AUBURN — Rev. Peter Panagore of East Boothbay, the host of a daily two-minute inspirational radio broadcast on two NBC stations throughout Maine, will be at the High Street Congregational Church U.U.C,  106 Pleasant St., Auburn,  at 6 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 1, to talk about and sign copies of his book, “Heaven is Beautiful: How Dying Taught Me That Death Is Just the Beginning.” 

In the book, Panagore explains that  he had what he calls a near-death experience while hiking in Canada in 1980, during which he spent some time “on the other side.” The experience, he says, had a profound effect it had on his life.

Panagore never told anyone about the experience, until he told his wife the night before their wedding and remained silent about it long afterward for fear that people would think he had lost his mind. In the book, he tells the story fully, in part to explain a complicated life back then and ever since.

Panagore  is an avid sailor, expert skier, and woods trail runner who earned his bachelor’s in English from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an master’s in divinity from Yale Divinity School, with a focus on systematic theology and Christian mysticism.