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The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven

The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven: A True Story is a best-selling 2010 Christian book that purported to tell the story of Alex Malarkey's experiences in heaven after a traffic accident in 2004.[1][2] It was published by Tyndale House Publishers, in 2010.[3] Alex's father, Kevin Malarkey, is credited as a co-author along with Alex, and is the sole holder of the copyright. Alex later admitted in writing that the story was made up and that he never went to heaven. The book, which had sold more than a million copies, was then pulled from publication by its publisher. It was adapted into a television film in March 2010.

The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven
AuthorKevin and Alex Malarkey
LanguageEnglish
PublisherTyndale House Publishers
Publication date
July 2, 2010 (2010-07-02)
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages240

Since publication, Alex Malarkey and his mother, Beth have disavowed the book. Alex commented online in 2011 that it was "one of the most deceptive books ever",[4] and wrote an extensive repudiation in an open letter to Christian bookstores in 2015,[5] describing his near-death experience as a fabrication. Tyndale House therefore stopped printing the book, and many Christian bookstores removed it from their shelves.[6]

Accident and recovery

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On November 14, 2004, six-year-old Alex Malarkey and his father, Kevin, were involved in a car accident on a highway near Rushsylvania, Ohio. Alex suffered various injuries in the accident, including a severe spinal injury, severe neck injuries, and brain trauma;[7] was left a quadriplegic;[8] and was in a coma for two months.[9] During his recovery, Alex told his parents stories of visions of heaven that he had supposedly seen; the parents recounted some of these on a recovery blog, which did not attract significant media attention.[10]

In 2009, Alex Malarkey, aged 10, became the youngest person to have the surgical procedure first carried out for Christopher Reeve to allow him to breathe on his own without a ventilator.[11] Later in 2009, he was able to stand upright in a supporting frame and, with helpers moving his legs, to walk on a treadmill.[12]

Summary

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The book purports to describe supernatural visions and experiences that Alex had immediately after the accident and during his recovery. These include an out-of-body experience, where he saw his father being caught and carried to safety by an angel after flying out of the window of the car.[13] The book says that, soon after that, he felt an angel take him through the gates of Heaven, which he describes as being "tall", to meet Jesus, who appears through a "hole in heaven".[14] The devil also appears.[15] The book recounts several trips to heaven and back.[15]

Tyndale House promoted the book as "a supernatural encounter that will give you new insights on Heaven, angels, and hearing the voice of God".[16][17]

Publication and reception

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Beth Malarkey later stated that her husband, Kevin, got the idea for writing the book after the media attention paid in 2009 to Alex's surgery, and that she resisted his bringing Matt Jacobson, a literary agent, to meet their son. A book deal was signed by the end of the year, which gave Kevin exclusive copyright.[10] Kevin was the book's main promoter, giving many talks and interviews.[18][10]

Books purporting to describe real visits to Heaven make up a popular and highly lucrative genre of religious books in the United States.[19] The 2004 book 90 Minutes in Heaven spent over five years on the New York Times best-seller list and sold over six million copies;[20] the book Heaven Is for Real has sold over 10 million copies[21] and the film adaptation earned $101 million at the box office.[22] The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven sold 112,386 copies in the first year,[23] and received a platinum award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in 2013 for over a million sales.[5]

According to Benjamin Radford, a paranormal researcher, part of the reason for which the story was so well received and accepted by its American Christian audience is that it reinforced their existing narratives and beliefs. By sticking closely to a widely accepted interpretation of heaven, God and demons, Malarkey was assured that his story would meet his audience's expectations and be popular.[24]

Repudiation

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In November 2011, Alex Malarkey posted on a fanpage about the book a comment, in which he called it "1 of the most deceptive books ever." [sic] This comment was deleted by the moderators of the page shortly afterwards, and Alex was banned from the page.[4]

In November 2012, Alex's mother, Beth Malarkey, wrote several blog posts saying that her family was not in agreement with the content of the book. She expressed frustration with several people calling and visiting their home over the years, saying "[Alex] is just a boy not a statue to be worshipped or person with some supernatural gifts" and "He does not go to Heaven, have conversations with supernatural beings, and whatever visions/experiences he has had or had not had, is up to him as to what he will do with those."[25] Later that month, she said that the book's account had been embellished, adding "The truth is getting twisted, distorted, and packaged to be sold to the highest bidder." Beth and Kevin Malarkey have become estranged after the book was published[26] and ultimately divorced in 2018.[27]

On May 9, 2014, Beth Malarkey appeared on a Christian radio show, The Bible Answer Man, where she said that the book was deceptive and embellished the story of the accident. Beth Malarkey said Alex is still a quadriplegic, and cannot legally receive any money from the book.[28] She also began communicating with Phil Johnson, the executive director of John F. MacArthur's media ministry, Grace to You, in hopes of communicating her story. Johnson said that Beth had told him that she and Alex had been trying to publicize for some time that the book was "an exaggeration and an embellishment."[6] Johnson subsequently wrote in his blog, The Spurgeon Archive, that Beth Malarkey had sent Tyndale "a stack of correspondence", in which she stated that Alex received no royalties from the book and "[Kevin] neglects his duties as a husband and a father" and "[Kevin was] not even adequately supporting his family financially."[29] She had also revealed this to an apologist, Justin Peters, who then e-mailed Ed Stetzer and Thom S. Rainer, the heads of the publisher, LifeWay. They responded, but the book would not be withdrawn from LifeWay stores for another eight months [30]

On January 13, 2015, Alex Malarkey released an open letter to Christian publishers and bookstores, via a Christian Apologetics blog, Pulpit and Pen, confessing that the entire account of his journey to Heaven was fictional, and implored them to remove the book from their stores. In his letter he notes:[31]

"Please forgive the brevity, but because of my limitations I have to keep this short. I did not die. I did not go to Heaven. I said I went to Heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies, and continue to. They should read the Bible, which is enough. The Bible is the only source of truth. Anything written by man cannot be infallible. It is only through repentance of your sins and a belief in Jesus as the Son of God, who died for your sins (even though he committed none of his own) so that you can be forgiven may you learn of Heaven outside of what is written in the Bible... not by reading a work of man. I want the whole world to know that the Bible is sufficient. Those who market these materials must be called to repent and hold the Bible as enough. In Christ, Alex Malarkey.”[32]

On January 15, 2015, Tyndale House confirmed it would be withdrawing the book.[16]

Kevin Malarkey did not speak publicly after his son retracted the book's claims and rebuffed efforts by journalists to contact him until a Slate interview in 2019. He told Ruth Graham that he stood by the book. He had not spoken previously because, after prayer, he believed God did not want him to since it would harm his children. He claimed that royalties from the book had come to approximately a million dollars, half of it from the advance, but most of it had been spent on Alex's care, or given to his church and other Christian charities, and none of it was left.[18]

Lawsuits

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In 2018, Alex Malarkey filed a lawsuit against Tyndale House, the main publisher based in suburban Chicago, accusing them of charges including defamation and exploitation, seeking an award at least equivalent to the book's profits. That same year Kevin and Beth ended their marriage, with Beth getting custody of Alex (now an adult) and the couple's other children going to live with their father. Beth says she and Alex are in a difficult financial situation and cannot guarantee that they will be able to remain in their house; she would like an accounting of how Kevin spent the money from the book.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Mark Woods (January 15, 2015). "'The boy who came back from heaven' Alex Malarkey says best-selling book is false". Christianity Today.
  2. ^ Vencent Funaro (January 15, 2015). "Boy Who Claimed He Visited Heaven Reads Bible and Recants Story; LifeWay to Pull Book From Stores". Christian Post.
  3. ^ Kelly Faircloth (January 15, 2015). "Kid Named Malarkey Lied about Going to Heaven". jezebel.com. Gawker Media.
  4. ^ a b Alex Malarkey, as quoted by Beth Malarkey "Alex's post on the Boy Who Came Back from Heaven fanpage". blogspot.com (self published). November 20, 2012. Archived from the original on January 17, 2015.
    as quoted by Phil Johnson (January 16, 2015). "Setting the record straight". Grace to You. Archived from the original on January 17, 2015.
  5. ^ a b "'The Harbinger' marks a million in sales with two Evangelical Christian Publishers Association awards". Christian Retailing. May 29, 2013. Archived from the original on January 17, 2015. Tyndale also garnered two Platinum Awards for sales of more than 1 million copies for... The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven by Kevin and Alex Malarkey (more than 1 million sold).
  6. ^ a b Ron Charles (January 15, 2015). "'Boy Who Came Back From Heaven' going back to publisher". Washington Post Style Blog.
  7. ^ "Eric Westacott Foundation Raises Over $30,000 to Help Young Quadriplegic Boy | News". Spinal Cord Injury Zone. August 11, 2009. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  8. ^ Arturo Garcia (January 15, 2015). "10 Year-old Author of Best-selling Christian Book Admits He Never 'Came Back from Heaven'". Rawstory.
  9. ^ Swenson, Kyle. "'The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven' now wants his day in court". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c "The boy who didn't come back from heaven: inside a bestseller's 'deception'". The Guardian. January 21, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  11. ^ "Boy, 10, Is Youngest Person to Get 'Christopher Reeve' Breathing Device". Fox News. Associated Press. January 9, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  12. ^ Loehr, Many (April 4, 2009). "Worlds away from 'sheer survival'". Bellefontaine Examiner. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  13. ^ Mark Furler (February 12, 2011). "The Boy Who 'Went to Heaven'". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  14. ^ Ed Mazza (January 15, 2015). "Alex Malarkey, 'The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven,' Admits He Made It All Up". Huffington Post.
  15. ^ a b "The Burpo-Malarkey Doctrine". Grace to You. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  16. ^ a b Bill Chappell (January 15, 2015). "Boy Says He Didn't Go To Heaven; Publisher Says It Will Pull Book". NPR.
  17. ^ "The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven". Tyndale House Publishers. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013.
  18. ^ a b c Graham, Ruth (July 9, 2019). "I Did Not Die. I Did Not Go to Heaven". Slate. GetPocket. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  19. ^ Robert Gottlieb (October 23, 2014). "To Heaven and Back!". New York Review of Books.
  20. ^ "Piper's '90 Minutes in Heaven' Back on 'New York Times' Best-seller List". Christian Retailing. April 25, 2014.
  21. ^ Christine D. Johnson (December 11, 2014). "'Heaven Is for Real' hits major sales milestone". Christian Retailing. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014.
  22. ^ "Heaven Is for Real". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  23. ^ Claire Swanson (January 16, 2015). "Tyndale Pulls 'Boy Who Came Back from Heaven'". Publishers Weekly.
  24. ^ Radford, Benjamin. "Why People Believed Boy's 'Visit to Heaven' Story". news.discovery.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  25. ^ "Alex Malarkey: Author of The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven says He Made Up Story". Sydney Morning Herald. January 17, 2015.
  26. ^ Public Statement; Beth Malarkey
  27. ^ “I Did Not Die. I Did Not Go to Heaven.”; Ruth Graham
  28. ^ Hank Hanegraaff (June 5, 2014); The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven; The Story Behind the Story; The Bible Answerman, at the Christian Research Institute
  29. ^ Johnson, Phil. Tyndale House Publishers Knew the Malarkey Book Was A Fraud; The Spurgeon Archive, January 16, 2015.
  30. ^ Emails Suggest Lifeway President Knew of Heaven Scam, Chose Not to Act; Pulpit and Pen; January 15, 2015
  31. ^ "Boy says he didn't go to heaven, publisher says it will pull book". NPR.org. January 15, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  32. ^ ""The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven" Recants Story, Rebukes Christian Retailers". pulpitandpen.org. January 14, 2015.
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