Teddy Newman's Heaven

A Novel

By: Luis Herrera

Narrated by: David Bosco

Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Join Teddy Newman as he unexpectedly dies and goes to Heaven at the young age of 40. How did he get there? Was he a saint, or just your average well-behaved guy? Is religion necessary? It couldn't be: Teddy was not religious.

So what is it like up there? Who do you meet? What conversations do you have? What are events like? How do you make a living and buy the things you need? How does one afford housing? How does it make you feel? If you die at an old age, do you remain old forever? Is it a lonely place? Is it possible to make love? Can you enjoy the occasional drink? Or is the whole experience one never-ending mass service?

Is the place governed and overrun by religious elites (as we are often made to believe)? If so, what religion? What if you were brought up with different or even no beliefs at all - can you still get in? Who is really in charge? Do we all make it there by default? If not, what is the alternative?

These are just a few of the vexing questions this novel seeks to address in fun and unexpected ways. Forget what you learned at Sunday school...Teddy Newman provides a class of its own, and it just may be closer to reality than anything you have been able to find in another book, by any source. Come along on a journey to Heaven, Hell, then back to Earth, and everything in between. Take a look into Teddy Newman's Heaven and question some long held beliefs. Or perhaps gain a new perspective on a topic usually reserved for old, dusty tomes written by people who have been dead for centuries.

More than anything, this novel should get you to think and ponder an all-important theme that is often overlooked by the "live for the here and now" philosophies predominant in modern culture. We all must pass eventually. What will your Heaven be like? The answers may surprise you.

©2021 Luis Herrera (P)2021 Luis Herrera

A thought provoking story with a window into a possible heaven

Teddy Newman’s heaven on audiobook was a fantastic listen. Loved the story and the narrator!

Who doesn’t love a good story about what heaven might be? Luis Herrera takes the untouchable and brings it to earth for his readers. When you start the book, you’re unsure where the book may lead you. You find yourself in the same shoes of the main character, Teddy, who wakes up in a strange but seemingly perfect place. As Teddy starts exploring and meeting important historical figures, the reader begins to understand the possibilities of Heaven. Teddy Newman is an average guy, but he makes it to heaven — it makes you think about your own life and whether you’d make it in. What’s required? Who deserves it? How merciful is God? Is organized religion the answer or is it an impediment?

This is a fiction with themes of spirituality and belief in God threaded through the story. It’s an interesting tale on what’s to come and it gets your wheels turning on your own beliefs.

Lastly, I have to say—Without giving too much away, there’s a female character that gets introduced toward the end of this novel and I loved what the author did through her. You don’t see too many women in leading roles in religion - truly it doesn’t matter which religion you look at, you’ll find the leadership roles are largely occupied by men. The author uses this character to bring in female voice to religion and point out the “downfalls” that Christianity specifically, but I think religion generally, misses by keeping women out of the forefront. It was empowering and truthful.

Highly recommend.

-Mo

Heaven

This not normally the type of book I listen to and I have no regrets in the decision. Everyone’s view of heaven is different and I love Teddy’s view and have never given any thoughts of my own as to what it will be like other than the knowledge that my baby is in the hands of her loving family and I will get to hold her again at some point. It took me several weeks to get into the story but once I did I found it herd to stop listening. Even if your a non believer I urge you open your mind and give this book a spin you won’t regret it.

I was given this book for free from the author or narrator for an honest review.

Thinking about tomorrow

This delightful story can be thought of as a think piece. It takes an enormous amount of imagination to build a world from scratch. Imagine trying to create heaven. Many of our religions teach us that God did just that, and if we live righteously we can attain that heaven.

The details depends on the teachings of the Prophet followed, as expounded upon by the religious leaders in any given sect. For this story the author has relied on the judeo-christian tradition because that is what he knows best.

After you have enjoyed the story, it is well worth listening to the afterwards.

A great deal of the narrative is extremely compelling, although there are large areas with which I disagree. I think this will be true of almost any reader because each of us brings his own thought process, background, and knowledge to what he reads.

I am laughing as I write that sentence in conformity with the standards on gender with which I grew up. So far I have not really seen a good replacement for the use in the English language, and thoroughly despise the use of plural nouns and adjectives to represent a single person of unknown gender.

I grew up using a masculine singular for the gender-neutral. But I digress, although the subject of masculine versus feminine influence through history are specifically made a point of within the novel.

Thank you, David Bosco, both for your delightful narration and for sharing this title with me.

Riveting writing and narration…

Teddy Newman's Heaven by Luis Herrera and narrated by David Bosco is an excellent book all around. There’s plenty of topics to ponder in this book and my review will not do it justice. Whether you are a believer or on the opposite end, it’s definitely worth a listen. Recommend if you’re looking for a great narration, interested in the topics of religion and afterlife, or looking to expand out. This would be a good one for a book club.

What’s it about? Many a things with the main focus being on the afterlife in one person’s heaven. The book is told as a story mainly through Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt Newman’s view, but also his son and others who are pivotal to the plot. Teddy is guided on is journey by various biblical figures. Some of the topics/questions that may arise include (please note this is a shortened list); what happens after death, will there be a specifically tailored heaven (or hell) for each of us, do we retain habits (using a restroom, loving the smell of freshly baked bread, reading a newspaper), is time the same in heaven or does it even exist, verses from the bible are weaved throughout the story, a visit to the Dark Lands, what does it mean to be good and does it automatically qualify you to enter Heaven, marriage, intimacy, how do various religious beliefs affect life and afterlife, humor, modern views, the questioning of the patriarchy in subtle ways (some might cry feminism as it may have you examining long held beliefs), we each have out own truths (or do we?), what is or makes a believer, is one religion better/different/the same as others, organized religion vs. religion, pop-culture, do drugs exist or does heaven have it’s own purer versions, reunion of bands (I’d be down for a Led Zeppelin reunion), what if Angie’s prayer had not been answered as a child (what if nothing bad occurred in life), and church vs. state. One of my favorite infusions into the story are the various musicians. This helped to make the story stand out. The book contains Afterword, Notes from the narrator, and About the Author- all worth listening to.

Regarding the narrator, David Bosco: His narration is superb! I’ve been following him a while now and recommend him unconditionally. He makes each characters unique, has perfect pace and inflections. There are some echos effects used, but they are not distracting.

Additional thoughts and full disclosure: I fall between atheism and agnostic (if there is such a place). Despite this being a book based on religion, it is told as a story. I knew going in there was some potential preaching and it is based heavily on the bible. I am glad I went out of my comfort zone for many reasons, two of them being excellent writing and narration. There were times it brought me back to my Eastern & Western Religion and Philosophy courses in college and reminded me a smidgen of The Good Place at first. I did not feel any beliefs were pushed on me and that really would be the complete opposite of what the book is about (imo).

The Afterword by Topher Reynoso and Notes From the Narrator David Bosco (I wrote the above review prior to listening to these two portions as to not alter my initial thoughts on the book):
These additions raised more questions and discussion points- what happens in our future, why are we here, the process of mortality, free will, honesty about faith, what do we really know, one person’s heaven may be another person’s hell because we all differ, is this world all there is as no one can truly know for certain and the possibilities could be endless. I’m left with David’s question of what if heaven and hell (or something else) exists on earth and the state you’re in, the level of your true happiness, determines what existence you’re in right now?

“Life is a novel. A novel without love makes for dry and tasteless reading!”
“Of course we’re all alive and well...until we’re not.”

I was given a free review copy of the audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you for allowing me to listen and review the book!

GREAT READ!

I really enjoyed it! This book focuses on what happens in the afterlife. The narration was great and kept me entertained. The author did a great job with this story and really makes you think of all the possibilities. This was my first book by this author but definitely not my last! I look forward to reading more books from this author! I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Thought provoking, entertaining and inspirational!

This was a very entertaining quick read that opened my mind to all the possibilities of heaven. The creative storyline and descriptive text were a feel-good peek into the author's view of the afterlife. It sparked my imagination to all that could be... The author unpacks a heavy topic through an easy-to-follow narrative that kept me "turning the pages" for more. The narration was superb!

The afterwards and narrator's comments at the end of the audiobook were impactful and re-emphasized my takeaway that we can all have different paths to our own heaven.

Highly recommend and this is one. I'll definitely enjoy listening to it again.

More than a fantasy a well tailored story

Simple premise heaven is tailored to fit your thoughts to the last detail to perfection, business is open and eternity is just part of the bigger bounty.  The characters have depth but it never is overwhelming and you end up relating to Ted, in fact, sometimes you feel that you knew Ted before in your life, you easily relate the situations to your very own right now or in a recent past, the space and environment descriptions are well placed leaving enough to the imagination to paint some of the images in your mind, again just enough.  The evolution of the characters is witful the situations are not forced on the reader, instead presented in each chapter as part of a well-thought plot, or grand plan.  At the end of the reading, you understand why the long wait and it all makes sense.  Thank you Luis for in a short reading building an entertaining world, that is quirky, funny, and ingenious.  David Bosco keeps the reading lively at all moments.

I love a thought-provoking book!

I'm an open-minded person. So, for me, this was a wonderful book that made me ponder some new possibilities. Unless one has had a near death experience, I don't feel it is possible to know anything about what really happens after death. I've read and heard several different possibilities, and I do have my own thoughts on it, but I'm always open to other opinions and possibilities. This book has some possible answers to questions I didn't previously have any sort of answers to.
Teddy Newman's Heaven is an overall fantastic listen. Along with pondering my personal heaven, there were parts of this story that touched me and other parts that made me smile and even laugh. I can certainly recommend this for anyone who is even a little open-minded about death and any possibilities about what we could expect. Whether any of it fits with your beliefs, answers any questions or raises new ones, it is entertaining and worth listening to. At the end, there is also what I think of as a "bonus piece". We hear about the author and his thoughts on the book. In addition, we hear from the narrator and get some input from him as well. I thought this was a nice way to end the audiobook.
The narrator? A good book can only be made better if it is narrated by David Bosco. He is always easy to listen to. How impressive he was here with all the different characters in this book! There were a lot... and some good accents too. I've listened to several of his narrations in the past and I'm amazed I never hear the voice of characters from the other books he's done. I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.