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A Map of Heaven

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What would you do if you had one week to live and a lifetime of unrealized dreams to fulfill?

After a series of blinding headaches sends thirty-four-year-old Elizabeth to the hospital, she receives news of an inoperable tumor. Defying doctor’s orders, she heads to Paris in search of a different form of healing and one last chance to experience the life she locked away in a room of her paintings.

In Paris, Elizabeth’s days are spent in a budding romance with a doctor escaping his own demons, while her nights are inundated with surreal dreams. In these dreams, she navigates a labyrinth and confronts pivotal moments from her past. Upon waking, she receives mysterious notes hinting that her life may be saved if she could only find the map of Heaven described to her as a child.

During her nocturnal journeys through the endless labyrinth, Elizabeth meets an astronomer searching for forgiveness, an artist searching for immortality, and a mother searching for revenge. As her dreams progress, she travels back in time to a small Midwestern town, follows a Parisian tunnel down to the depths of Hell, and eventually reaches a sandy beach offering a possible glimpse of Heaven.

In a cruel twist, for her life to be spared, Elizabeth is required to give up everything that has brought her so much joy, including the man she loves.

Which will she choose? A return to her old life or a chance to grasp the meaning of life?

702 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 24, 2014

275 people are currently reading
913 people want to read

About the author

Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson

21 books114 followers
I was born in Fort Lauderdale, attended the University of Michigan on an athletic scholarship for swimming and then worked on Wall Street. I left the bright lights of the big city fifteen years ago and traveled the world. I now live in the mountains of Colorado, where I pursue my dream of writing novels.

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5 stars
229 (52%)
4 stars
105 (23%)
3 stars
66 (15%)
2 stars
22 (5%)
1 star
16 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
109 reviews
April 24, 2015
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a good book, although a bit long. It took me much longer to read it because it is not an easy read. I would recommend to Christian genre fans but others may not enjoy it because of its preaching.
Elizabeth is a young lady with a passion…a passion for painting. But she hides that passion from the world afraid that she is just not good enough. She is a curator at a museum and every day sees the magnificent works of art displayed there. She feels her work does not even begin to compete with those.
She begins to get blinding headaches and goes to the doctor. She is given a terminal diagnosis with only a few weeks to live. She realizes there are so many things in life she wants to accomplish, so on a whim she heads off to Paris. While in Paris, she meets Peter, a surgeon who is running away from the struggles he is having with his job. Both Peter and Elizabeth are searching for God in their own way. Elizabeth has very vivid lifelike dreams that always leave her with a note, possibly from God. She shares these dreams and notes with Peter. As their journey and Elizabeth’s disease progresses, they fall in love.

Will they both find what they are looking for? Will they get to spend the rest of their lives together?

The ending may leave you wanting a bit more, perhaps a prelude to a sequel.
Profile Image for Dynah Zale.
Author 5 books42 followers
July 26, 2019
You must fulfill you God given purpose in life.

I won’t tell the story but the plot involves a woman faced with a terminal illness and she realized she wasted her life away by not accomplishing what God intended for her to.

Her description of what it means to face death was real (and scary)

All too often fear has kept brilliant and creative individuals from fulfilling my dreams but we need to take control of our lives back and focus on the truth & the light. Satan is good at deception and he has many people believe they need money, resources or skills to accomplish my dreams....but the devil is a liar.

The only part I did not care for was the part where a human is talking to a demon so nonchalantly. Like it’s no big deal. I found that kind of strange but I’m going to go with it.
Profile Image for Ann.
1,117 reviews19 followers
January 8, 2018
A woman who was an artist but never showed any of her paintings or drawings. She lost her father when she was young . She kept to herself and never did anything that she really wanted to do for fear of losing anymore in life. She got sick and the doctor said she had a brain tumor and wasn't going to live very long. So she decided to go to Paris instead of having chemo. The book has lots of Bible readings in it. Some people didn't believe in God anymore , some still did. Your never going to believe what happens in the ending.
Profile Image for Brandi  Hansen.
98 reviews
March 24, 2018
An absolute must read!

What an amazing read! Reading this book really makes you stop and think. Life is short...sometimes too short. In the blink of an eye everything can change. It's OK to be afraid but take those chances. Live life to the fullest. Love like you've never loved before. Laugh like you've never laughed before. And always remember just because God doesn't answer doesn't mean he's not listening.
513 reviews5 followers
June 11, 2022
God given - God spoken

This was a very timely book for me, at a time of depression when the world has gone crazy and nonsensical. I was on hold in the work I had in my heart and was not accomplishing what I knew God had for me to do. No one seems to need what I have to offer but God is saying, "Keep going forward and preparing. In my timing. In my timing." Thank you Suzanne for this "map" and it's encouragement and motivation to me.
Profile Image for Loretta.
381 reviews
September 22, 2017
Interesting and thought provoking. Elizabeth finds she has a short time left to live due to a brain tumor so she plans a trip to Paris which was a long held dream. While in Paris she meets Peter as well as some "other worldy" people. Much of this story is Elizabeth's search for meaning in life as well as finding/refinding God. Her friend Peter is also searching for a renewal in faith.
Profile Image for Ruby Derouen.
33 reviews2 followers
October 31, 2017
What An Inspiration!

This book has opened my eyes further to my purpose in His plan! Through this author I was able to see clearer the direction of my life and to assess the changes that needed to take place to redirect my course to His path! Thank you for opening my eyes to see clearly the path He has chosen for me.
266 reviews2 followers
April 6, 2018
Elizabeth, like too many

The powerful message of this book is we all have questions, countless about death and Heaven. This book reminds us we need to live with open hearts, happy hearts. Lose the dark cloak of the "what if". Instead choose light. Choose joy. Choose life. Choose God.
Profile Image for Andreea Pausan.
574 reviews8 followers
December 27, 2016
A good, inspired book about mission in life and embracing God, even in the most dire of circumstances. Elizabeth has her own initiation journey once she find out she has terminal brain cancer and the forces of good and evil battle over the choice she makes at the edge of life and death.
Profile Image for A. A. Breitling.
172 reviews
November 3, 2018
I enjoyed this story of love and adventure in the midst of a personal trial. However, I did not like the book starting out with two prologues. The author should have eliminated them. They were not necessary.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Lyndsay.
91 reviews8 followers
December 29, 2018
Beautiful!!!!

A beautifully written book of our search for God and the battle we face inside, doubting ourselves and satan’s relentless journey to get us to never see what God wants for us. Will be reading this again and again!
Profile Image for Lee Simpson.
Author 4 books12 followers
June 14, 2021
Wonderful Story

This is a wonderful story of life and developing a personal relationship with God. I thought I had this story figured out early in the book, but I was surprised. Pleasantly surprised!
13 reviews
February 17, 2022
Looking for a Map

A beautiful book! Why beautiful? A search for answers that we are all looking for. A wonderful read full of descriptions of Paris, life and a relationship with God. Will all your questions be answered? No but a wonderful adventure.
25 reviews1 follower
July 15, 2021
Loved this book

Anyone searching for greater meaning about life will love this book. It held my interest throughout. Definitely go check it out!
3 reviews
Read
October 21, 2023
Map of heaven

This was a Very Good book, but too long. It took a lot of plane trips to get it read.
1 review
March 22, 2017
Intriguing page turner!

I chose this book because of the title and found it to be a good read. Along the pages I could identify with the characters & felt like I was right in the story. Great book!☺
Profile Image for Nicole Evelina.
Author 15 books190 followers
March 11, 2015
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Map of Heaven is on its surface the story of a 34-year old woman facing her own mortality when she’s diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. This sounds depressing, but in reality the book is so much more. It is an uplifting look into the questions we all ask at some point in our lives: Why am I here? What am I meant to be doing with my life? What happens if I die without doing it?

Without giving anything away, the answer comes down to forming a relationship with God (by whatever name you call him/her/it) and using your talents for the good of others. Nothing on that road is easy, but it’s a journey we all have to take in course of living. And I believe these are lessons and thought provoking philosophical questions that will resonate with everyone, regardless of their current religious path.

This book is inspirational fiction and it helps if you are (or were at least raised) Christian due to an emphasis on the Bible and Jesus later in the book. But as I said, I don’t think you have to be to find solace in this story. It contains some very interesting discussions on the intersection of science (especially quantum physics) and faith, as well as the role of faith in the modern world. While some reviewers have said they found these sections heavy and hard to read, I thought they were fascinating and they have given me much to mediate upon.

Another reviewer described it as a religious fairy tale, which is kind of true. I prefer to think of it as life with a slightly more direct God intervention than most of us usually see. (But I believe we all see God’s hand/hear his/her/it’s voice in our lives in different ways at different times.) It’s kind of like The Adjustment Bureau but with notes and dreams rather than maps of lives and Bowler hats.

I only buy hard copies of ebooks I review if they really stick with me and I believe I’m going to read them again. I knew after reading only a few pages that this one was going to change my life and immediately bought it upon finishing. I came upon the book at a critical time in my life when I was asking many of the same questions as the main character (sans brain tumor, knock on wood!) so it was like God was talking to me through it. While I don’t have any firm answers after reading it, I highly recommend it for anyone wondering about their place in this world.
Profile Image for Kathy.
2,515 reviews17 followers
March 12, 2015
Elizabeth is an assistant curator at a small art museum at a University in the Midwestern United States. As a hobby, she paints but has never felt confident enough to share her art with anyone. After losing her father as an eleven year old, she prefers to live her comfortable, safe existence. At the age of 34, she starts experiencing headaches. When she also has a dream about Joan of Arc and wakes up in explosive pain, she goes to the hospital where she is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and given about 4 weeks to live. She reevaluates her hum-drum life and takes a spur of the moment trip to Paris France where she meets Peter. Peter is a pediatric brain surgeon who is disgusted with his own inability to save his young patients lives. Through a series of dreams, Elizabeth embarks on a life journey to discover a map to heaven. At the end of each dream, a handwritten note is given to Elizabeth with an important message to help her along her journey. I loved the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. Some of the notes left to Elizabeth seemed long and preachy. I am a devout Christian but this book was almost over the top for me. I did however like the ending. There were many nuggets of truth that were enjoyable but the journey was very painful for me.
***I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.
Profile Image for Angel.
82 reviews3 followers
December 14, 2020
Map of Heaven, by Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson, is a heartwarming work of fiction that the readers are sure to hold close to their hearts. It touches upon the idea of living life to the fullest.

What would you do if you found out you only had a few more weeks to live? Elizabeth, the thirty-four year old protagonist with a passion for art, needs an answer to that question, quick. After suffering from multiple headaches, she goes to the hospital and finds out that she has a brain tumor. Elizabeth then, suddenly leaves her job and travels to Paris in search of adventure.

Like many other books, I had my likes and dislikes. I liked how the author did not reveal all the details in the story at once. I applaud the author for creating such three dimensional characters. I found the main character, Elizabeth, very easy to relate to. I also liked how thought provoking this book was.

On the other hand, I did not really like how so much religion was weaved into this novel. I felt like the author was, in a way, pushing Christianity in the reader’s face. Also, I felt like the ending was a little bit anti climactic.

In the end, I recommend this book to Christian readers in search of a thought provoking read.
Profile Image for Mary Jung.
80 reviews2 followers
March 2, 2015
After Elizabeth received the news that she has a brain tumor, she starts a search for heaven and peace of mind. Her father did when she was a young teenager and she has been searching for answers ever since then. An artist, who has never shown her work, her dream has been to visit Paris and enjoy the galleries and all the art they have to offer.

Assuming she has only a few weeks to live, she leaves her mundane job and travels to Paris the next day. Through dreams and maybe some reality, she discovers love for the first time and also her wish to live and show and enjoy her art work. In a dream, she is given that chance to live, paint and display her work.

Because of her art, she again finds her true love but the road from the discovery of the cancer and her making the decision to live. She also comes to realize that heaven is a goal she can reach - someday, but not necessarily very soon.

I enjoyed reading this book with its twists and turns and even its dreams and realizations. A bit long, but well worth the time spent reading this well written book.

Mary K Jung
mkjfrj@aol.com
Profile Image for Sylvia.
120 reviews4 followers
March 14, 2015
I received a copy of A Map of Heaven in exchange for an honest review. I considered opting out after reading the start due to the topic hitting rather close to home - but I am glad I stuck with it.

The story centers around a young lady that has just received news that she has an inoperable brain tumor and has a very, very limited time to live. This sets her off to begin two very thought provoking journeys. The first is living what remains of her life here on Earth. The second takes place in her dreams. In these dreams she encounters delves deep into her questions such as Where is Heaven? She meets several individuals that question, answer and assist her with her thoughts and feelings. In some cases, she helps them as much as they do her.

As I said, this story is very thought provoking. In fact, at times I felt my own head starting to swim with the spiritual discussions. Some of the riddle feeling was a bit much for me.

The ending..... Without giving a spoiler.. I wanted more. It felt like we took this long journey to get to the end only for it to be handed to us "here ya go. The End." *scream*
22 reviews3 followers
August 15, 2015
A dieing woman's quest for Heaven

This is a complicated tale of a woman with only a week to live but the dialogue of this book still believes it needs to incorporate all of the foundation of the Christian faith. It leads you to believe that it is a novel about an artist who finds out she is going to die quickly of cancer so takes a long wished for trip to Paris. She can't really enjoy it because she is mad at God and has never had a relationship with him. Then, Thru miraculous story telling, she finally, and I mean lengthy doctrinal truths being revealed, she accepts the light over the darkness (to use one of many metaphors). In general, she wants to be healed, know why her father had to die when she was a child, was there a Heaven, who is God, is she supposed to be in love with Peter? Too much information? Too many crossover subjects to make this have a good rhythm to the read.
Profile Image for Cheri.
2,122 reviews70 followers
March 31, 2015
I read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Elizabeth is told she has a short time to live and decides she is going to vacation in Paris, before she makes a decision about having treatments. She has dreams in which she sees people from her past that have a message to share with her. Elizabeth is an artist but has never shown anyone, keeping it locked away in her spare bedroom. But the dreams convince her that she needs to share her art for others to see.
This book wasn't one that held my interest, because at times it was too preachy. With that being said, the book did have a good message.
17 reviews
April 1, 2015
This novel had the potential to be great. It focused on a plot line that I don't see very often and intrigued me. However, I changed my mind once I began reading. The novel itself was one long sermon and was extremely preachy. It would be great for those seeking religious themes or looking for Bible quotes, but it wasn't a novel for me. I wish the author would have focused more on the storyline with the protagonist facing a limited time to live and searching for resolution in her life. Instead, I received a sermon on how I should live my life complete with numerous citations to the Bible and a pushy author imposing her beliefs on me.
Profile Image for Melissa Ann.
259 reviews7 followers
June 2, 2015
This was a hard book to read, it's really difficult subject matter. Elizabeth is faced with an a devastating diagnosis and must face how she has lived her life and what little time she has left...it's heart-breaking.

The whole question of what would you do when faced with those decisions is a tough one and one that hit very close to home for me which was what made it difficult for me to read. (and hard to review)

It's also set up to be a really great story and it is in a lot of ways, it just wasn't my sort of thing. I found the whole overall sentiment of the book to be beautiful and touching though.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Ogz.
188 reviews5 followers
August 2, 2016
This book was so long!!! hence the 4-star. It was interesting to see how the writer made the characters find their answers to God through the personal experiences both past and present. What was most interesting was recognising the handiwork of the devil in influencing our decisions against God.
The writer showed her bravery through Elizabeth and the course she took in finding her way to God.
I do have some reservations about how the writer made suicide look like, it did draw out her message for the book but for me it was a little contradictory of the word. Having said that, I liked this novel, it made me smile, anticipate and pray as I read on.
Profile Image for Gail.
1,542 reviews
February 27, 2015
A thought provoking book that will make you stop and think of what would you do if you were in Elizabeth's shoes and only had a short amount of time left to live? Elizabeth ignores what the doctor tells her and flies to Paris hoping to find a different answer. She meets a doctor who has problems of his own and falls in love. She begins to have dreams telling her what she needs to do to live but she will have to give up everything that makes her happy. What will she do? Read the story to find out the answer.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews

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