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The Remarkable Life of Ibelin

When Mats Steen died from a muscle-wasting disorder, his parents believed that his life had been a tragically lonely one — until hundreds of emails from strangers arrived. It turns out that he’d found friendship and even romance in a gaming community

The early weeks pass in the delirious, hormone-flooded fug of new parenthood, Robert documenting his son’s wriggles and cries on his camcorder with a new-found paternal pride that has left him dumbfounded. He writes a heartfelt but measured letter to her parents, introducing himself as an online friend of their daughter’s, expressing his admiration for Lisette, explaining how important World of Warcraft is to her and urging them all to work together to find a solution that will allow her some access to her computer. “The inner demons build up and he gets into a lot of problems because he isn’t honest about his illness.” It is only towards the end of his life, when he finally opens up about his condition to everyone in World of Warcraft and starts writing his blog, that he is able to mend all his bridges.

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