Homeschooled: A New York Times Bestselling Memoir and Read with Jenna Pick (Original): A New York Times Bestselling Memoir and Read with Jenna Pick
Homeschooled: A New York Times Bestselling Memoir and Read with Jenna Pick (Original): A New York Times Bestselling Memoir and Read with Jenna Pick
Stefan Merrill Block
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Product Info
Product Info
ISBN: 9781335000989
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Publication Date: 1/6/26
Binding: Hardcover
Age Range: -
Grade Range: NA-NA
Series: ,
Pages:
Language: English
BISAC: Biography & Autobiography, Memoirs, Education, Home Schooling, Family & Relationships, Parenting, Motherhood, Life Stages, Adolescence, Parent & Adult Child, Educational Policy & Reform, General, Cultural & Regional, and Dysfunctional Families
Related Subjects: Block, Stefan Merrill, Family, Home schooling, Texas, Plano, Mothers and sons, Mothers, Mental health, Psychic trauma, Coming of age, Authors, American, 21st century, Plano (Tex.), Social life and customs, and Anecdotes
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Description
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! - A READ WITH JENNA TODAY SHOW BOOK CLUB PICK - A heartbreaking, empowering, often hilarious debut memoir about a mother's all-consuming love, a son's perilous quest to discover the world beyond the front door and the unregulated homeschool system that impacts millions like him*A Top 10 Amazon Book of the Month Pick*
*A Washington Post Book to Read in January!*
*A Library Journal Big Book of the Week!*
*A BookRiot Best New Nonfiction of January!*
Stefan Merrill Block was nine when his mother pulled him from school, certain that his teachers were "stifling his creativity." Hungry for more time with her boy who was growing up too quickly, she began to instruct Stefan in the family's living room. Beyond his formal lessons in math, however, Stefan was largely left to his own devices and his mother's erratic whims, such as her project to recapture her twelve-year-old son's early years by bleaching his hair and putting him on a crawling regimen.
In this "stunning debut memoir" (Jenna Bush Hager, The Today Show), Block beautifully reflects on his experiences in both traditional and at-home education systems, delving into:
- The inception of the homeschooling movement and its massive rise throughout America
- Early memories of Block's mother, and a poignant look into their dysfunctional mother-son story
- Block's reentry into the public school system, both jarring yet insightful, and the bullying he withstood
- His emotional journey towards forgiveness, love, and hope as he becomes a parent himself
At once a novelistic portrait of mother and son, and an illuminating window into an overlooked corner of the American education system, Homeschooled is a moving, funny and ultimately inspiring story of a son's battle for a life of his own choosing, and the wages of a mother's insatiable love.
Praise for Homeschooled
"One of the most beautiful books I've ever read."--Jenna Bush Hager
"Absorbing."--Washington Post
"A revealing and deeply empathetic portrait of a complex relationship between mother and son." -BookPage, starred review
"Astonishing."--The New York Post
"Clearly told with the steadiness of a masterful writer."--Isaac Fitzgerald
Staff Reviews
Homeschooled is a captivating memoir that took me by surprise. I initially expected it to focus on a boy who is an independent thinker—someone who learns differently and therefore transitions from traditional schooling to a homeschool curriculum. However, the narrative centers around the complex dynamic between the author and his mother, who essentially coerces her son into “homeschooling” for five years, spanning from late elementary to high school. Rather than adhering to a conventional curriculum, Stefan finds himself in the role of his mother’s confidant, helping to alleviate her depression. A therapist would likely have a field day analyzing their relationship, yet Stefan approaches his unique upbringing and his mother's actions with remarkable gentleness. It was refreshing to read a memoir that does not disparage everyone involved but instead reflects on the past with a more compassionate perspective.