Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius

The true story of a South African sleeping beauty.

In 1988, at the age of 12, Martin fell ill with a mysterious debilitating disease. Over the course of a few months he lost the ability to speak and move. He fell into a living sleep. Doctors predicted he would die in a matter of months.

Thanks to the loving care of his family, Martin survived and regained consciousness several years later, but he was trapped in his unresponsive body with no memory of his childhood and unable to communicate with the outside world.

His life changed once again in 1998 when, at the age of 23, a massage therapist correctly interpreted Martin’s eye movements as an effort to communicate.

This is the true story of a remarkable man, his horrifying experiences of being a prisoner within his own body, and his happy journey on the hard road to a new life.

There seems to be a theme emerging in my choices for Nonfiction November.

I love this book. It’s hard to read at times, because Martin has experienced some terrible things. He recounts his experiences honestly and with a kindness and generosity that endears you to him. He is very forgiving to those who have hurt him, and he has obviously spent a lot of time trying to understand why others behaved towards him the way they did.

His father stands out as a saint, and I don’t think this story would have ended happily without him.

Martin is an exceptional person. Aside from his wonderful spirit, which shines from every page, he is extremely intelligent. He taught himself to read, write and use computers in a matter of months.

A thought provoking read, sometimes heartbreaking, often happy, it makes you think about how you listen to and treat others, especially if you have anything to do with people who are non verbal or have difficulty communicating.

I award Ghost Boy…

Ghost Boy is available for $7.22 ebook and $16.99 print book on Amazon.