Heaven Is Beautiful

In the tradition of Heaven Is for Real (with a twist of Into Thin Air), a new book that explores what really happens when we die.

In March 1980, Peter Panagore went ice climbing on the world-famous Lower Weeping Wall, along the Ice Fields Parkway in Banff National Park in Alberta. His climbing partner was an experienced ice climber, but Panagore was a novice. On their descent, they became trapped on the side of the mountain. As the sun set, Panagore was overcome by exhaustion and hypothermia and died on the side of that mountain. In his minutes on the other side, he experienced hell, forgiveness, and unconditional love. Heaven was beautiful.

In Heaven Is Beautiful, Panagore explores how his near death experience (NDE) changed his life and resulted in an intense spiritual journey that has continued for decades. It impelled him to pursue a master’s degree at Yale Divinity School focusing on systematic theology and Christian mysticism. His educational background coupled with 30 years of yogic and meditative practice and 20 years of professional work with the dying and grieving has given him unique insight, language, and perspective on heaven, God, death, life, love, beauty, and hope. In Panagore's own words: “I have told my story to audiences large and small for a decade now. . . . My story touches people’s hearts; every time I tell it the audience is gripped and silent. . . . This book is about hope. It is meant to provide real hope to the dying, hope to the fearful, hope to the hopeless, hope to the grieving.”