Cecil Murphey

Cecil "Cec" Murphey (born January 28, 1933)—also known as The Man Behind the Words—is an American writer, collaborator, and ghostwriter with books in the following categories: autobiographies and memoirs, sexual abuse, health and nutrition, inspirational and religious nonfiction, anthologies and compilations, recovery and addiction, business, caregiving and gift books, devotionals, and fiction. He has more than 140 books to his credit. His most notable bestsellers, with multi-millions of copies sold, include 90 Minutes in Heaven, a collaboration with Don Piper, and Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story a collaboration with Dr. Ben Carson.

Murphey has written for numerous other celebrities, such as Franklin Graham (evangelist and missionary); Bishop Eddie Long (megachurch pastor); Salome Thomas-EL (award-winning educator and international speaker); S. Truett Cathy (founder of Chick-fil-A); singer B.J. Thomas (“Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head”); Stan Cottrell (ultra-marathon runner); Shaun Alexander (NFL Seattle Seahawks player); John Turnipseed (gang leader turned community leader); and more. Before he retired in 2019, Murphey was also a public speaker on the topics of writing, spiritual growth, significant living, male sexual abuse, recovery, and caregiving.

Personal Life and Education[edit]

Murphey was born in Hobart, Oklahoma, in 1933, the fifth of seven children. It was during the time of the Great Depression, and the Dust Bowl ruined most of the farmland in the area. His father lost the farm, and in 1938 the family moved to Davenport, Iowa, where an uncle arranged a factory job for his father.

Cecil learned to read early and found escape through books, which helped him endure a difficult childhood with a dysfunctional family and an alcoholic father. Through reading and the Saturday “penny shows” that he enjoyed watching at his neighborhood center, he realized his family wasn’t normal.

By the age of 12, he was earning money after school from delivering newspapers and running errands for a local catering service. At age 13 or 14, he began working in a bowling alley, and by the time he graduated from high school, he was the assistant manager. He bought all his own clothes and most of his meals as a 16-year-old. Because he learned to type in school and had a secret ambition to be a writer, and through the recommendation of a high school teacher, he applied for and was hired for an office job at the Rock Island Arsenal in 1951, immediately following his graduation from Davenport High School (now Central High School). All the while, he was trying to figure out how to go to college.

His friend and classmate talked him into joining the United States Navy so he could receive the educational benefits, and in September of 1951, he enlisted for four years. It was the second year of the “Korean Conflict.” After recruit training, the Navy sent him to Great Lakes Naval Training Center, just north of Chicago and about 200 miles from Davenport.

In 1954, while walking in Waukegan, Illinois, (about four miles from the base), he saw a novel called The Magnificent Obsession by Lloyd C. Douglas in a store window and purchased it. Reading that book was the beginning of his conversion process. He started visiting churches and ended up at Immanuel Baptist Church in Waukegan, Illinois, where he met Shirley Brackett. They fell in love, got married in 1955, and remained together for 58 years until she died in 2013.

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. (Where he lived in the 1950s, if a person had completed at least two years of college and was actively pursuing a degree, that person could teach in the public schools.) During that time, the Murpheys joined an independent church, and through their connection to that church, Elim Missionary Assemblies in Lima, New York, accepted them to go to Kenya, East Africa, providing they raised their own support. In the summer of 1961, the Murpheys and their three children left for Kenya to do missionary service. Cecil served as an evangelist-teacher, and Shirley became headmistress of a girls’ dormitory.

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 (cum laude) and his Master of Divinity from Columbia (magna cum laude). That same year, he was ordained by the Presbyterian Church.

Early in his second year of seminary, he filled in as a preacher at a small church in the Atlanta area. They liked him and asked if he would serve part time as their pastor. Although the seminary had a policy against that, the president granted permission. The church grew from 24 members to 63 active members by the time Murphey graduated.

He received a scholarship for further studies and enrolled in the PhD program at Emory University toward a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Instead of finishing his studies at Emory, he dropped out after one year to focus on being a pastor. In 1973, he became an adjunct professor at Beulah Heights Bible College (now Beulah Heights University), where he taught intermittently for 18 years.

Murphey served as a Presbyterian minister in Metro Atlanta for 14 years before quitting to become a full-time writer in 1984. He also served as a part-time volunteer hospital chaplain at two hospitals for 10 years. Later, Murphey received an honorary Doctor of Literature from The Richmond Virginia Seminary for his “distinguished service in the field of literature.”

Writing career[edit]

During his time in seminary, Murphey entered several essay contests. In most of them, he won either first or second place. His love for writing showed, and the professors often commented about how well he communicated on paper.

In 1971, an advertisement in Columbia Seminary’s library for “Write to Get Published” caught his attention. Charlie Shedd, a well-known author, was the instructor. Murphey signed up for the ten-Monday-night course, and Charlie Shedd noticed his ability. He told him that he had talent and encouraged him to keep learning. He also suggested that Murphey start a critique group with five others in the class who were further along. That group, The Scribe Tribe, lasted nine years and resulted in three professional writers and two who went into editing careers. Murphey published his first article within three months.

While pastoring his church in the Atlanta area, he sold more than 100 articles. The owner of a small Christian press asked him to a write a book for them, and that began his book-writing career. His first book, Prayer, Pitfalls, and Possibilities was released in 1975. Fleming H. Revell hired him for his first ghostwritten project in 1981. It was a book for singer B.J. Thomas, titled In Tune: Finding How Good Life Can Be.

In early 1984, during his fourteenth year as a pastor, he went through an identity crisis. He had to decide whether he was a preacher who wrote or a writer who preached. He chose the latter. Before he left the pastorate, he had sold 23 books. He went on to write more than 140 books and contributed to dozens of others. In 1976, Murphey taught at his first writers conference for Dixie Council of Authors in St. Simons, Georgia. He taught at nearly 300 writers conferences nationwide and abroad before retiring, and was a popular and respected keynote speaker.

Books[edit]

As a writer, ghostwriter, and collaborator, Murphey wrote more than 140 books and contributed to dozens of others.

His first book, Prayers, Pitfalls, and Possibilities, was published in 1975. His first ghostwritten book, In Tune: Finding How Good Life Can Be for singer B.J. Thomas, came out in 1981.

During the early years of his career, he wrote four novels under the name of Melanie Haywood and three novels under the name of Celia Blaine. He also wrote Devotions for Nurses under the name of Joan Masters.

The last book he wrote before retiring was for Carlos Evans, a career marine from Puerto Rico, who lost both legs and his left hand on his fourth deployment to the Middle East. It was titled Standing Together: The Inspirational Story of a Wounded Warrior and Enduring Love.

Murphey has many bestsellers to his credit, including 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life (with Don Piper), the runaway multi-million seller that started the heaven publishing phenomenon. Since the initial publication of that book in 2004, four follow-up books with Don Piper have released: (1) Daily Devotions Inspired by 90 Minutes in Heaven, (2) Heaven Is Real: Lessons on Earthly Joy—What Happened After 90 Minutes in Heaven, (3) Getting to Heaven: Departing Instructions for Your Life Now, and (4) People I Met at the Gates of Heaven: Who Is Going to Be There Because of You? Murphey wrote a book with Don Piper’s wife, Eva, as well: A Walk Through the Dark: How My Husband’s 90 Minutes in Heaven Deepened my Faith for a Lifetime.

Another multi-million copy bestseller is Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story that Murphey wrote with the renowned pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson. It was first published in 1990 and has never been out of print. The follow-up bestseller to that came out in 1992: Think Big: Unleashing Your Potential.

One of the most fascinating books Murphey wrote was Woman on Death Row about Velma Barfield, a serial killer who was convicted of one murder and then confessed to four. Barfield was the first woman in the United States to be executed after the 1976 resumption of capital punishment and the first since 1962. She was also the first woman to be executed by lethal injection.

Oliver-Nelson Books in Nashville, Tennessee, assigned Barfield’s book to Murphey, and flew him to Raleigh, North Carolina, to interview her in Central Prison. On the three Fridays before her scheduled execution, Murphey met with her, took notes, and recorded their conversations. He wrote quickly between sessions so they could review the material at their next meetings. A few of her answers and tone of voice didn’t set right with Murphey as he listened to the recordings, and he questioned her about it. Due to his probing, she ended up confessing to two additional murders before she died, for a total of six. Murphey included her additional admissions in the manuscript, but they were cut because the publisher wanted the focus on faith rather than murder. Barfield was executed on November 2, 1984. The book released in May of 1985. Later, the Billy Graham Association distributed hundreds of thousands of free copies of the book.

Film adaptations[edit]

Gifted Hands was adapted for film, with Cuba Gooding Jr. as Dr. Ben Carson, and aired on TNT in 2009. It has been available on television and home video since that time.

90 Minutes in Heaven, directed by Michael Polish and starring Hayden Christensen as Don Piper and Kate Bosworth as Eva Piper, premiered at the historic Fox Theatre in Atlanta on September 8, 2015, and released in theaters nationwide on September 11, 2015. It has been available on television and home video since that time.

Awards and Honors[edit]

The following is an incomplete list of Murphey’s awards and honors:

References[edit]

Notes

External links[edit]

• Official website