heaven is here

Ladies and gentlemen! I, Nicole Langkamp, have finished a book! If you really know me, you know that I have an attachment disorder with books. I always abandon them halfway through because something else catches my eye or I just get bored. But I finished this book in 3 days! I posted a video a week or so ago and it was about this woman, Stephanie Nielson, who was in a terrible plane crash with her husband in 2008. Over 80% of her body was burned and she was in a coma for 3 months afterwards. This book is a memoir of her life before, during, and after the accident. Also, she’s Morman. At first, I didn’t know how I felt about reading her book because I don’t know much about Mormanism and it just kind of gave me the heebie jeebies. BUT I’m so glad I read it. It was such a powerful and raw story about living a life not of our bodies. Stephanie really took me throughout every moment of the accident and he long and difficult recovery. She talks about how her children wouldn’t look her in the eye, and her youngest (two at the  time) didn’t recognize her as his mother because she looked so different. In the midst of all the crap of what was going on, she had hope.

“I sensed the accident had set into motion eternal lessons for each of us, and we would learn things that ultimately we would be grateful for. At least I hoped we would. I had to believe there was a plan for our lives, and a purpose behind our struggles. It was at times a thin hope, more an idea than a driving force, but my challenges seemed manageable if I believed there was a purpose behind them. On the other side of this mountain, I hoped, a bright sun was just waiting to rise.”

She talked about how she remembered in her coma being somewhere…different. Somewhere like heaven. She said she was given a choice. That she could leave her worldly body and have a perfect and joyful life in heaven or she could go back to her broken body and have a really hard but extremely joyful and inspiring life. She chose to go back. In thinking about that, I honestly don’t know what I would choose. Anyway, it was a great read and I loved feeling like I got to know this inspiring woman. She’s pregnant now with her 5th child! It’s due this month! You can go to her blog here

Also the dogs got to the book cover.