When Peter Baldwin Panagore died on the side of a mountain, his life was forever changed. Decades later, the intense spiritual journey continues, with a story that combines the thrills of a wilderness adventure with the awe-inspiring elements of a paranormal novel.
In March of 1980, college senior Peter Panagore went ice climbing on the world-famous Lower Weeping Wall, along the Ice Fields Parkway in Alberta, Canada. 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, he was overcome by exhaustion and hypothermia. He died on the side of that mountain. And in those minutes on the other side, he experienced hell, forgiveness, and unconditional love. Heaven was beautiful.
Panagore’s death experience 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 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.
Peter Baldwin Panagore earned his BA in English from the University of Massachusetts and a M.Div from Yale University. He was ordained in the United Church of Christ and served churches in suburban Connecticut and Maine. He is the writer, on-air talent, and host of a daily two-minute broadcast on two TENGA-owned NBC stations in Maine, reaching an audience of 350,000 a week. He is the fifth minister of First Radio Parish Church of America (founded in 1926)
Heaven is Beautiful Book Reviews
“…Panagore’s near death experience (NDE) changed his life and resulted in an intense spiritual journey that has continued for decades. 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 this state he experienced a classic NDE, but his description of it adds a powerful new interpretation to the commonly agreed elements. … A quick and rewarding read.” ~M. Knight NEW CONSCIOUSNESS REVIEW
“United Church of Christ minister Panagore offers a harrowing account of a near-death experience when he was a young man in 1980 on an ice-climbing adventure in Alberta, Canada. Along with a more experienced climber, Panagore set out on a trip that took him to Lower Weeping Wall, where the two mountaineers found themselves trapped as they descended the face of the frigid mountain wall. After their rope became snagged and they were overcome by hypothermia, frostbite, and exhaustion, Panagore lost consciousness, his body shut down, and he nearly died. What happened on the other side of death changed Panagore’s life, resulting in his pursuit of a master’s degree focusing on systematic theology and Christian mysticism. Feelings of overwhelming love, forgiveness, and caring–but also of shouldering the burdens of others who he hurt during his lifetime on Earth–met him on the other side; he also encountered God. Readers who have a fascination with near-death experiences and mysticism will be drawn into Panagore’s remembrances of dying on the side of that mountain and the unexplainable feelings he encountered, and may find comfort in his assurance that death is not to be feared. Agent: Stephany Evans, Fine Print Literary Management (Oct.) —Publisher’s Weekly, Reviewed on 08/07/2015
“Heaven is hot right now–not in temperature, but in public interest. Everyone who longs to get a glimpse of the afterlife will be grateful for this gripping first-person account by Peter Panagore, who dies on a cold mountainside after a heart-pounding ice climb in the Canadian wilderness. There he meets the God who made him and knows him–the God who is loving, all-powerful and real. This book will give hope and confidence to all who wonder about what lies beyond our earthly existence.” —Henry G. Brinton, senior pastor of Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Virginia and author of The Welcoming Congregation: Roots and Fruits of Christian Hospitality
“Heaven is Beautiful is a profound, true story offering amazing proof that there is more. This book and its illuminating truth pushed my restart button! Best page-turning read of the year!” —Jennifer Skiff, author of God Stories: Inspiring Encounters with the Divine and The Divinity of Dogs