Alex Malarkey, the boy at the heart of a bestselling book, “The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven,” said in a letter to his publisher that he lied — he never died when he was 6 years old and went to heaven and visited with angels.
The book’s publisher, Tyndale House, responded by pulling the book.
“[We’re taking] the book and all ancillary products out of print,” Tyndale said in a statement reported by NPR.
The story of the boy was billed by the publisher as a “supernatural encounter that will give you new insights on heaven, angels and hearing the voice of God,” NPR reported. Alex, however, said it was all a lie, including the movie that was made from his story.
“I did not die,” he wrote in a letter that was posted on the Pulpit and Pen website. “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.”
He then wrote: “Those who market these materials must be called to repent and hold the Bible as enough,” NPR reported.
Alex was paralyzed during a car wreck at age 6 and spent a couple of months in a coma. He penned the book with his father, Kevin Malarkey.
He’s now a teen, and his parents are divorced, NPR reported. His mother, Beth Malarkey, has previously spoken out against the book and movie and also said profits from his book weren’t being sent to her son.
She wrote in a previous blog posting, NPR reported: “Alex’s name and identity are being used against his wishes … on something that he is opposed to and knows to be in error according to the Bible. I am fully aware of what it feels like to be pulled in. There are many who are scamming and using the Word of God to do it. They are good, especially if you are not digging into your Bible and truly studying it. They study their audience and even read ’success’ books to try to build better and bigger … ’ministries/businesses.’ “
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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