*I did not read this book.
About the Book
Book: Routed to Heaven: How Near-Death Experiences, Afterlife Testimonies And Heavenly Insights Can Help You Live With Intention
Author: Julie Bonn Blank
Genre: NF (Memoir, Devo, Christian Living)
Release Date: February 21, 2026
What happens when Heaven doesn’t just reveal itself—but sends you back with a mission?
In Routed to Heaven, Julie Bonn Blank shares the moments that changed everything: a sudden medical crisis, clinical death, and a breathtaking encounter with Jesus Himself. Standing in Heaven, overwhelmed by love and beauty beyond words, Julie received a message that would redirect the course of her life: “There is still so much work to be done.”
But this book is far more than one extraordinary near-death or afterlife experience.
Routed to Heaven weaves together over twenty additional powerful testimonies from people who briefly crossed into eternity—children healed after death, abuse survivors guided by the Holy Spirit, one person sent back to earth for a do-over, and believers who stood at Heaven’s gates and returned forever changed. These stories affirm what so many long for in uncertain times: Heaven is real. God is near. And our lives matter more than we realize.
What sets this book apart is its purpose.
Each testimony is paired with Julie’s honest, compassionate reflections that address the real-life obstacles keeping believers from living with eternal focus—fear, grief, trauma, unforgiveness, mental health struggles, waiting on God, spiritual warfare, and more. With wisdom shaped by personal suffering and years of ministry, Julie doesn’t just inspire—she equips.
At the heart of the book is what she calls the Heaven-Minded Mission Manifesto—a practical framework designed to help readers stop sleepwalking through life and begin living with bold Kingdom intention. Through prayer, worship, gratitude, belief, and the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit, readers are invited to move from survival to activated faith.
With thoughtful Pause & Ponder sections at the end of each chapter, Routed to Heaven becomes more than a book—it becomes a journey of awakening. For those who want to go deeper, the Companion Study Guide expands on these reflections with guided questions, scripture exploration, and practical exercises—making it ideal for personal growth, small groups, or church studies.
If you’ve ever wondered whether Heaven is real…
If you’ve questioned whether your life has greater purpose…
If you’re longing for hope, healing, or renewed fire for God…
This book—and its companion guide—are your invitation.
Heaven is watching. The time is short. And your mission matters.
Click here to get your copy!
Author Interview
I actually write both fiction and nonfiction. I also have a suspense series focused on healing
from domestic violence and human trafficking. (here is an easy link if you want it:
https://amzn.to/4wIzRbR0) But in the case of “Routed to Heaven,” because it is a true story and
includes other people’s testimonies too, it was already nonfiction. ��
I did not plan on experiencing a heart stoppage and visiting Heaven but we can count on the
Lord creating plans to interrupt our usual plot. In this case, He orchestrated this Heaven visit
very specifically to start my new chapter. He told me to return and complete His work, and the
new tasks became an expansion of current activities.
I wish I could assure people of the overall plan here a bit more. They sometimes think that their
dreams aren’t worthy, or perhaps they want to complete a particular activity but worry that God’s
plans might differ. God made our desires, wishes, dreams and talents to all fit together to better
His kingdom. Combined with personality, experiences and even traumas—they create a unique
package He knows all about and that cannot be replaced with anyone else. He wants to mold all
of those things into our mission manifestos in this last season of days.
Ha Ha. I took a class last summer that talked about making your office/writing area a retreat and
how to do that. I admire writing friends who, in great joy, outfit their Tuff or She Shed or find a
spare room in their house to jazz up with inspiration, but my writing areas greatly vary. I tend to
develop physical pain from too much of one setting, one posture, etc., so long ago I obtained a
laptop and have three places I write from: desk, dining room table and couch. Oh, and also the
kitchen counter when I need to stand and the back porch when the weather is decent and I
crave sun.
Always a challenge! When my kids were young, I tucked them into bed and wrote like crazy for
a few hours before crashing myself. They are adults now and hubby and I are empty-nesters.
Regardless, many things tend to interrupt such as the getting the nonprofit started and funded
that the Lord implanted on my mind (brokensoulsrestored.org) and also overseeing Cascade
Christian Writers. The book tour interviews maintain priority this week and of course, I am still
gathering people’s Heaven stories as more books are to come.
Like anything else, writing must remain a priority and sometimes even scheduled to ensure
occurrence. Sometimes, God awakens me in the middle of the night or puts such a drive in my
heart that I.must.write.now regardless, and then other things are put aside in favor of just
writing. And when I am on deadline, as I tend to procrastinate, it can evolve into hours and
hours of only writing as people wonder if I’ve dropped into a Black Hole or perhaps returned to
Heaven permanently.
For my domestic violence and human trafficking series, I had life experience, hundreds of hours
of training and a domestic violence advocacy certification. I worked in the industry for many
years for other nonprofits and now have my own. In addition, I interviewed several ladies in “the
Life” and read up on particular subjects.
For the Heaven books, the research includes reading other trusted testimonies, watching
trusted YouTube interview channels, interviewing people and reading books. Its very important
to me that the stories I write are vetted as people do trust me. The stories must pass my Holy
Spirit radar and not all of them do. I only publish and recommend the ones that do.
For me, the research can take more time (at times) than the actual writing. When I returned from
visiting Heaven, I often spent up to four hours a day in studying and researching scripture and
other Heaven accounts. I just could not get enough. If you read “Routed to Heaven,” you will
quickly see that this created some side effects! In drawing so close to the Holy Spirit, He drew
close to me and all I can say is... Wow! I do not spend that much time studying now but still try
to get in 90 minutes a day at least.
For quite a while after visiting Heaven, I found it so emotional when I read other’s accounts that
mimicked mine in some small form. If someone else mentioned Jesus’ baritone voice, or the
kaleidoscopes that I saw, or talked about how the grass felt on their feet, it sparked a resonant
companionship deep in my heart that grabbed me. I guess there is always a part of humans that
desire validation, no matter how real our experiences are, and those moments truly felt God-
sent for that time in my life. I am so very grateful.
Besides getting up in the middle of the night and writing if I can’t sleep or if He awakens me with
a dream, I can’t think of any. Unless you count not having a standard office and writing from
wherever the fancy hits as one. ��
Absolutely. As an early reader, I drove my fam crazy with library book stacks. I checked out as
many as the librarian let me borrow (as she snuck a few in above and beyond) and sat in our
backyard to read all summer long. Sometimes more than one book a day!
Without realizing it, early on I studied the craft of words, the importance of character building,
how to world build, what I liked and didn’t like, what friendship meant, what a good (and bad)
relationship was, and how to create a compelling story. If I didn’t get into the story within a
chapter or two, it was a dunce and I dumped it. If I could guess the upcoming, I didn’t find it as
enjoyable. Interesting enough, someone asked recently what I read back then and I had to
think. It was women’s fiction, biographies—mostly secular but also Christian, and a lot of
romance. But I must have gotten romanced out because when I write fiction now, it is mostly
suspense.
Honestly? Not much except the research and sources. And I mean that.
To write compelling non-fiction, you have to steal the novelist’s entire toolkit: narrative arcs,
deep characterization, dialogue, sharp pacing, active voice, and chapter-ending hooks.
Pacing, in particular, is vital. Unlike filmmakers, writers don't have the luxury of a background
soundtrack. When a movie wants to build suspense, mystery, or anxiety, they let the music do
the heavy lift. On the page, we have to build that entire emotional score using nothing but
words, rhythm, and tempo. If your pacing is off, the result can defeat your whole story.
About the Author
Julie Bonn Blank is the Bestselling Amazon author of Routed to Heaven: How Near-Death Experiences, Afterlife Testimonies And Heavenly Insights Can Help You Live With Intention
and a fiction suspense series which highlights healing from human trafficking. She is a sought-after speaker, certified domestic violence advocate, near-death experience survivor, and founder of the advanced, faith-based interactive trauma recovery program Broken Souls Restored—a résumé she never planned on assembling, but the plot kept thickening and life hit “publish” anyway.
More from Julie
When Julie returned from visiting heaven in August of 2024, she received a list of three things (to apparently start a list of many more lol) and one of those was to gather the stories and write “Routed to Heaven.” She was shocked to discover that while she was exuberant about her heavenly trip and couldn’t wait to share more, many others had experienced visits over the years and became hesitant to talk about their journeys due to misbelief or even put-downs from other people. But the Lord had placed within her heart that not only was it her job to round them up and get them into paper format, but to build a community. And that community had a special role on earth as well as upcoming in Heaven. She began many conversations with, “Hey I went to Heaven and I hear you might have had an experience too.” Even then, sometimes people hesitated. She found cases of “Well, your heart actually stopped and I don’t think mine did so mine was just a vision” or “I barely remember any of mine …” Over time, she was honored to help over twenty people write their stories for their inclusion in “Routed to Heaven.” People now seek her out specifically at times to tell their stories and she also finds people with stories in some interesting places, including funerals and grocery stores. You just never know! But there are many more stories out there and she continues to gather them for book 2, as well as for other purposes.
Blog Stops
Simple Harvest Reads, September 4 (Author Interview)
Girls in White Dresses, September 4
Artistic Nobody, September 5 (Author Interview)
Guild Master, September 6 (Author Interview)
Fiction Book Lover, September 7 (Author Interview)
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, September 7
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 8
The Bookish Ledger, September 9 (Author Interview)
Vicky Sluiter, September 10 (Author Interview)
For the Love of Literature, September 11 (Author Interview)
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, September 12
Tell Tale Book Reviews, September 13 (Author Interview)
Blossoms and Blessings, September 14 (Author Interview)
Stories By Gina, September 15 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, September 16
Cover Lover Book Review, September 17
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Julie is giving away five books by Julie Bonn Blank and a Starbucks Gift Card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://gleam.io/6H1bQ/routed-to-heaven-celebration-tour-giveaway
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