Book Club Discussion Kit. Ghost boy : the miraculous escape of a misdiagnosed boy trapped inside his own body

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... When you lose your voice, who will speak for you? When it all seems hopeless, how do you get through each day? In the New York Times bestseller Ghost Boy, Martin Pistorius tells the harrowing story of his return to life through the healing power of love and faith.In January 1988, a happy, healthy twelve-year-old Martin Pistorius came home from school with a sore throat. Soon, he was sleeping all day, refusing meals, and starting to lose his voice.His doctors were mystified. Within eighteen months, his voice fell silent and his developing mind became trapped inside a body he couldn't control. Martin's parents were told that the unknown degenerative disease he was struggling with would mean that he had less than two years to live. He felt invisible--like a ghost of himself.The stress and heartache shook his family to the core, bringing his parents to the brink of separation. Their boy was gone--or so they thought. Martin started to come back to life. He couldn't make a sign or a sound, but he'd become aware of the world around him again and was finally finding his way back to himself.In these pages, you'll hear the highs and lows of Martin's journey from his own perspective, including:A family's resilience in the face of hardshipThe consequences of misdiagnosisThe gift of a wild imaginationGhost Boy shares the beautiful, heart-wrenching story of a life reclaimed, a business created, a family transformed, and a new love that's blossomed. Martin's emergence from his own darkness invites us to celebrate our own lives and fight for a better life for those around us. 1.Counting Time 2.The Deep 3.Coming Up for Air 4.The Box 5.Virna 6.Awakening 7.My Parents 8.Changes 9.The Beginning and the End 10.Day by Day 11.The Wretch 12.Life and Death 13.My Mother 14.Other Worlds 15.Fried Egg 16.I Tell a Secret 17.The Bite 18.The Furies 19.Peacock Feathers 20.Daring to Dream 21.Secrets 22.Out of the Cocoon 23.An Offer I Can't Refuse 24.A Leap Forward 25.Standing in the Sea 26.She Returns 27.The Party 28.Henk and Arrietta 29.The Healer 30.Escaping the Cage 31.The Speech 32.A New World 33.The Laptop 34.The Counselor 35.Memories 36.Lurking in Plain Sight 37.Fantasies 38.A New Friend 39.Will He Ever Learn? 40.GD and Mimi 41.Loving Life and Living Love 42.Worlds Collide 43.Strangers 44.Everything Changes 45.Meeting Mickey? 46.The Real Me 47.A Lion's Heart 48.I Tell Her Contents note continued: 49.Sugar and Salt 50.Falling 51.Climbing 52.The Ticket 53.Coming Home 54.Together 55.I Can't Choose 56.Fred and Ginger 57.Leaving 58.A Fork in the Road 59.Confessions 60.Up, Up, and Away 61.Saying Goodbye 62.Letting Go 63.A New Life 64.Waiting. 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, and a new love kindled.