Homeschooled
About the book
Author: Stefan Merill Block
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
More info:
The StoryGraph | Goodreads
Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the review.
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My review
I took a wonderful writing class with Stefan Merrill Block through the Center for Fiction several years ago, and when I saw he had a memoir out, I was very excited to read it. I haven't read a good memoir in a while because I just haven't felt drawn to the genre, but this one officially ended the drought!
Block's memoir of his childhood being raised by a mother who refused to let him grow up (and insisted on homeschooling him to keep him close to her) is poignant and extremely disquieting. We hear how she insisted he was special and therefore did not ensure he was actually learning anything, insisted on bleaching his hair to try to make it as blonde as it was when he was little, made him crawl on all fours for weeks to "try to fix his handwriting," and more. By the end, Block has thoroughly made his case that we need greater attention and regulations around homeschooling in order to make sure that homeschooled children thrive.
I did find myself a little distracted by how much detail was included, given that most of it recounts Block’s time as a child — either he has an incredible memory or he filled in details, which doesn’t bother me (that’s memoir, baby) but I had trouble allowing that to just sink into the background. That said, Block is a novelist and it shows — this is sharply and emotionally rendered.
At the end of the day, it made me think about homeschooling more and more deeply than I ever have before, plus tugged hard on my heartstrings for this lonely little boy. I'm so happy for Block that this got such critical acclaim, and if you're in the mood for a good memoir, you should pick it up.
Content and trigger warnings
Toxic relationship
Bullying
Self harm
Suicide (someone the author knew)
Rape (recounted from the past by someone else)
