Jan 16 (Reuters) - A Christian publisher moved to pull a
popular book by a boy who described his time in heaven while in
a coma, the Washington Post reported on Friday, days after the
child, who co-authored the book with his father, retracted his
story.
In an open letter posted online on Tuesday, Alex Malarkey,
16, wrote that he made up the story contained in his 2010
memoir, "The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven," because he thought
it would bring him attention.
"I did not die. I did not go to heaven," he wrote. "People
have profited from lies, and continue to. They should read the
bible, which is enough."
Tyndale House, the publisher, said it would stop selling
Malarkey's book about the time he spent in heaven after a 2004
car crash left him in a coma for two months, which he
co-authored with his father, Kevin Malarkey, the Washington Post
reported.
The publisher, which has removed the title from the list it
maintains on its website of books it has published, did not
immediately return messages seeking comment.
Questions about the book's authenticity had been raised
previously.
The young author's mother, Beth Malarkey, wrote in a blog
post in April that the book was "in error" and that her son, who
is paralyzed from the car accident, "has not received monies
from the book nor have a majority of his needs been funded by
it."
The book contract with Tyndale was with Kevin Malarkey, and
not Alex or Beth, the Post reported.
Neither Kevin nor Beth Malarkey could immediately be reached
for comment.
(Reporting by Jonathan Kaminsky in New Orleans; Editing by Eric
Walsh)
© 2024 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.