Read, Run, Ramble

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Thank you Thomas Nelson via Booksneeze for providing me with a copy of this book!

Martin was a normal, active boy until age 12 when he became ill. His parents took him to see many doctors and they had many test run, but no answers were to be found for his increasingly worse condition. Eventually he was without use of his body or mind. By the time he was 14, it seemed his death was inevitable. Yet Martin’s mind came back – he was finally aware again. His body remained still though and thus begins Martin’s journey as the self-dubbed, “Ghost Boy”. He could see, hear and comprehend all that was happening around him, but he was completely unable to communicate it.

This book is the story of those years as Martin’s mind awakened, but his body did not. In his own words, haunting, yet uplifting, he shows readers what it was like living in a body that refused to help him. He speaks of days in care centers where unimaginable things happened, of days with his parents when he longed to comfort them, but couldn't, of nights when his demons revisited him and left him sleepless.

Martin also shares his triumph. Of finally meeting someone who really saw him and knew he was more than just a shell of a body – knew he could understand what was happening all around him. Through that care worker his hopes were lifted and he worked long and hard to overcome the undiagnosed illness that had left him without speech, without movement, without a life – at first.

Martin is a faithful Christian and he does speak of God and how He is the only one who heard him for so long. However, the story and Martin’s miraculous life is mostly left to speak on its own. His strong, calm, and resolute faith are clear, but not overly stated or gratuitously gushed. I found it struck a nice balance. As a reader, I don’t question that Martin is a faithful Christian, but I also never felt preached at or like anyone was trying too hard to make me connect Martin’s story to God and His works.

I think what I take most from this is don’t take for granted that those who don’t seem to understand, cannot. I was touched most by all the times Martin tried so hard and in vein to somehow reach the people in his world. How he hoped he could make it seen in his face or how he’d will his arms to move in order to get someone’s attention. My heart broke when he needed to tell someone his food was too hot, but could not. How he was subjected to cruel abuse and had no means to escape or even to tell someone. Simple things we take for granted every single day.

This was a nice, uplifting book to start my year. There’s something for everyone to learn in stories like Martin’s, and there are heartaches in the story, but there are also smiles. Read this book for both.

I was provided with a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I am not compensated for any of my reviews.


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