Beating Again: My Journey from Death to Life

Beating Againis the story of what happens after everything stops. During what was expected to be a routine medical procedure, Dr. Mark A. McConnell's heart stopped-twice. For minutes at a time, there was no pulse. Doctors exhausted their options. Family members were asked to prepare for the unthinkable. And yet, against medical expectation, his heart began to beat again.

But survival was only the beginning.

In this deeply honest memoir, McConnell explores not just how he lived, but how returning from the edge of death reshaped his faith, his calling, and his understanding of purpose. Moving between hospital rooms, quiet recoveries, family conversations, and moments of spiritual reckoning, Beating Again invites readers into the space between silence and breath-where fear, faith, and hope meet.

Written with pastoral wisdom and literary restraint, this book is not about triumph over death, but about what it means to live differently when life is given back. For anyone who has faced illness, uncertainty, or the question of whether their story is finished, Beating Again offers a powerful reminder: even when everything stops, God is still at work.

DR. MARK A. McCONNELL is a respected pastor, author, and leader who has served in ministry for over 35 years. He is the founding pastor of New Cornerstone Baptist Church in Peoria, Illinois, and serves as President of the Baptist General State Convention of Illinois. Dr. McConnell is a soughtafter preacher, conference speaker, and writer whose testimony of surviving cardiac arrest has inspired thousands. He previously authored Overcoming the Odds-a book chronicling his victory over cancer, heart failure, and kidney disease. Known for his transparency, faith, and leadership, Dr. McConnell writes to remind the world that faith still works, prayer still heals, and God still performs miracles.