A friend mentioned this book in passing and it immediately caught my attention, though I knew little of Jonathan Bryan's story. Sadly, though, Jonathan died just a few weeks ago, in June this year at the age of nineteen.

This is the book he wrote in 2018 when he was just 12 years old and it is extraordinary account of his experience, as well as his creativity.

Jonathan Bryan was born with severe cerebral palsy. It meant that he had no control over his movements and no means of communicating.

But his parents and his two younger sisters knew that he was full of joy and love for them and that he had a mischievous sense of humour. 

Eventually they found a means by which he could speak to them. He learnt to read and then to write with an eye tracking machine which allowed him to laboriously spell out words, letter by letter. And it revealed a vast passion for life, an incredible intellect, compassion and wisdom far beyond his years. 

This book is his memoir - it's the message he wanted to share about being locked in his broken body, isolated from the people around him. He speaks about his acceptance of life, and death, and his experience of heaven in a new body.

He also shares his determination that other children like him might not endure the same frustration, locked into their bodies and not being given the opportunity to learn. He founded and campaigned for a charity called Teach Us Too. 

This is such a powerful book. It has a foreword from Michael Morpurgo, whom Jonathan met and who was affected deeply by this then young boy's appreciation of literature and depth of understanding. Jonathan went on to study creative writing at Bath University.

There is an introduction from Jonathan's mother telling her story of caring for her baby, details of the terrible pain and suffering Jonathan experienced, the frequent hospital visits and the constant sense of having to be prepared for his death.  

At the beginning of each of the chapters from Jonathan are short poems he's written, culminating in a longer, 23-line poem, called PMLD (the label he was given in life regarding his disabilities). It begins with a description of the low expectations of people with disabilities. But the final line invites you to read it again - backwards. It's amazing. The lines then present a declaration of the human desire to learn and communicate regardless of disabiility. Such a powerful message. 

I do hope you might take a look at this book. It's beautiful and incredibly moving and challenging. It will take only a couple of hours to read but I'm sure Jonathan and his story will stay with you for much longer. Profits from the book are donated to his charity.