Stefan Merrill Block wrote novels. But in his first memoir, Homeschooled, he tells the story of his life—and it's the first Read with Jenna book selection for 2026.
“Homeschooled is a wonderful debut memoir. I loved its brutal honesty and the very American story of one little boy growing up in a home where love is obvious, but also dysfunction,” says Jenna.
She calls the story “forgiveness, hope and how we heal” and “the perfect read for the first month of the year.”
Homeschooling details what happened after Block moved to Plano, Texas, with his mom, dad, and older brother. His mother, unwilling to let Blok leave the nest, took him out of public school and homeschooled him.
Block describes his mother's unstable mood and unusual educational approach, which included creating her own research. He was often lonely and describes other adults in his life who were unaware, or chose not to be aware, of what was happening.
He told TODAY.com that part of him always planned to write a memoir. “When I felt very alone and without witnesses, I thought: “There is a reader who is witnessing all this.” What’s important to me is that I was able to give this to my old self,” he says.
For Blok, the process of writing his memoirs, which he began only after his mother's death, was enlightening and helped him rethink the way he thought about himself as a young man.
“In the process of telling the truth and unearthing this story, I discovered that I often felt powerless in this situation, but the history of that time makes me capable of many things. There is strength to be found in what seems powerless.”
He hopes readers take away that “every life is worthy of a memoir, and every life has a great story.”
Block previously wrote the novels “The History of Oblivion,” “Storm at the Door,” and “Oliver Loving.”
