Think from KERA The mother who needed homeschooling
Feb 3, 2026
Stefan Merrill Block, writer and memoirist of Homeschooled, recounts being pulled from school by an adoring but complicated mother. He describes crafting his own curriculum, performing unhappiness to win attention, and how solitude shaped his path to writing. Conversations about sibling differences, returning to public school, and the emotional costs of maternal dependency also feature.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Pulled From School To Keep Them Close
- Stefan Merrill Block describes being pulled out of public school in fourth grade after his mother decided homeschooling would bind them together.
- He quickly realized homeschooling was part affection and part her need for his constant presence.
Love Can Be Both Gift And Cage
- Block describes his mother's love as both elevating and imprisoning, giving confidence while isolating him from peers.
- That paradox later helped him leave because her praise also built his self-belief to escape.
Attempts To Reverse His Childhood
- While writing the memoir after his mother's death, Block recognized patterns showing she wanted to return him to dependency.
- He recounts literal episodes like bleaching his hair and making him crawl to reverse childhood development.
