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1-Page Summary of 90 Minutes In Heaven
Overview
After a horrific car accident, Don Piper dies. Ninety minutes later, he miraculously comes back to life and starts singing “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” This can only be called an amazing miracle fueled by intense faith. For the rest of his life, he will try to come to terms with why he was allowed to experience heaven but then had to go back into a mangled body.
Don’s car is struck by a semi-truck while crossing a bridge. The impact sends Don’s car into the side of the bridge, crushing him inside. Don suffers many injuries, including broken bones and blood loss. Surprisingly, he doesn’t suffer any internal or head injuries as a result of his accident. Doctors use an experimental treatment for his leg injury that stretches it to replace most of the missing portion with bone from another part of his body. However, this causes chronic pain for Don and limits some activities he used to enjoy before the accident.
Don is a minister who is very faithful. However, his faith both helps and hinders him in his recovery from death. Don sees heaven and feels safe knowing that he will eventually join his wife and children there once they die as well. He also feels sad about leaving behind them on earth. His faith gives him the strength to know that God will take care of them until they are reunited someday.
On earth, Don battles severe depression and a constant pain. He also wonders why he was sent back as his life will never be normal again. However, with the help of many people who pray for him and confront him about his attitude, he comes to terms with the situation and learns to accept help when offered. Don eventually inspires others in pain by sharing how beautiful heaven is and brings more than a few people to know Christ through his testimony.
Prologue and Chapter One: The Accident
On January 18th, 1989, Don Piper was involved in a car accident. He was pronounced dead at the scene and spent ninety minutes on the ground while paramedics worked on other victims. During that time, he went to heaven and met God. God answered his prayers and brought him back to life.
Don Piper is attending a conference for the Baptist General Convention of Texas at Trinity Pines. The focus of this conference is to start new churches, which Don has been considering. However, the weather turns cold and rainy as he prepares to leave Trinity Pines. Because of a traffic ticket on his way there, Don buckles his seatbelt, which he doesn’t usually do. The Gulf Highway parallels and then crosses Lake Livingston but narrows as it does so; it also has no shoulders when crossing the lake or after that point until its end in a bridge over the Trinity River followed by a sharp rise where visibility is reduced.
Don is driving his car on a bridge when he gets hit by an eighteen-wheel truck. The truck hits three other cars before coming to a stop at the end of the bridge. The driver of the truck does not have a license, but volunteers for this duty because no one else would do it. He receives only minor injuries and is cited for his actions. Don dies from being pinned against the railing, and paramedics cover his car with a tarp as they move on to help others.
The beginning of the story seems like it should be the end, but there is much more to Don’s life than meets the eye. He was in a car accident that he didn’t survive, but after his death, he went to Heaven and met God—how else could such an amazing book be written? Although Don Piper wonders why this happened to him, we may wonder what his life would have been like if it hadn’t happened at all.
