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    90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life
    90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life
    90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life
    Ebook273 pages4 hours

    90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life

    By Don Piper and Cecil Murphey

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    About this ebook

    In the ten years since 90 Minutes in Heaven was published, millions of people worldwide have read the incredible true story of Don Piper's experience with death and life--and in reading they have found their own lives changed.

    After a semi-truck collided with Don Piper's car, he was pronounced dead at the scene. For the next ninety minutes, he experienced the glories of heaven. Back on earth, a passing minister felt led to stop and 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.

    With a personal update from Don on the impact the book has had on him, his family, and the millions who have heard his story, even those who have read the original book will want to be part of the continuing story of 90 Minutes in Heaven with this new edition. Also includes a note from the publisher, stories from readers, favorite Scriptures and quotations on heaven from Don Piper, and a photo insert.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBaker Publishing Group
    Release dateJun 24, 2014
    ISBN9781441219763
    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.

    Read more from Don Piper

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    Reviews for 90 Minutes in Heaven

    4/5

    55 ratings43 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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
      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.
    • 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
      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
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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
      Amazingly inspiring story!
    • 4/5
      very thought provoking! inspiring!
    • 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
    • 2/5
      The heaven part was great, but the majority of this book was about his pain on earth.
    • 5/5
      On Don Piper’s way home from a Baptist Convention in San Antonio, Tex, a semi-truck hit him head on. The graphic pictures show where the tires decimated the driver’s side of the small car. Don remembers recognizing family and friends greeting him at the gates of Heaven. He did not wish to return. 90 Minutes in Heaven makes you look at your world differently, including what you believe and God has planned for you. This is a life changing work, and I highly recommend it to everyone, both Christian and those who question.
    • 3/5
      Thought it was great, although the end ran on a bit long
    • 5/5
      This was a great book! Read it if you can find the time. It is a very fast read. I wasn't able to put it down until I was done. It gives you an awful lot to think about.

    Book preview

    90 Minutes in Heaven - Don Piper

    2004

    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 Baptist 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.

    1

    The Accident

    That is why we can say with confidence,

    "The Lord is my helper,

    so I will not be afraid.

    What can mere mortals do to me?"

    Hebrews 13:6

    The Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) holds annual statewide conferences. In January 1989, they chose the north shore of Lake Livingston where the Union Baptist Association, composed of all Baptist churches in the greater Houston area, operates a large conference center called Trinity Pines. The conference focused on church growth, and I went because I was seriously considering starting a new church.

    The conference started on Monday and was scheduled to end with lunch on Wednesday. On Tuesday night, I joined a BGCT executive and friend named J. V. Thomas for a long walk. J. V. had become a walker after his heart attack, so we exercised together the last night of the conference.

    Months earlier, I had begun thinking that it was time for me to start a new congregation. Before embarking on such a venture, I wanted as much information as I could get. I knew that J. V. had as much experience and knowledge about new church development as anyone in the BGCT. Because he had started many successful churches in the state, most of us recognized him as the expert. As we walked together that night, we talked about my starting a new church, when to do it, and where to plant it. I wanted to know the hardships as well as the pitfalls to avoid. He answered my seemingly endless questions and raised issues I hadn’t thought about.

    We walked and talked for about an hour. Despite the cold, rainy weather, we had a wonderful time together. 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 worsened. A steady rain fell. Had the temperature been only a few degrees colder, we couldn’t have traveled, because everything would have been frozen.

    The morning meetings started on time. The final speaker did something Baptist preachers almost never do—he finished early. Instead of lunch, the staff at Trinity Pines served us brunch at about ten thirty. I had packed the night before, so everything was stowed in my red 1986 Ford Escort.

    As soon as we finished brunch, 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, a Houston bedroom community.

    When I started the engine, I remembered that only three weeks earlier I had received a traffic ticket for not wearing a seat belt. I had been on my way to preach for a pastor friend who was going to have throat surgery. A Texas trooper had caught me. That ticket still lay on the passenger seat, reminding me to pay it as soon as I returned to Alvin. Until I received the ticket, I had not usually worn a seat belt, but after that I changed my ways.

    When I looked at that ticket I thought, I don’t want to be stopped again. So I carefully 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. As soon as I reached the gates of Trinity Pines, I had to choose either to drive through Livingston and down Highway 59 or to head west to Huntsville and hit I-45, often called the Gulf Freeway. Each choice is probably about the same distance. Every other time to and from Trinity Pines I had driven Highway 59. That morning I decided to take the Gulf Freeway.

    I was relieved that we had been able to leave early. It was only a few minutes after 11:00, so I could get back to the church by 2:00. The senior minister had led a group to the Holy Land and left me responsible for our midweek service at South Park Church. He had also asked me to preach for the next two Sundays. That night was a prayer meeting, which required little preparation, but I needed to work on my sermon for the following Sunday morning.

    Before I left Alvin, I had written a draft for the first sermon titled I Believe in a Great God. As I drove, I planned to glance over the sermon and evaluate what I had written so far.

    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 I would remind myself that even the smallest decisions often hold significant consequences. This was one of those choices.

    I pulled out of Trinity Pines, turned right, and headed down Texas Highway 19. That would take me to Huntsville and intersect with I-45, leading to Houston. I didn’t have to drive far before I reached Lake Livingston, a man-made lake, created by damming the Trinity River. What was once a riverbed is now a large, beautiful lake. Spanning Lake Livingston is a two-lane highway whose roadbed has been built up above the level of the lake. The road has no shoulders, making it extremely narrow. I would have to drive across a long expanse of water on that narrow road until I reached the other side. I had no premonitions about the trip, although I was aware of the road’s lack of shoulders.

    At the end of the highway across the lake is the original bridge over the Trinity River. Immediately after the bridge, the road rises sharply, climbing the bluff above the Trinity’s riverbed. This sharp upturn makes visibility a problem for drivers in both directions.

    This was my first time to see the bridge, and it looked curiously out of place. I have no idea of the span, but the bridge is quite long. It’s an old bridge with a massive, rusty steel superstructure. Other than the immediate road ahead, I could see little, and I certainly didn’t glimpse any other traffic. It was a dangerous bridge, and as I would learn later, several accidents had occurred on it. (Although no longer used, the bridge is still there. The state built another one beside it.)

    I drove at about fifty miles an hour because it was, for me, uncharted territory. I braced my shoulders against the chill inside the car. The wind made the morning seem even colder than it was. The steady rain had turned into a cloudburst. I would be happy to finally reach Alvin again. About 11:45 a.m., just before I cleared the east end of the bridge, an eighteen-wheeler driven by an inmate, a trusty at the Texas Department of Corrections, weaved across the center line and hit my car head-on. The truck sandwiched my small car between the bridge railing and the driver’s side of the truck. All those wheels went right on top of my car and smashed it.

    I remember parts of the accident, but most of my information came from the accident report and people at the scene.

    From the description I’ve received from witnesses, the truck then veered off to the other side of the narrow bridge and sideswiped two other cars. They were in front of the truck and had already passed me going in the opposite direction. The police record says that the truck was driving fast—at least sixty miles an hour—when it struck my car. The inexperienced driver finally brought the truck to a stop almost at the end of the bridge.

    A young Vietnamese man was in one vehicle that was hit, and an elderly Caucasian man was in the other. Although shaken up, both drivers suffered only minor cuts and bruises. They refused help, so the paramedics transported neither man to the hospital.

    Because of the truck’s speed, the accident report states that the impact was about 110 miles an hour. That is, the truck struck me while going sixty miles an hour, and I was carefully cruising along at fifty. The inmate received a citation for failure to control his vehicle and speeding. Information later came out that the inmate wasn’t licensed to drive the truck. At the prison, supervisors had asked for volunteers to drive their truck to pick up food items and bring them back. Because he was the only volunteer, they let him drive their supply truck. Two guards followed close behind him in another state-owned

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