Third Quarter Outside Reading Book Review

90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper. Revell, 2004. Genre: Biography Novel

On the way home from a conference in Texas Don Piper’s car was hit by an 18-wheeler. When EMT’s arrived at the scene the pronounced him dead and that he was killed instantly. Don’s body was stuck in the crushed remains of his car so they had to cut him out with the Jaws of Life. While they were waiting for the jaws of life Don Piper was experiencing heaven. 90 minutes later he came back to life and shares his story.

“A friend handed me this book at about midnight, and come two or three in the morning, I was still reading. It’s a wonderful and inspiring story that brightens your perspective, giving you a sense of security, clarity, and warmth. - Donald Miller”

Don Piper’s 90 Minutes in heaven gave me a whole different perspective on religion and believing in heaven. The way he describes is the one place that is always happy, always peaceful, and always calm. The writing style was very descriptive and throughout the book he kept mentioning that he could not describe what he was seeing in human words. I haven’t read any other book like this before but I would like to because it was a great experience reading this one.

“As strange as it may seem, I could clearly distinguish each song. It sounded as if each hymn of praise was meant for me to hear as I moved inside the gates of heaven.” (pg.31)

Don Pipers story was a excellent read and I loved the story because not only was it good but it was a true story which really made me think. If there are other books out by this author then I would definitely read them because of what this man went through.

Commitment

Choices are made every day of our lives whether we should get a cup coffee this morning or a glass of juice. The decisions we make affect our lives. There are certain decisions that may betough and others that are tolerable to but you must make a decision and stick with it. I remember when I had to choose between a new phone or a dirt bike. I chose the dirt bike and it was the better choice for me because I love riding my dirt bike and turns out that the phone I wanted wasn’t even that good and they cam out with a new edition of that model the next week. In The Old Man and the Sea the main character Santiago faces tough and suspenseful decisions in which affected his life. He made a decision and he stuck by it. Unfortunately for him some of these decisions did not work out the way he planned.


One decision that Santiago decided to make was that he left the shore without the boy in his skiff. This was a bad decision because later on in the story he will acquire the boy’s help that he has offered him numerous times before he has left the shore. The boy seemed some what anxious to help the old man and disobey his parents. He was a devoted worker and never dishonest. He made this decision not for his gain but for the boys because he doesn’t want the boy to get in trouble with his parents and was wary about him coming to fish with Santiago. This shows how much the old man is compassionate about the boys well being. The consequences of this decision were that it took Santiago longer to reel in the fish and that there was a bigger chance of Santiago not reeling in the fish at all. “It is our choices that show who we truly are, far more than are abilities.”-Joanne Kathleen Rowling


Santiago choice of risking starvation and dehydration cost him his strength after he has caught the fish and planned to have a soothing ride home. This prevented him from fighting off the sharks that come to devour his fish. He cannot do this because he has wasted all the strength he had on catching this fish and none for after to go home or fight off enemies of the sea. This part of the story shows to always think ahead and prepare for the future. The old man is very talkative about his decisions to himsef. The old man did not prepare for the sharks so he focused all his energy on reeling up the fish. The man was intelligent when he used his oar and knife after losing his harpoon but did not prepare for after that. “ I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and love today.”-William Allen White


Santiago had a decision of letting this big fish go and deciding that it will be to hard to reel up and bring home. The old man is to amazed by its size and beauty that it will bring in a lot of money back home and he can’t even think about letting this thing go. He decided to keep trying to reel the fish in waste all this hard work and time that he put in to capture this beast of a marlin. Santiago was more sad than upset about losing the marlin to the sharks. The moral of this is that something you work at can easily be taken away and that you keep working through the good things and the bad. “Find a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.”-Confucius


Santiago made some wise choices throughout the story some beneficial and some not so much but he made a decision and stuck with it. Decisions are made everyday and you might not even know you made a decision but you did. You could just automatically do your homework when you get home but you decided to do it instead of watching T.V. For Example, in the old man and the sea Santiago had some easy decisions and some hard ones. Some of them won’t always be easy but when they are hard you must pick something and go with it.