Destiny Image author Neal Pylant died suddenly Oct. 8. He was 70.

Pylant co-wrote his family's story, A Touch From Heaven, with his son, Christopher Pylant, who survived the near-death experience written about in the book. Released in May, the book told the story of the family’s journey of faith as they fought for the life of Christopher, their young son who was suffering from an inoperable brain tumor. Dr. Ben Carson was the lead surgeon for the family and wrote the foreword for the book.

“All of us at Destiny were saddened to hear the news, and our hearts ache for the Pylant family,” said Ronda Ranalli, head of acquisitions at Destiny Image.

Following the news of Pylant’s death, A Touch From Heaven hit the New York Times E-books best-seller list.

"When I heard the news of the book hitting the list, I just sat there with tears in my eyes,” said Joe Jestus, chief matchmaker for the Nori Media Group, the parent company of Destiny Image. “Neal was a wonderful man and I just wish he could have been here to celebrate this with us.”

Born in Atlanta, Pylant was a resident of Lakeland, Fla. He is survived by his wife, Carole, two children and two grandsons.

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