Beyond Reason
Lessons from the Loss of a Gifted Child
by
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Preface I wrote this book for two reasons. The first was to help me understand the miraculous chain of events that happened when my nine-year-old son, Brian, died in 1993. In honor of his memory I have made the account as accurate as I could (changing some peoples’ names to protect their privacy). Part I tells Brian’s story and, when I finished it, I thought I was done. But the mysteries kept happening and I kept trying to understand, so I kept writing. Part II tells the story of what happened afterward: how I found gifted teachers and had so many more amazing experiences that I could no longer believe anything was impossible. As a result, the magic I thought I had lost in my childhood came back to me—one of the many gifts that flowed from the emptiness that Brian left in my heart. Sometimes people enter our lives and change us forever. When, through their deaths, they bring us closer to God we call them martyrs. For me, Brian was such a person. Before he died I was a clever person adrift in a seemingly meaningless and tragic world. But Brian changed all that, and I think it might be helpful for others to know about him and what he taught me. This was my other reason for writing this book. So, for anyone who wants to know how grieving the death of a beautiful and gifted child can become a journey of wonder and hope, I offer our story.
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About the Book
Sometimes people enter our lives and change us forever. Author Gregg Korbon’s son, Brian, was such a person. In Beyond Reason, Gregg shares the story of his nine-year-old son, a sweet and brilliant child. Though healthy, Brian told his parents he was going to die before he turned ten. Six months later, after scoring the first run of his Little League career, he collapsed.
Though his death garnered media attention, the mysteries before and after his death were never shared. Brian foresaw his future, gave himself a going away party, and left good-bye gifts and a note telling his parents not to worry about him. After his death, Brian’s influence persisted. His father—a rational physician who did not believe in metaphysical phenomena—embarked on a mystical journey through grief into a creative world he did not know existed. What he learned by healing stretched the capabilities of his reasonable mind. For anyone who wants to know how grieving can become a journey of wonder and hope, Beyond Reason can guide you.
This thought-provoking and beautifully written memoir presents powerful images, ideas, and emotions. The story’s unfolding is impossible to anticipate: it demands pages be turned, all the way to the end.
About the Author
Gregg Korbon served as an army officer and then became a physician, teaching at Duke and the University of Virginia medical schools. He has authored books and scientific articles, developed new techniques, and now directs an outpatient surgery center. He lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains with his wife and children.