A Good Kiss: The Wisdom of a Listening Child

By Marshall S. Ball

"Each day has a purpose.
We make that purpose."
-- Marshall Stewart Ball

Marshall Ball believes the key to happiness lies in opening our hearts to good God. This simple but profound message comes from a singularly extraordinary messenger: Fourteen-year-old Marshall has spent his life confined to a wheelchair. He cannot speak, write, or walk, and he does not have the strength to use a computer without assistance. Yet he has transcended the limits of his body by communicating through a painstaking transcription process -- a process that since childhood has been his means of sharing his amazingly sophisticated and perceptive expressions on the topics of God, love, kindness, and freedom. These powerful writings have not only astonished and moved those closest to Marshall, but touched millions in his bestseller, Kiss of God.
In this powerful new collection of his poems, letters, and affirmations, Marshall also includes answers to questions people have asked him. With startling beauty and disarming simplicity, he teaches us to appreciate our roles in life, no matter how difficult they may be, and to love and respect knowledge, others, and God. Marshall's message of hope -- that true joy comes from accepting God's love -- is a gift to savor and share with our loved ones time and time again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Release date: Mar 1, 2002
• ISBN: 9780743448956

Book preview

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

MARSHALL

That Marshall gives thanks to Love, that takes in wonderful thoughts defining my thought.

Marshall thanks marvelous thorough fine Mama, good Grandmother, sweet Cindy, giving Tricia, loving Hill and Quin, kissing Coulton, thinking Luke, magnificent good Dad. Marshall loves you giving, loving Laurence. Balanced Kyle definitely loves. Good loving James, each thoughtful day names you daring listener. Marshall is kissing finely you all.

TROYLYN

I would like to give special thanks to my mother, Louise Wigginton, who on a daily basis assists Marshall with his mail and provides immeasurable love and supportto the entire family. To my father, Don Wigginton, if he were with us today, I would say, You were right. It wasn’t what Marshall needed to learn from us, but what we needed to learn from him. You would be proud but not surprised by the gifts of Marshall.

My special thanks also to Jaynan and Jerry Ball, Marshall’s grandparents, for understanding and appreciating our family. I’ll always be grateful for the dedication to Marshall of Laurence A. Becker, Ph.D., Dr. Keith Turner, Bill Webster, James Bell, Th.M., Jo Ogden, Mahnaz and Hadi Parhikhteh, Gerald Fitzgibbon, Bob Beltran, Cindy Cashman, John Jordan, David Hanley, Dr. David Ruiz, Dr. Jerry Hudson, Meg LaBorde, and Lois Lovely Johnson.

Without the countless hours of administrative help from Aunt Cindy, my sister, we certainly would not have been as timely in gettingA Good Kissout to the world.

Thank you all for loving Marshall.

And to those who have taken care of me over the years, Rosie Chambers, Nancy deJuan, Carmen Oppenheimer, Carol Swanteson, Aan Coleman, Jennifer Fronk, Lynn Meredith, and Cricket Wilson. I can’t tell you what your love and support has meant.

And most importantly, to my adoring husband, andmy children’s dedicated, loving father. Charlie, you give us all the strength to go day to day, to tackle the physical as well as emotional challenges we face. The moment I saw you I knew you were the one for me, and in the second moment, I knew you would be the father of my children.

PREFACE

BYTROYLYNBALL

From the moment Marshall was first placed on my chest and I could see his delicately curved lips and round baby face, I knew my life would never be the same. It would take years for me to fully appreciate the blessing that Marshall would bring to my life. He would teach me patience. His struggle would become my passion and his life would become my gift. But first he would make me strong.

As perfectly formed as our first child was, Marshall failed to thrive. He couldn’t nurse as other babies did, and that left me feeling a failure only two months into motherhood. Even fattened on formula it became clear that Marshall wasn’t developing as children usually do. He wasn’t making the sounds that infants usually make. He wouldn’t hold his headup and he couldn’t crawl. We decided to love him anyway.

Marshall’s father, Charlie, and I decided that we would not limit our son in any way. After all, no one had been able to tell us what was wrong with Marshall. What if he was listening? What about the Helen Kellers and the Stephen Hawkings of the world? Suppose no one had listened to them?

Charlie and I were crushed by the idea that Marshall would not grow up to be the ideal son we had dreamed about during pregnancy. Nevertheless, we poured ourselves into loving and nurturing this fragile, serene child. We read volumes to Marshall. We talked to him about everything. We took him to zoos, to museums and botanical gardens. We went on picnics by rivers and creeks. We backpacked with him in the mountains. We traveled from Maine to California, stopping any place that we thought would be interesting or educational. And, we were rewarded. Not by Marshall’s bubbling baby words,—he never spoke—but by the expression in his eyes and his rare, precious smile. We treasure that smile more than anything.

An then when our beautiful son was three and a half we learned that he was indeed listening. With Marshall sitting on my lap