Cecil Murphey

Last updated

Cecil "Cec" Murphey (born January 28, 1933) is an American writer, whose books are in categories such as nonfiction, biography, caregiving, memoir, fiction, and inspirational. He has best sellers to his credit, most notably 90 Minutes in Heaven , a collaboration with Don Piper, and Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story a collaboration with Dr. Ben Carson. Murphey has also written books with other celebrities, such as football player Shaun Alexander, Franklin Graham and Bishop Eddie Long. Murphey is also a public speaker on such topics as Christianity, faith, male sexual abuse, caregiving, and writing.

Contents

Personal life

Murphey was born in Hobart, Oklahoma and grew up in Davenport, Iowa. After graduating from Davenport High School in 1951, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy from 1951 to 1955. In 1954, reading Magnificent Obsession by Lloyd C. Douglas began his conversion process; he became an active church member of Immanuel Baptist Church in Waukegan, Illinois, where he met his future wife, Shirley Brackett, whom he married in 1955.

After his discharge from the Navy, he did his undergraduate work in the Chicago area, receiving his Bachelor of Religious Education from Chicago Bible College and his BA in Education from Pestalozzi-Froebel Teachers College, while teaching sixth grade in the public schools of Waukegan.

In 1961, the Murpheys and their three children left for Kenya to do missionary service. They returned to the United States in 1967, and Murphey entered Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia and Atlanta University – now Clark Atlanta – studying at both simultaneously. In 1970 he graduated from both, receiving his MA in Education from Atlanta and his Master of Divinity from Columbia. That same year, he was ordained by the Presbyterian Church. From 1970 to 1972 he was a Ph.D. student at Emory University. In 1973, he began to teach part-time at Beulah Heights Bible College – now Beulah Heights University – where he taught, intermittently, for the next 25 years.

Writing career

Murphey began writing articles in 1971, while a pastor in Atlanta. His first book, Prayer: Pitfalls and Possibilities was released in 1974. In 1976, Murphey taught at his first writers' conference for Dixie Council of Authors in St. Simons, Georgia. Since then, he has taught at approximately 250 writers' conferences, most notably with the American Christian Writers. In 1984, Murphey left the pastorate to become a full-time writer.

90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life has sold more than 5 million copies, been printed in 26 languages, and appeared on the New York Times paperback bestseller list for 26 weeks. [1] Since the initial publication of 90 Minutes in Heaven, three follow-up books have been released: Daily Devotions Inspired by 90 Minutes in Heaven and Heaven Is Real, also on the New York Times bestseller list, and Getting to Heaven: Departing Instructions for Your Life Now.

Film adaptations

Gifted Hands was adapted for film, with Cuba Gooding Jr. as Dr. Ben Carson, and aired on TNT in 2009. [2]

Awards and honors

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracy Kidder</span> American writer and Pulitzer Prize winner

John Tracy Kidder is an American writer of nonfiction books. He received the Pulitzer Prize for his The Soul of a New Machine (1981), about the creation of a new computer at Data General Corporation. He has received praise and awards for other works, including his biography of Paul Farmer, a physician and anthropologist, titled Mountains Beyond Mountains (2003).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Carson</span> American neurosurgeon and politician (born 1951)

Benjamin Solomon Carson Sr. is an American retired neurosurgeon, academic, author, and politician who served as the 17th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2017 to 2021. A pioneer in the field of neurosurgery, he was a candidate for President of the United States in the 2016 Republican primaries. Carson is one of the most prominent Black conservatives in America.

Jane Kramer is an American journalist. She began her writing career at the Village Voice, moving to The New Yorker in 1964, where she remains a staff writer. Her books Allen Ginsberg in America (1969) and Honor to the Bride (1970), based on her travels in Morocco, were developed from long-form New Yorker articles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erik Larson (author)</span> American author and journalist

Erik Larson is an American journalist and author of mostly nonfiction books. He has written a number of bestsellers, including The Devil in the White City (2003), about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and a series of murders by H. H. Holmes that were committed in the city around the time of the Fair. The Devil in the White City won the 2004 Edgar Award in the Best Fact Crime category, among other awards. Larson released his first novel in audiobook format only, titled No One Goes Alone, on September 28, 2021.

Madeline Hunter is an American author of romance novels. She lives in Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Wangerin Jr.</span> American author and educator (1944–2021)

Walter Wangerin Jr. was an American author and educator best known for his religious novels and children's books.

<i>90 Minutes in Heaven</i> 2004 book by Don Piper and Cecil Murphey

90 Minutes in Heaven is a 2004 Christian book written by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey. The book documents the author's death and resurrection experience in 1989. 90 Minutes in Heaven remained on the New York Times Bestseller List for more than five years and has sold over six million copies. The book has also been adapted into a feature-length film, released in theaters on September 11, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Bernhardt</span> American poet

William Bernhardt is an American thriller/mystery/suspense fiction author best known for his "Ben Kincaid" series of books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel H. Pink</span> American author (born 1964)

Daniel H. Pink is an American author. He has written seven New York Times bestsellers. He was a host and a co-executive producer of the National Geographic Channel social science TV series Crowd Control. From 1995 to 1997, he was the chief speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore.

Gregg Olsen is a New York Times, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal bestselling author of nonfiction books and novels, most of which are crime-related. The subjects of his true crime books include convicted child rapist and school teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, product tampering killer Stella Nickell, fasting specialist Linda Burfield Hazzard, and former Amishman and convicted murderer Eli Stutzman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Rozelle</span>

Ron Rozelle is an American author of ten books of fiction and nonfiction, including 'Description & Setting: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Believable World of People, Places & Events', a volume in the Writers Digest 'Write Great Fiction' series; 'The Windows of Heaven', a novel of the 1900 Galveston storm; 'A Place Apart', a novel set in modern day Ohio; and 'Warden: Death and Life in the Texas Prison System', coauthored with Jim Willett, Rozelle's memoir, 'Into That Good Night', the first non-agented property published by New York’s venerated Farrar, Straus, & Giroux in over five years, was a national short list finalist for the P.E.N. Prize and the Carr P. Collins Award and was selected as the second-best work of nonfiction in the nation for the year 1998 by the San Antonio Express-News. He has taught writing workshops at numerous conferences and universities and was twice the memoir teacher at the Newman National Writer’s Conference at Mississippi College. His articles have appeared in a wide variety of publications, and he has been a featured author at the Texas Book Festival in Austin and the Texas Folklife Festival in San Antonio. 'Touching Winter', a novel made up of a quartet of stories, was published in October, 2005, by TCU Press and was a short list finalist for The Texas Institute of Letters Best Fiction of the Year Prize. 'My Boys and Girls are in There: The 1937 New London School Disaster' was the recipient of the Calvert Prize, was pronounced the “sleeper hit” of the 2012 Texas Book Festival, and was a short list finalist for the Best Nonfiction Award given by the Writers’ League of Texas. 'Sundays with Ron Rozelle', a collection of his newspaper columns, was published by TCU Press in 2009. His most recent book, 'Exiled: The Last Days of Sam Houston', was published by Texas A&M University Press. A graduate of Sam Houston State University, Class of 1977, he holds degrees in English and Political Science and was named the 2017 SHSU Distinguished Educator of the Year, the highest honor given to alumni of the College of Education. In 2007 he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters.

Kendra Norman is an African-American writer of Christian fiction and non-fiction Christian literature. Her novels are known and widely applauded for their positive male lead characters and their combined romantic and suspenseful story lines.

<i>Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story</i> 2009 American biographical television drama film

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story is a 2009 biographical television drama film directed and co-produced by Thomas Carter, written by John Pielmeier, and starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Kimberly Elise and Aunjanue Ellis. The film is based on the autobiography of neurosurgeon Ben Carson, which was co-written by Cecil Murphey and published under the same title in 1990. A Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation, the movie premiered on TNT on Saturday, February 7, 2009.

<i>Gifted Hands</i> Book by Dr. Ben Carson

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story or simply Gifted Hands is an autobiographical book about the success story of Dr. Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon and future politician, and his life going from a failing student to leading a team of surgeons in the first known separation of conjoined twins joined at the back of the head. Co-written by Ben Carson and Cecil Murphey, Gifted Hands was adapted into a film of the same name by director Thomas Carter in 2009. In the film, Dr. Carson was portrayed by actor Cuba Gooding Jr.

Lynn Vincent is an American writer, journalist, and author or co-author of 12 books. Vincent's work focuses on memoirs, history, and narrative nonfiction. In 2022 she was appointed as the executive editor of WORLD magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Roorbach</span> American novelist

William Roorbach is an American novelist, short story and nature writer, memoirist, journalist, blogger and critic. He has authored fiction and nonfiction works including Big Bend, which won the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction and the O. Henry Prize. Roorbach's memoir in nature, Temple Stream, won the Maine Literary Award for Nonfiction, 2005. His novel, Life Among Giants, won the 2013 Maine Literary Award for Fiction.[18] And The Remedy for Love, also a novel, was one of six finalists for the 2014 Kirkus Fiction Prize.. His latest book, The Girl of the Lake, is a short story collection published in June 2017. His novel in progress is Lucky Turtle.

23 Minutes in Hell is a personal book written by Protestant Christian Bill Wiese and published in 2006. The book recounts what the author claims were his experiences in hell in 1998. The book and the underlying story within it are the topic of a series of speaking tours given by Wiese, predominantly to Protestant churches and other Christian organizations. He says his visits to hell were out-of-body experiences that were also visions, one lasting 23 minutes and the other 10 seconds.

Winslow Eliot, also known as Ellie Winslow, is an American novelist and nonfiction writer. She is the author of ten novels, which have been translated into twelve languages including Greek, Swedish, French, Italian, and Japanese, and have been published in twenty countries.

<i>Heaven Is for Real</i> Christian non-fiction book

Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back is a 2010 New York Times best-selling Christian book written by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent and published by Thomas Nelson Publishers. The book documents the report of a near-death experience by Burpo's three-year-old son Colton.

<i>Just Mercy</i> (book) Book by Bryan Stevenson

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (2014) is a memoir by American attorney Bryan Stevenson that documents his career defending disadvantaged clients. The book, focusing on injustices in the United States judicial system, alternates chapters between documenting Stevenson's efforts to overturn the wrongful conviction of Walter McMillian and his work on other cases, including children who receive life sentences, and other poor or marginalized clients.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "New York Times Bestseller lists Paperback Non-Fiction Category"
  2. ↑ Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story at IMDb   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  3. ↑ ""American Society of Journalists and Authors Announces Winners of 2009 Writing Awards"". Archived from the original on December 25, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ↑ "2009 Retalers Choice Awards winners" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  5. ↑ "Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Honored" Christian Retailing newsletter (July 8, 2007)
  6. ↑ "The BlackBoard Book of the Year Awards" on the Knight Agency website
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.