent on date nights. There are 33 movies listed in the back, and I’ve only seen about half of them — so I’m looking forward to renting some more!

Today, I’m thrilled to host Sharon Hinck on her round-the-world Blog Tour — especially since today is the official launch party of Renovating Becky Miller in Sharon’s hometown, Minnesota.

Welcome to Mom 2 Mom Connection, Sharon!

Thank you for writing a book that highlights the importance of being a normal, permission-slip-signing MOM.

THANKS, Heather! I wanted to highlight the true ADVENTURE it is to be a wife and mom. We really are heroic characters (or in my case, sometimes just a character!).

I loved reading about all the movies in this book!

I kept my local movie store in business this past year while I was writing it. I got to watch a ton of movies and call it “research”. Ha!

In your new novel, Renovating Becky Miller, our heroine finds herself dealing with an enormous amount of stress in her life. What all does Becky have going on in this book?

She faces external pressures (her mother-in-law’s health crisis and need for care, her job stresses, her son’s behavior problems, her friend’s illness), internal pressures (feeling overwhelmed and inadequate, comparing herself to others and coming up short, confused about choices), and some fall-out from decisions she’s made that might not have been well-thought out (like thinking it would be easy to fix an run-down house).

In my life, I often find that problems come from a variety of directions and I wanted to explore a woman sorting that all out. Which are tasks God wants me to take up and persevere under? Which are self-imposed burdens that aren’t mine to bear? Which tensions have been caused by my own mistakes?

Like me, Becky wrestles with those complicated questions — and tries to keep her sense of humor along the way.

Does Becky have a place where she can unwind from all the stress? What role do her friends play?

Throughout the story, she finds grace and clarity through her prayer life, her Bible reading, and her worship life. However, it’s easiest for her to apply those blessings wrapped in the arms of her friends.

They badger her, they confront her, they cry with her, they love her. Her small group Bible study friends provide the kind of community that I think God is describing when He talks about building up a household of faith.

At one point in the book, Becky has a choice to make — will she continue to pour more hours into her career, or say no? I was amazed at her choice. Do you think women today have a hard time saying no?

In our desire to make a difference, to feel valuable, and to please others, to fix the problems we see around us singlehandedly, we often rev up into a high gear of activities. We see our friends doing the same — and some strange competitive urge stirs and we perpetuate that Supermom syndrome.

My adult son read this novel (I know…if that’s not an act of love, I don’t what is!) and said his favorite subplot was the way that Becky’s choice set an example for her very driven co-worker — and enabled Teresa to open her life to something new.

Yes, I loved that part as well. It made me see how the decisions we make have ripple effects on others — in good or bad ways. And in this case, Becky’s choice reminded her coworker of what the most important things in life really are.

The funny parts of the book center around Becky and her husband’s decision to renovate an old farmhouse. Can you tell us more about that?

My husband and I are optimistic do-it-your-selfers. We’ve done major remodels to three different homes over the years. Each time we forget that things will take three times longer and cost three times as much as we anticipate.

Our first little house gradually revealed secrets of Stephen King proportions – from the fleas infesting every square inch, to the rotting wall behind the tub surround, to the urine-soaked wood floors, to the chicken bones in the clothes dryer. (We never did figure that one out. Who puts chickens in a clothes dryer?) So I had plenty of vivid memories to draw from in the whole wild stress of renovation.

Chicken bones in the dryer? Now there’s a new one! From the title, it seems like Becky gets a little renovation work done on herself as well. What kind of “home improvements” take place in Becky’s heart?

In spite of Becky’s desire to be “Ms. Fix-it”, she learns that healing people’s wounds is a God-sized job and takes more than spackle and paint. Becky begins to learn to love and serve where she’s placed, but leave the “fixing” up to God …. well, at least some of the time.

We all need some friends we can be honest with — who can encourage us during the hard times.

Thanks so much for stopping in, Sharon! I hope your launch party goes well today.

Thanks SO much for inviting me. Yes — today a local Christian bookstore is launching the book with a party, including a guessing game (where folks will hear a snippet of Becky’s opening daydreams and try to guess which movie inspired them) and lots of Becky Miller gifts.

Here’s a picture of the Renovating Becky Miller paintbucket I created — full of the little “Becky Miller tool kits” that folks are getting at the party.

I wish I could be there — looks like a fun place for movie fans!

Sharon Hinck is a wife and mother of four children who generously provide her with material for her books. She has served as the artistic director of a Christian performing arts group, a church youth worker, and a professional choreographer. You can visit her website to learn more about her books, including her forthcoming Sword of Lyric series from NavPress.

We’ve finally made it to February: a whole month devoted to LOVE.

Our family seemed to drag through January — trying to recover from the stress of the holidays — then sliding into nearly a month of being off-and-on sick.

I’ve been almost confined to my home, wiping noses and checking thermometers — instead of relaxing with friends at church. I’ve missed my beloved women’s Bible study so much.

A friend who has also been home week after week with three sick preschoolers confided to me recently, “I hate to say this, but it’s almost like being in jail. I just can’t get out of the house!”

Yet I’m reminded by this encouraging post, It Gets Easier, that one day it will get easier! Maybe in a few years, I’ll be TEACHING a women’s Bible study — instead of straggling in worn out and late, if at all. But for now, this seems to be my writing season.

I’ve also been busy reading books lately — and you can see what I’ve had on my nightstand in this month’s CWO Book Buzz. It’s truly amazing how God ministers to me through each book I read — whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, I’m having a ball!

I learned to read fast in college. I was an English major, and I filled up my schedule with as many literature and writing classes as possible. But still, my daily routine now is nothing like in those days of being single — I have to snatch my reading in snippets here and there. I’ll confess that I’ve cut WAY down on my blog reading — and I’ve had to adjust to the feeling that I’m missing out on the “news.”

In this month’s column, I reviewed seven books — chosen from over two dozen that were sent to me. I also receive emails nearly every day from people requesting that I review their books — and I hate having to tell people “no,” but I really don’t want to waste their postage and time if I don’t think the book would be inspirational for CWO readers.

I’m already hard at work on next month’s column. Behind the scenes, I’m working on setting up an interview with a fantastic woman — I just finished reading her book, and I’m dying to ask her some questions. How fun that I get to do this and share it with so many people!

This month’s issue focuses on love, appropriately, and Darlene has a great interview with Robin Lee Hatcher, author of over 50 books.

I enjoyed reading Robin’s Christmas novel last year — I happened to leave a comment in Gina’s Novel Journey blog, which entered me in a contest to win, A Carol for Christmas. The book arrived, signed by the author, a day before my December deadline, so I flew through it. I love Robin’s writing — she’s a joy! And you can enter this month’s book draw to win one of Robin’s novels, Ribbon of Years or Firstborn.

In Darlene’s Letter from the Editor, she writes:

With all this talk about love, I couldn’t help but focus on Jesus Christ — after all, both His life and death were a gift of love. A love that brought Him to the cross so that His Father’s will would be complete. A love that, even though He was God, drew Him to lower himself to the form of a man. A love that powered this “man” to live a life without sin so that He would be the spotless sacrifice for the One True God. A love that although He prayed asking that the cup of suffering be taken from Him, led to His death. An incomparable love.

Yes, I agree. An incomparable love.

A couple of days ago, one of my college roommates called after she received my Christmas card. The years melted away as we caught up. The day before that, I talked to another one of my best college friends, trying to track down her snail mail address. In both of these conversations, I admitted something I haven’t talked about here at all.

I want to teach English again … someday.

There. I’ve said it!

It seems to be a trend among my friends that as our kids get older and start school, we are either becoming homeschool moms or we’re heading back to the work force. Both are full-time jobs that require enormous amounts of creativity.

My true passions are literature and writing. With a good book to read and a notebook to jot down one’s thoughts, life is more than bearable; it becomes joyful! I haven’t taught formally since the 1995-96 school year, when I taught sophomore and senior English in a public high school. It was exhausting, but richly rewarding.

Since our kids have entered the Christian school system, I’m now partial to the wonderful Christ-centered education they’re receiving. Yet I know tuition only increases as children get older. So I’m dreaming that one day, maybe my reading/writing/blogging decade can help land me a teaching job that would help pay private school tuition for my kids to go to a really great school. The grandparents have been so generous this year … but how in the world will we manage when we have all five kids in school?

With that said, I’m starting to collect books on teaching writing, and I’ve just found another wonderful book on the subject. The Train-of-Thought Writing Method by Kathi Macias offers the perfect analogy that demystifies the process of writing an article, short story, or longer work of fiction or non-fiction.

I can relate to trains. My two sons are both crazy about trains, and I’ve read them books about trains hundreds of times. Macias instructs writers to first begin “laying the track,” which means to write out one sentence that describes the heart of the work. Then you must have a “cow catcher,” something that will grab the reader’s attention and invite them along for the train ride.

Other aspects of the writing process include the locomotive (purpose, pulling the story along), the boxcars, the couplers, the observation car, and the caboose. Macias includes plenty of examples from her own writing, as well as other well-known authors, such as C.S. Lewis.

I’m really excited about owning this book, which can be used by a teacher like a workbook. Each chapter would make a nice weekly lesson, in which students can be instructed to work on a piece in process. Throughout the book, Kathi Macias’ can-do tone makes anyone feel like tackling a long writing project is not insurmountable.

I especially enjoyed the author’s example of being invited to speak at her old high school on the topic of writing. She was a nervous wreck about her first public speaking assignment! Yet it was a springboard for her lifetime career of helping others become better writers.

The author is an award-winning writer who has authored or coauthored fifteen books, including the popular Matthews and Matthews detective series from B&H (Obsession, The Price, and The Ransom) and the bestselling women’s devotional, A Moment a Day from Regal Books. She has also edited, rewritten, or ghostwritten more than 100 other books and published a wide variety of articles, short stories, and poems. She also serves as a staff member of a major manuscript critique service.

With these credentials, Kathi Macias has a great background for writing a book using the train-of-thought method to help new and established writers accomplish their goals of publishing.

I highly recommend this book and am glad to have it on my bookshelf. Not only will it help me to work on my personal writing projects, I also dream that someday … if God opens the door … I’ll be able to incorporate it in my classroom.

Wherever that may be.

The Advent season is upon us! Can you believe it? Are you ready?

I bought an inexpensive live tabletop tree this year, and it’s so pretty. We put it on the table behind our couch, and this tree is going to become more and more special to us as we add to it each day. Why? Because this is our Jesse Tree! Hopefully, after Christmas, we’ll be able to plant it in our yard and always remember the 2006 season of Advent.

If you’re wondering what a Jesse Tree is all about, I’d love to recommend a wonderful resource for you. Ann Voskamp, who writes the inspiring Holy Experience of Listening blog, has written a devotional book for Advent called The Glorious Coming.

This book is so beautiful! Of course, if you’re one of Ann’s blog readers, you know her heart. She’s a homeschooling mother of six, living out her faith on a small Canadian farm, and I’ve been so encouraged by her daily writing.

You can download The Glorious Coming right now in e-book form! And it even contains full-color illustrations by Nancy Rodden which you can print and cut out to make ornaments to decorate your Jesse Tree. Here’s a description of The Glorious Coming from the publisher’s website:

Every family has one: a family tree with its arching branches of grandfathers and grandmothers, its sheltering leaves of aunts and uncles. To make a Jesse Tree is to trace the family line and heritage of the family of God, of human beings from the beginning of time to the coming of God Himself, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

We will hang the symbols of our story on our corporate Family Tree, the Jesse Tree. We will open God’s Word and read God’s story—our story—as He wrote it on the pages of people’s lives. And Jesus will come to us, and we will come to Jesus.

I’m so excited we’ll be journeying with the Voskamp family this year in celebrating Advent. The devotional readings started November 30th (but you can still jump in!) and run through December 25th, Christmas Day.

I hope your family will also usher in the Holy Season in a special way, whether you decorate a Jesse Tree, light the candles on an Advent Wreath, or read a devotional book together.

Let’s celebrate the coming of our Messiah, Jesus Christ, together this season.

It is time.

When I was in middle school, I was absolutely, positively BONKERS about horses. I dreamed about horses. I drew pictures of horses on all my school papers. I read horse books, watched horse movies, collected model horses. And I begged my parents to let me take horseback riding lessons.

There was a stable within walking distance of my house. My sister and I hung out at the barn, petting the horses, feeding them strips of grass, feeling their warm whiskery muzzle in our hands. My mom told us stories about her horse growing up and decided it would be OK to let us take lessons.

After several months of learning to ride, we found another stable about a ten-minute drive from our house, and my parents bought us a horse, Bandit. Every day after school, throughout our up-and-down roller coaster t’weens, Mom drove me and my sister to the barn. We mucked out stalls together, groomed and rode our horse, fed him — and for a year, I joined the show circut. I showed English equitation, and of course dreamed of going to the Olympics … until I started high school and moved on to other interests (humans, with XY chromosomes).

I think I’m still a bit horse crazy, and that’s why I was thrilled to discover TWO series of books for girls who love horses, written by Christian authors. Woohoo! You can help build your daughter’s faith while she’s following her heart reading stories about horses.

The Keystone Stables series by Marsha Hubler is published by Zonderkidz, and I read The Trouble with Skye. It was fantastic. Skye Nicholson is a troubled 13-year-old foster kid, who is full of teenage angst and is an expert at getting into trouble. She’s rescued by the tough love of Tom and Eileen Chambers, who offer her a new chance in their home.

There, she meets Champ, the most beautiful horse she’s ever seen. Though first deathly afraid to ride him, she discovers she’s a natural. The Nicholsons also gently introduce her to God, who loves her and gives her life meaning and hope as she explores her past. Marsha Hubler sent me a signed copy of her book with this inscription: “No trouble is greater than God! 1 Corinthians 15:10.” So, of course, I’ve blabbed about it to my local children’s librarian — and can’t wait until my girls are a little older. This series is recommended for ages 10 & up. (Skye has smoked pot in her past, which may introduce some heavy material for younger elementary-age girls.)

While I was telling my librarian about the Keystone Stables series, she pointed out another series she likes, Winnie the Horse Gentler books by Dandi Daley Mackall. These are published by Tyndale Kids, so I jumped right in and read Wild Thing, book 1 of the series.

Twelve-year-old Winnie is searching for peace in her life, after the death of her mother in a car accident. Her dad keeps moving her and her younger sister around, unsettled and grieving. Winnie has a part-time afternoon job at nearby Stable-Mart, where she falls head over heels in love with a spirited Arabian, called Wild Thing.

Her dream is to buy him and keep him in the old barn behind their rental home — if only she can convince her dad not to move again — and if she can earn the money. I love the gentle way the author shares Winnie’s prayers to God. We can see her faith, and we can also see how God works in her life. It’s a beautiful book. There’s also a wonderful glossary of horse terms in the back.

Both books include diagrams that label the parts of a horse. What fun to hear these terms I haven’t thought of in years: crest, withers, dock, cannon, fetlock, etc. Your horse-crazy daughters will fall in love with these books!

I want to highlight Shannon Woodward, who blogs at Wind Scraps, as someone who has blessed me beyond words this week. I just finished reading her book, Inconceivable, and after reading her personal story I feel like I know her as a friend now.

Here’s how the back cover describes Shannon’s book:

Inconceivable is the remarkable true-life story of Shannon Woodward, a woman who stopped waiting her life away. Woodward revisits eighteen years of personal frustration, pain, and anger. She speaks from her own experience to show how women can have peace in their disappointment by surrendering their hopes and hearts, their dreams and losses, to the One who heals all things broken.

Shannon’s story begins in January 1988, when she and her husband are meeting with the doctor who tells her the dreaded news — that she will not be able to conceive. She said his words became like “a constant, haunting hum in my head, like a song you can’t shake — a song with the power to drive you insane. His voice was inescapable.”

From this point on, she and her husband begin a journey together that makes me weep, even as I type these words. Shannon explores her pain and subsequent healing in intimate detail for readers. She takes us back to her childhood, where she first looks out at the stars and wonders if God even exists, and she shares with us how her faith began to grow.

Her book is not filled with generalizations; instead, she takes us with her to every scene, filling each memory with description and dialogue which reads like the best of storytelling. We reach the point with her when she and her husband decide to adopt — and we agonize with her frustration when birth mother after birth mother changes her mind.

One of the most poignant scenes in the book is when she and her husband are bringing home their first adopted son, Zachary, whose name means, “The Lord has remembered.” As their new little son is bundled in soft blankets in the car seat, she and her husband look up and see an oversized, lighted marquis hovering above a used car lot. In bold black letters, the sign reads, “Congratulations, Dave and Shannon. It’s a boy.” They never learned who wrote that message.

The book takes us up to the present, where we see how Shannon’s journey has helped her become a mother to many. She has an active ministry in mentoring and encouraging hundreds of women through her speaking and writing. As a pastor’s wife, she’s able to come in contact with women seeking hope and guidance every day. What a blessing that she moved her ministry beyond the walls of her church and now can reach the world through her writing.

There are some books I read once, then set aside, without feeling a change. Shannon Woodward’s book is one I’ll read again and again, always remembering how the blessing of motherhood is a gift not to be taken lightly. Shannon’s pain and joys have now become a part of me.

I remember how I felt when I had an ultrasound with a pregnancy I miscarried, and the ultrasound technician said to me, “I’m sorry. There’s no heartbeat.” Then she picked up the phone to call my midwife and said, “Can I send Heather back in? She’s got an incomplete.”

My pain at that loss at 12 weeks was miniscule compared to what Shannon’s book describes. But it was still a death for me and involved a grieving process.

I’m so thankful to have this book to recommend as a helpful resource for women who are exploring this journey they never intended to begin. The back of the book contains a reader’s guide which includes discussion questions for each chapter. At the beginning of the reader’s guide, Shannon writes:

I pray you find peace — and that your life becomes a testimony to all you meet about the patient wooing and healing power of your God. May he fill your life with joy, purpose, and satisfaction.

May God bless many lives through this book!

Before I read this book, I’d seen it for sale at the grocery store, but it didn’t interest me. I had no desire at all to read about a man who supposedly died and went to heaven, then came back to earth to tell his story. Yeah, right. I was skeptical to say the least.

But I felt compelled to buy the book at a Christian writer’s conference last weekend because I attended several classes taught by Cecil Murphey, the writer of this book. Cec told us the story of how the book came into being, about how Don Piper had tried to write his own account for years, how misunderstood he felt, and how he ended up seeking the help of a professional writer to help him tell his story.

Cec was also skeptical at first, until he began to uncover documentation that proved this man really was telling the truth. So he spent several months getting to know Don, interviewing him, researching the accident and recovery thoroughly; and he wrote the book.

I read it in one night. I absolutely couldn’t put it down.

Here’s the story: Don Piper was a healthy, 38-year-old father of three, who was driving home from a statewide church conference held in Houston, Texas. It was a cold, drizzly morning on January 18, 1989. When he reached a narrow bridge that had no shoulders, an 18-wheeler crossed the center line and plowed into Piper’s red Ford Escort. There’s a picture of his wrecked car in the book.

The EMTs arrived on the scene within minutes, checked Don’s pulse, and there was nothing. No pulse. They determined he died instantly on impact around 11:45 a.m. They covered him with a waterproof tarp and felt in no rush to extract his body from the vehicle. They began helping other people who were also sideswiped by the same 18-wheeler that hit Don’s car. Later, the EMTs came back to his car and checked him again. At 1:15, he still had no pulse.

Meanwhile, a pastor and his wife, Dick and Anita Onerecker, were also on their way home from the same conference and got stuck waiting in traffic because of the accident. After a while, Dick wondered whether he could be of any help, so he and his wife hiked half a mile up the highway and asked a police officer if anyone needed prayer. He was told there was no need to pray for the man in the red car because he was already deceased, and the other people were a little shaken up but were fine.

Now here’s the part of the book that gets me more than anything. Dick heard God’s unmistakable Voice saying to him, “You need to go pray for the man in the red car.” The impression from the Holy Spirit was so strong, he couldn’t ignore the prompting. But when Dick told the police officer he wanted to go pray for the man involved in the accident, the officer looked at him like he was crazy, reminding him the driver was officially pronounced dead. Dick persisted, and the officer finally allowed him to go, telling him that it was a real mess under the tarp.

So Dick crawled through the trunk of the Ford Escort, reached over the backseat and checked Don’s pulse. He was dead. But he still felt like God was telling him to pray for Don. So he put his hand on Don’s shoulder and began to pray with all his might. He prayed that Don would be delivered from all unseen internal injuries. Then he began to weep and to sing a hymn. Before he could finish singing, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” Don Piper returned from the dead and began singing with him. After over 90 minutes of death, he came back to life.

At first, the EMTs didn’t believe Dick when he emerged from the crumpled car shouting, “He’s alive! Get this man out — he’s alive!” They told him they were professionals and knew more than he did. The ambulances had already come and gone. But Dick persisted, and finally the EMT checked Don’s pulse one more time and discovered he was alive! Then they ordered the Jaws of Life to be sent so they could remove him from the vehicle.

The rest of the book relates Don’s recovery, as well as a brief account of what Don experienced while he was dead that hour and a half. He describes heaven in a way that is totally beyond my comprehension. His amazing description of the sights and sounds of heaven spans two chapters. The majority of the book is grounded firmly on earth, relating the excruciating pain Don Piper went through as he began the slow process of healing — physically and emotionally.

Now, 17 years later, Don Piper is still telling his story. The book has been a surprising runaway bestseller, published by Baker Books. It’s already been through at least eight reprintings and has sold over a million copies. You can purchase a recording of Don Piper reading the book, telling his story. Readers have been powerfully moved by this account, which gives hope of an eternal afterlife. Since the day of the accident, Don has had over 34 surgeries and hasn’t lived without pain a single day. Many people can also relate to the agonies of living in pain.

I’m thankful a writer as gifted as Cec Murphey was entrusted with writing the story, which is told through Don Piper’s first-person point-of-view. Cec has published over 100 books and has spent most of his adult life perfecting the craft of getting into someone’s mind to tell their story. His connections also helped to ensure this book got the attention it deserved from a major publisher.

I think this is a life-changing story that every Christian should read. Anyone who has doubts that God still speaks to people and performs modern-day miracles will emerge with a stronger faith. It’s also helpful for those who live in suffering, with daily chronic pain, or for those who wonder if there is hope for an afterlife. Don Piper’s story, along with truth found in scripture, will encourage readers that life must continue beyond tragedy, and that the kingdom of heaven is real.