Book SummaryHeaven Is For Real, by Todd Burpo

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Heaven Is For Real

In July 2003, 4-year-old Colton Burpo made a remarkable claim: that, during a period of serious illness earlier that year, he’d visited heaven and met Jesus. In the months and years that followed, Colton revealed more and more details about his heavenly experience, claiming that he’d seen God’s throne, met his late relatives, and foreseen the battle of Armageddon. Penned by Colton’s father, Todd Burpo, Heaven Is for Real is an account of Colton’s illness and subsequent revelations. It explores not only Colton’s experiences, but also Todd’s journey to casting aside his doubts and accepting that his son had truly visited heaven.

Todd Burpo is the pastor for Crossroads Wesleyan Church, located in Imperial, Nebraska. He’s also a first responder and volunteer firefighter, and the chaplain for the Nebraska State Volunteer Firefighter’s Association. He has a degree in theology from Oklahoma Wesleyan University. In addition to Heaven Is for Real, Burpo is also the author of God Is for Real, and coauthor (alongside his wife, Sonja) of Heaven Changes Everything.

In our guide, we’ll detail Colton’s fight against illness, as well as his descriptions of visiting heaven and meeting Jesus. We’ll also examine how Todd came to believe Colton’s account, plus the additional details Colton shared as he grew older.

Colton Gets Sick

The months leading up to February 2003 had been difficult for Nebraskan pastor and father-of-two Todd Burpo. He’d experienced a number of health issues, and while unwell, he’d been unable to continue his work as a garage door installer—leaving the Burpo family’s finances on shaky ground. Todd thought a family trip would be just the thing to lift everyone’s spirits. So when, in late February, he was invited to Colorado for a church board meeting, he decided to bring along his wife, Sonja, and kids, Cassie (aged 6) and Colton (aged 3 years, 10 months).

Todd left for Colorado first, expecting the rest of his family to join him in a few days. However, on February 27th, just before Sonja and the kids were due to set off, Colton got sick with stomach pains, a fever, and chills. A local doctor diagnosed him with stomach flu. Todd worried that the trip might be off, but, by the next day, Colton had seemingly recovered. Sonja called Todd to let him know that she and the kids were on their way to Colorado. The beginning of the trip passed without incident. But, on the evening of March 1, Colton’s illness returned. He began to vomit frequently and complained of pain in his abdomen.

At first, the family continued to believe that Colton’s illness was something contagious like stomach flu. However, Colton steadily got worse. He couldn’t stop vomiting and was clearly in considerable pain. A friend of the Burpos suggested Colton might be suffering from appendicitis.

A Mystery Illness?

On March 3, the Burpos returned to their hometown of Imperial, Nebraska, and checked Colton into the local hospital. Once they arrived, it quickly became apparent that Colton was very sick: An X-ray revealed masses in his abdomen. The doctor wasn’t sure what was causing the masses, but, based on Colton’s blood tests, he didn’t believe it was appendicitis.

Over the next 24 hours, doctors ran test after test on Colton, but couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. Meanwhile, Colton’s condition declined further and further as he failed to respond to any treatment. Eventually, the Burpos became frustrated with the doctors’ lack of progress. On March 5, they decided to transfer Colton to Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte, Nebraska, hoping to receive better treatment there.

Colton’s First Surgery

Shortly after the Burpos arrived at Great Plains, a CT scan confirmed that Colton did have appendicitis after all. Even worse, his appendix had ruptured, leaving toxins leaking into his body. Colton required emergency surgery to remove the toxins and save his life.

While the Burpos waited for news on Colton’s surgery, Sonja sat in the hospital waiting room, calling friends and family to update them on her son’s condition. Meanwhile, Todd found a quiet room in which he could be alone with his feelings. He felt guilty: Was Colton going to die because his parents had been too slow to seek adequate medical care for him? Shouldn’t Todd have realized that Colton was suffering from appendicitis sooner? In addition, Todd felt angry at God. Why was God testing him again, after all of the trials and tribulations of the past few months? Was God really going to allow his son to die?

After an agonizing hours-long wait, the Burpos learned that Colton had survived the surgery. However, he was still sick: Infection remained in many of his internal organs. For days after the surgery, Colton continued to vomit regularly. Twice a day, he had pus pumped from his body.

Colton’s Second Surgery

As the days passed, Colton’s condition improved little by little. On March 13, it seemed like he was finally well enough to be discharged. Todd and Sonja began to prepare to return home. However, at the last minute, the doctors discovered that Colton had developed new areas of infection in his abdomen. Not only would he have to remain in hospital, but he would have to undergo surgery again.

At first, it appeared that the second surgery had been successful. However, it soon became clear that Colton’s bowels had stopped functioning: He couldn’t pass any gas or feces. Days dragged on with no change in his condition, and Colton’s constipation became increasingly painful. By March 17, the doctors at Great Plains believed that there was nothing more they could do for Colton. They suggested transferring him to a specialist children’s hospital in Denver. However, before the transfer could take place, a freak snowstorm hit North Platte. This trapped the Burpos in the hospital, with no hope of a transfer taking place that day.

A Miraculous Recovery

Back in Imperial,...

Heaven Is For Real Summary Chapters 1-10: Colton Gets Sick

The months leading up to February 2003 had been difficult for Nebraskan pastor and father-of-two Todd Burpo. He’d experienced a number of health issues, including a badly broken leg, kidney stones, and a breast cancer scare. While unwell, he’d been unable to continue his work as a garage door installer, leaving the Burpo family’s finances precarious.

Todd thought a family trip would be just the thing to lift everyone’s spirits. So when, in late February, he was invited to Greeley, Colorado for a church board meeting, he decided to bring his wife, Sonja, and kids, Cassie (aged 6) and Colton (aged 3 years, 10 months), along too.

Colton Becomes Sick

Todd left for Colorado first, expecting the rest of his family to join him in a few days. However, on February 27th, just before Sonja and the kids were due to set off, Colton got sick with stomach pains, a fever, and chills. A local doctor diagnosed him with stomach flu. Todd worried that the trip might be off, but, by the next day, Colton had seemingly recovered. Sonja called Todd to let him know that she and the kids were on their way to Colorado.

The beginning of the trip passed without incident. The family visited an...

Heaven Is For Real Summary Chapters 11-15: Colton First Describes Heaven

Almost as soon as the Burpos returned home from the hospital, Todd and Sonja noticed that their son seemed to have a new-found preoccupation with Jesus. Three notable incidents attracted their attention:

Incident #1: Around a week after Colton’s discharge, the bills for his hospital stay began to arrive. The Burpos were in financial trouble even before Colton got sick, so there was no way they’d cover all the bills due that month.

As Todd and Sonja discussed which bills to pay and which to defer, Todd stated that they should prioritize paying their tithes: Doing so was a way to thank God for saving their son. They could pay the hospital bills later. However, Colton apparently disagreed. He piped up that the family needed to pay the hospital doctor since Jesus “used” him to make Colton better.

Incident #2: Shortly after the tithes incident, Colton got into trouble at a playdate because he refused to share toys with his friend. When Todd sat Colton down to discuss what had happened, he found that Colton already knew that what he’d done was wrong. Colton stated that Jesus himself had instructed him to be kind to people.

Incident #3: A couple of weeks...

Heaven Is For Real Summary Chapters 16-26: Colton Reveals More About His Heavenly Experience

In the months and years following Colton’s initial revelations about his trip to heaven, the young boy slowly revealed more information about his experience. Notably, he described:

• Encounters with his dead relatives
• How Jesus called Todd to be a pastor
• God’s and Jesus’s thrones
• The Battle of Armageddon

Colton Describes Meeting “Pop”

In August 2003, Colton and Todd were on a road trip to a nearby town when Colton suddenly asked whether Todd had a grandfather named “Pop.” Todd replied that he did—Pop had been his maternal grandfather. He’d passed away in a car accident when Todd was a small child.

Colton responded by saying that Pop was very nice. This struck Todd as unusual: How did Colton know that Pop was nice? Why was he speaking as if he knew him, when Pop had died decades before Colton’s birth? Todd quickly concluded that Colton must have met Pop while in heaven and asked his son whether this was the case. Colton responded that it was, and that while speaking to Pop, he’d learned that Todd and Pop had been close—which was true.

Todd was blown away by this latest revelation, which seemed to confirm that we’re reunited with our...

Heaven Is For Real Summary Chapter 27: The Burpos Share Their Story

On January 28th, 2007, Todd publicly spoke about Colton’s experience for the first time while giving a sermon at a Colorado Springs church. The sermon’s theme was people without faith. Todd described how his faith had wavered when Colton was sick, but it had grown again when he heard about Colton’s heavenly experiences.

Sharing Colton’s experience with the world had—and continues to have—numerous consequences for Todd and the rest of the Burpo family:

• People now approach Todd with difficult questions about the afterlife. For instance, one woman asked him whether Colton had seen her stillborn child in heaven. Todd did his best to reassure the woman by telling her that since his miscarried daughter was in heaven, there was every reason to believe her late child was, too.
• People frequently ask Todd: Why Colton? Why did Jesus choose him to have this experience over other sick children? Todd still isn’t sure. Maybe it was to help him and Sonja come to...

Shortform Exercise: Reflect on Heaven is for Real

Heaven is for Real depicts one boy’s apparent trip to the afterlife. Reflect on the narrative and what it means to you.

Before you read this summary, did you believe in the concept of an afterlife? Why or why not?