We talk of heaven, but is it for real or is it just a nice idea? In 2003 Todd and Sonja's little boy (not quite four years old) almost died from a ruptured appendix. After his recovery, Colton began talking spontaneously about heaven – how the angels sang for him and how he had sat on Jesus' knee. Over th e next 18 months amidst childhood games and the rough and tumble of family life, his parents gradually pieced together a story of what Colton had seen and heard there. This book is an account of the child's glimpse of heaven.

You have to find your way through the setting of Mid-West American family life, but the record is, in John Piper's words, 'compelling and convincing' and remarkably true to what the Bible says about heaven. It will encourage those who doubt, and thrill those who believe. We read it with tears in our eyes. It would help us as Christian doctors to see our work in its wider context and it would help many patients who fear what lies beyond.

In the words of one commendation, 'If you're ready to go to heaven, this book will inspire you. If you're not ready for heaven allow a little child to lead you'.

Peter Pattisson is a retired GP in Hampshire.