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

Martin opens Chapter 30, “Escaping the Cage,” with a poignant metaphor about relearning how to make his voice known: “learning to communicate is like travelling along a road only to find the bridge you need to cross the river has been washed away” (129). Martin details the challenges of escaping his cage of silence and isolation, as he progresses in his ability to use his communication devices. He also expresses his frustration with people misunderstanding him, writing, “if only they knew of the gnawing anxiety, fiery frustration, and aching sexual desire that course through my veins at times” (132). The chapter concludes with an anecdote about an unsuccessful attempt of Joan’s to help another woman with her daughter who seemed to suffer from a condition similar to Martin’s.

In Chapter 31, “The Speech,” Martin tells the story of a speech he gave in 2003 to an auditorium packed with an audience of 350 people. As his computer voice, Perfect Paul, told his story, he details the pain and agony of not being able to communicate. At the end of his speech, he receives a standing ovation, and afterwards people shower him with praise and congratulatory encouragement. Chapter 32, “A New World,” is a short anecdote about how Martin’s changed life causes two people from his past—Dr. Diane Bryen and Virna, his first love—to marvel at his progress.

Chapter 33, “The Laptop,” is a window into Martin’s mind during a brief moment of panic, when his laptop went dead, which temporarily cut off Martin’s communication from his growing network of online friends. Martin explains his fears about losing this technology, writing, “I’ve spent all this time thinking that I’d left the ghost boy behind forever. It’s only now that I realize how closely he still shadows me” (145). This feeling of the past haunting him continues in the next three chapters. Chapter 34, “The Counselor,” revolves around Martin’s difficulty expressing his emotions to a counselor his parents have hired to help him heal from the traumas of the past. His frustrations begin to subside, however, as Martin acknowledges his need to confront his personal history: “what happened to me is a darkness that is always with me, and I fear I will be tormented forever if I don’t try to speak of it” (149).

In the next two chapters, Martin provides more detail about what this tormented past is. In Chapter 35, “Memories,” Martin finally tells the story of the woman who has haunted his nightmares for years. She would force food down his throat, hurl insults of every kind at him, and physically abuse him. He became a slave to fear. As Martin recalls her abuse, he writes, “the fear would build inside me day by day until I could almost taste it” (152). In Chapter 36, “Lurking in Plain Sight,” Martin continues to unravel some of the sinister parts of his past, as he details how multiple women in the care center sexually abused him. As he tries to make sense of these memories, he asks, “What was I to these women—a perverse fantasy long held and buried or a moment of madness? I am not sure” (155). Martin concludes the chapter by recognizing the power that these memories still have over him.