Book Review: Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius

*I received this book via BookSneeze for purpose of review, however all opinions are my own.

Ghost Boy

by Martin Pistorius

About the Book:

"They all thought he was gone. But he was alive and trapped inside his own body for ten years.

In January 1988 Martin Pistorius, aged twelve, fell inexplicably sick. First he lost his voice and stopped eating. Then he slept constantly and shunned human contact. Doctors were mystified. Within eighteen months he was mute and wheelchair-bound. Martin's parents were told an unknown degenerative disease left him with the mind of a baby and less than two years to live.

Martin was moved to care centers for severely disabled children. The stress and heartache shook his parents’ marriage and their family to the core. Their boy was gone. Or so they thought.

Ghost Boy is the heart-wrenching story of one boy’s return to life through the power of love and faith. In these pages, readers see a parent’s resilience, the consequences of misdiagnosis, abuse at the hands of cruel caretakers, and the unthinkable duration of Martin’s mental alertness betrayed by his lifeless body.

We also see a life reclaimed—a business created, a new love kindled—all from a wheelchair. Martin's emergence from his own darkness invites us to celebrate our own lives and fight for a better life for others."

My Review:

This is an amazing book.  It's a heart wrenching, inspiring and life changing story that will stay with you for a long time.  This is Martin's story in Martin's own words.  That in itself is an awesome thing, because Martin can't talk.  At the age of 12 Martin fell ill and became lost within himself unable to walk or talk.  It's unknown exactly what disease he has but it degenerated him to the point that he was wheelchair bound and he was locked within that body for many years until his mind began to wake up.  Having spent time in care centers throughout the years, Martin has seen much pain, and unfortunately some of it came from the hands of caregivers.  There are some hard truths in this story but Martin tells of his faith in God and how even though he was never taught about Jesus, he knew he was there, that for a while, He was the only one there for Martin.  

"Breath filled my body, I woke up in the morning and fell asleep at night, I was fed food to build up my strength and put out to sit in the sunshine like a plant that needed tending.  There was nothing I could do to keep people from keeping me alive."

As heart wrenching as Martin's story is, it is also heart warming!  To read about his transformation and his coming alive is inspiring.  Martin was very blessed to have great parents, although even the best do make mistakes, and some amazing caregivers come into his life to help his emergence from himself.  I love that they included pictures from his past life as well as present and I especially love that Martin found the love of his life despite the battles and darkness that he has had.  I will never forget this story and it creates in me a new sense of awareness that I may never would have gained if not for Martin's story.