Ghost Boy: The Miraculous Escape of a Misdiagnosed Boy Trapped Inside His Own Body (2011)

Chapter 24, “A Leap Forward,” revolves around Martin’s progress in his new office job at the communication center, and how this job accelerates his confidence in himself. Even so, as Martin writes, “it took time for people to trust me professionally, and I enjoy the fact that they do now” (104). By the end of the chapter, Professor Alant meets with Martin and his parents, officially extending a formal offer for a paid position, with the condition that he must find a way to move himself around the office with an electric wheelchair. In Chapter 25, “Standing in the Sea,” Martin recalls a pivotal moment in his life, when his father took him right up to the waterline on a family vacation to the beach. Throughout his life, his father Rodney has been a constant source of stability and emotional fortitude. In this moment on the beach, Martin remembers being scared of how dangerous the ocean was, but fully confident in his father’s ability to keep him safe. As Martin writes, “as I felt my father’s arms holding me upright and his strength keeping me steady […] I knew his love was strong enough to protect me from an ocean” (111).

Chapter 26 is a brief glimpse into Martin’s memories of an abusive woman who would take care of him at their family’s country home when the rest of the family would go on holiday. The woman’s face still haunts Martin, as nightmares keep him awake in the night. Chapter 27, “The Party,” takes place at a college party that Erica invited Martin to on her university campus. Martin has a rum and coke, flirts back and forth with a girl, and experiences what life as a young 20-something could have been for him, and what he may still be able to experience. Still, Martin is fully aware of his limitations as he observes the others at the party: “I wonder if I’ll ever learn the code that will gain me entry to their world” (118). More notable, however, are Martin’s insights into his friendship with Erica, which has become a real comfort for him: “With Erica, I know these limitations are only part of what defines me rather than the whole, and she treats me as she would any other friend” (119).

Chapter 28, “Henk and Arietta,” is about a couple Martin observed when he was still at his care center. He reflects on how their love taught him about love itself, captivating him with its mysteries. He writes, “I didn’t understand what it was but the air between them hummed for those brief moments, as Henk looked at his wife and she smiled” (121). Henk and Arietta’s son was also a pupil at the care center, which made their connection to the place all the more real, their compassion deeply personal. The central character of Chapter 29, “The Healer,” is a man named Dave, a self-proclaimed faith healer who prayed for Martin’s recovery, claiming “his aura had been fractured” (125). Dave was a compassionate and caring man, and though his prayers for healing never worked, his faith remained strong that someday these healing prayers would work. Martin also describes Dave’s tragic death: Armed robbers shot him to death outside of his house.