The Boy in the Moon

Dear That Feeling,

I came across this features on the Globe and Mail website and haven't been able to 'put it down'. Ian Brown has the fascinating talent of story-telling and thus writes of his experiences with his son, Walker, who is diagnosed with a very rare genetic mutation called CFC (cardiofacio-cutaneous syndrome). This three-part series is difficult to describe without filling this sentence with overused cliched words for it is truly an incredible, humbling, and captivating story of a father's relationship with his son.

Here's a little teaser...

"Sometimes, watching him, it's like looking at the moon: You see the face of the man in the moon, but you know there's actually no man there. But if Walker is so insubstantial, why does he feel so important? What is he trying to show me?

To answer that question, I decided to look again at the life he had lived, and the way we had helped him live it — first at home, later in a special community for children like him. I climbed into a car and drove across the continent to meet other children with his syndrome.

All I really want to know is what goes on inside his off-shaped head, in his jumped-up heart. But every time I ask, he somehow persuades me to look into my own."