The written word seldom moves me to tears. There have only been a handful times, and each of those was a particularly poignant, moving story.

Imagine my surprise last year when I opened a copy of Texas Monthly and closed it with tissue in hand. I devoured “Still Life” by Skip Hollandsworth one evening and immediately began forwarding it to others, making copies for everyone in the newsroom and generally touting the magnificence of this story.

And two weeks ago, it won a National Magazine Award for feature writing. This is the equivalent of a Pulitzer in the newspaper industry.

“Still Life” ran in the May 2009 issue. It is the story of high school football star John McClamrock and a mother’s ultimate devotion and dedication to her son. It captured my heart, and I think it will yours, too.