Homeschooled: A New York Times Bestselling Memoir and Read with Jenna Pick (Original): A New York Times Bestselling Memoir and Read with Jenna Pick
by Stefan Merrill Block
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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.
Years before homeschooling would become a massive nationwide movement, at a time when it had just become legal in his home state of Texas, Stefan vanished into that unseen space and into his mother's increasingly eccentric theories and projects. But when, after five years away from the outside world, Stefan reentered the public school system in Plano as a freshman, he was in for a jarring awakening.
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.
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Book Details
- ISBN
- 9781335000989
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Authors
- Stefan Merrill Block
- Publisher
- Hanover Square Press
- Published Date
- January 6, 2026
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 288
- Physical Info
- 1.2 in H x 9.1 in L x 6.1 in W (0.85 lb)

This was a beautiful story. Beautifully written. Beautifully captures the intricate relationships of motherhood and letting go. Definitely a must read.
Wonderfully written and compelling
This is a well written book. And I applaud this author for finally finding his way to good, solid mental health, but I do think the author is living in denial of his mother's mental illness, and, possibly, how it affected him.What she did was a type of homeschooling called unschooling. And the crazy ways she abused her children are crystal clear from the narrative, as lively and engaging as it is.I am no psychologist, nor a psychiatrist, but it seems clear that, whatever the genesis, his mother was a narcissist who had no regard whatsoever for her children, and only concerned herself, to the detriment of her childlen, with her own overweaning needs.It makes no difference that she, herself, was abused. It only matters how she was not able to overcome her own trauma to create a better situation for her children.I homeschooled my youngest daughter. And I worked, teaching AP Biology to homeschoolers for 10 years with pahomeschoolers.com. I was capable of doing this because I have a PhD in Biology, and can speak both English, Spanish, and French and am widely read, with a strong background in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus.Never before have I heard of a parent homeschooling their child, whose child was more psychologically abused than this poor person.If one takes on the task of homeschooling, one must have cultivated knowledge in all areas of learning. An everyday math lesson is not sufficient to guide a child through the educational process. Even if their "freetime", or especially if, it is filled with the edification provided by cartoons, soap operas, games shows, and sitcoms.What a waste of a childhood - my heart goes out to this fellow.
I appreciate the willingness of the author and his family to share their experience. I am sad that his mother's mental health needs were unmet and the author paid much of the price. I am sad his experience with homeschooling led to loneliness, isolation, and emotional harm. While this is his story. fortunately this is not what most home schoolers experience. I wish more states and communities had support for homeschool families. And I hope conditions in Plano have improved for the sake to current and future youth!
I enjoyed this memoir, even when parts of it were difficult to read. Those moments made it more powerful, especially in highlighting the mother’s selfishness and the child’s vulnerability in a very real, unfiltered way. At the same time, I found myself relating to the loneliness and fear the mother experienced, which added a layer of complexity that stayed with me. Knowing this is a true story made it all the more impactful. Combined with the strong writing, it’s one I would recommend.
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