Jason As Young Boy

Double-Edged Sword When a debilitating disease left young Jason physically and intellectually impaired, his adoptive father, Cheiron, brought him back to health with intense exercise, love, and discipline. But Jason’s mind had lost years of development, and the question was how to restore its cognitive functions.

The solution? Build up the boy’s reasoning power by creating a story-an epic tale that would stimulate Jason’s creativity and challenge him to think in ways he never had before. Echoing the three-thousand-year-old myth of Jason and the Argonauts, father and son invented a voyage and built a ship for a group of heroes to sail the high seas in pursuit of glory and treasure.

As the story progressed, the real Jason’s mind improved, but at the expense of getting lost in the game. With Jason’s becoming ever more deeply involved in the voyage, confusing fiction with reality, the story began to mesh with the boy’s life, affecting his relationships with family and friends. Jason as a Young Boy, set in ancient times, retells a boy’s passage from adolescence to manhood.

A retelling of Jason’s myth, with an emphasis on the healing power of story…a classic tale…many thrilling moments… –Kirkus Reviews

…a powerful recommendation for any who enjoy early Greek history and historical novels based on exploring the psychology of motivation. –Midwest Book Review