Sonny

This is a book about what happens when your child turns out to be very different. That was the fate of Andrea and Maff, a couple from Somerset, UK, whose son was born with multiple severe physical and mental challenges. By the time he was fourteen, Sonny held the royal flush of disabilities: totally paralysed, he could not talk, he could not breathe, and he could not swallow food or liquid. He was dependent on round the clock care to keep him alive.

Guy Kennaway, a prize-winning author, met Sonny's mother and heard Sonny's story. Realising that nobody had written a close portrait of a child unable to talk, read or write, Guy and Andrea decided to work together to bring Sonny to the world in a book.

With almost no exposure to disability, Guy spent months with the family, alongside researching the subject independently. He was forced to question the many prejudices he unconsciously harboured about disabled people.

Unable to deploy any of the ways most people use to communicate, conversation with Sonny seemed impossible. Guy struggled to work out how his parents, siblings and carers were communicating with him. Could he also sense a voice calling from inside Sonny struggling to be heard?