A prayer for Matt

I always mis-remember the beginning to "A Prayer for Owen Meany." This is the first sentence: "I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice — not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany."

My mind has shortened the opening of this book, which I first read in a Religion and Modern Fiction class. The class was taught by a man with cerebral palsy, and looking back I think how amazing that man was — to teach and to be despite a pretty hard severe disability.

In my mind, the sentence is much shorter: "I believe in God because of Owen Meany." I like my short and sweet opening better.

If anyone writes a book about me, they can just tweak that sentence: "I believe in God because of my family."