There is a book written by Sarah Palin biographer Lynn Vincent (and fronted by Evangelist preacher Colton Burpo) called Heavan is for Real, high atop the New York Times non-fiction bestseller list. That’s right non-fiction. The God-fearing folks behind this publishing phenomenon claim the book records the “memories” of a visit beyond the Pearly Gates by the minister’s young son while he was under anesthesia during an operation.

Oh. Where to begin? There is so much material here, starting with the implications for the republic of so many people hopping on for this “real” literary ride. A good starting point for that analysis is a recent entry by Washington Post blogger, Susan Jacoby.

But there is hope. The miraculous rise of this small book also inspired Gene Weingarten to produce another one of his brilliant humor columns in the Washington Post Magazine. In the most recent column, Gene describes how he writes to his publisher to report that he had choked to death on a Cheez Doodle, but came back to life with memories of a heaven even more fantastical than the one in the Burpo book. The account started out with John Lennon greeting him at the Pearly Gates, and went hilariously upward from there