Waking Up in Heaven

June 24, 2013
Crystal McVea had a hard childhood. For most of her life, drugs and alcohol were a more common presence than religion. However in 2009, at the age of 34, McVea went into cardiac arrest. In the hospital, unconscious and no longer breathing on her own, McVea felt she was in Heaven—a feeling that continued even after she regained consciousness in the material world. McVea’s memoir intercuts details of her transformation in the hospital with anecdotes from her more harrowing and often seedy upbringing. The author narrates this audio edition with mixed results. She’s a crisp, clear reader whose Oklahoman accent makes the audio production feel more authentic than it might have been with a professional narrator. For instance, when McVea describes her stepfather shooting a rifle inches above her head, her voice quivers and listeners are immediately immersed in that terrifying and awful moment. But during less dramatic moments, McVea’s reading fails to keep listeners engaged. A Howard paperback.