The fascinating story of the author of Peter Pan

I heard this on Radiolab (to which everyone should be listening!), and had to share...

Basically, there is evidence that when children are exposed to extremely stressful events they temporarily stop growing. This is likely due to their stress hormones telling their body, "Save your growing for tomorrow! There are more important things to take care of today!". Usually, however, when the events pass the child resumes their maturation.

Which brings us to J.M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan. When he was a child he witnessed the death of his brother David, his mother's favorite son. Barrie was left to care for his mother after she became bedridden with grief and was was made to feel horribly that it was his brother who died and not himself or one of his other siblings. One day, his mother said that the one solace she found was that David had died as a child, before he had the chance to become a man who no longer needed a mother. This apparently inspired Barrie to stunt enter what is known as psychogenic dwarfism and to remain short, childlike, and asexual through his adulthood!

Read the wikipedia of J.M. Barrie here.