Whether he was writing at home or in the co-working area of a nearby Staples, it’s been a busy 3 1⁄2 years for Paul Halloran. His book, “CODY’S WISH: A Boy, a Racehorse and a Fight for Life,” was officially released Tuesday.
It’s about a boy named Cody Dorman, who was born with the rare genetic disorder Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, as well as the horse, Cody’s Wish, who became his best friend after an instant connection between the two.
“It’s about a lot of things — resilience, love, connection, and hope,” said Halloran, former Daily Item sports and news editor who lives in Lynn. “I will be forever grateful to the Dormans for entrusting me with the honor of telling Cody’s story.”
Dorman underwent more than 40 operations, including two open-heart surgeries before he turned 3. At 12, he met a 5-month-old Thoroughbred and a spark was lit — so much so that world-renowned owner Godolphin landed on Cody’s Wish as a name.
Suffering from depression during the pandemic with a diminishing will to live, Dorman started traveling the country to watch “his” horse in action. He saw Cody’s Wish win a Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland in 2022, then at Santa Anita in November of 2023 — the horse’s final race.
Dorman died on the flight home to Kentucky — the day after the race.
As for Halloran, a public relations professional since 2000 who writes for the Saratoga Special, he was first introduced to the story while covering the 2022 Forego Stakes race, in which Jackie’s Warrior was the heavy favorite.
“I assumed this would be an easy story,” Halloran said.
Cody’s Wish upset the competition and burst onto the national scene. The deadline for Halloran’s article wasn’t for a couple of days, so he dug deeper into the story and a years-long vision was created.
A few months later, Halloran approached Cody’s parents, Kelly and Leslie, with an idea for a book about their son. They quickly agreed.
“My singular goal for this book was that they read it and feel I did that story justice,” Halloran said.
Halloran has written thousands of articles during a journalism career of four decades. A long magazine story was one thing, but a 60,000-word book?
“It was a grind,” said Halloran, who has now been to Kentucky 11 times since 2023. “I spent the first year doing mostly research and I started traveling around the country with the Dormans to watch the horse run.”
Traditionally, an author reaches out to publishers with an idea before getting a book approved. Halloran flipped the script and already had his book written.
“I was fortunate that a few publishers showed interest,” he said.
The book was published by Lyons Press, a division of the Globe Pequot Publishing Group, and features a foreword by legendary NBC broadcaster Tom Hammond. It’s available where books are sold and codyswishbook.com.
“I thought about writing a book for a long time, but never really followed through,” said Halloran, the parent of a special needs daughter. “I thought if I don’t write this one, I’ll never do it because all my worlds were colliding — writing, horse racing, special needs.”
The fact that the book was officially released on May 5 was especially significant for Halloran.
“May 5 is the birthday of my daughter, Martha, and my good friend, the late Buzzy Barton. I can’t think of a better day to have such a meaningful event in my life.”
