Listen to Chosen: A Memoir of Stolen Boyhood by Stephen Mills

Book Description

"An unparalleled achievement, a work of shattering, almost unbearable radiance. I did not stop crying throughout. For Mills. For my young self. For all of us who have lived and continue to live in that pitiless abyss of childhood abuse. To read this courageous book is to be transformed utterly by Mills's empathy, resilience, and grace. Mark my words: Chosen is destined to be a classic because this is a book that will save lives."-Junot Díaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar WaoAt thirteen years old, Stephen Mills is chosen for special attention by the director of his Jewish summer camp, a charismatic social worker. Stephen, whose father had died when he was four, places his trust in this authority figure, who then grooms and molests him for two years. The boy tells no one, but the aftershocks rip through his life: self-loathing, drugs, petty crime, and horrific nightmares, all made worse by the discovery that his abuser is moving from camp to camp, state to state, molesting countless other boys. Only physical and mental collapse bring Stephen to confront the truth of his boyhood and begin the painful path to recovery-as well as a decades-long crusade to stop a serial predator and find justice. Astonishingly, the trauma of sexual abuse is shared by one out of every six men, yet few have spoken out. Chosen is a rare act of consummate courage, the indelible story of a man who faces his torment and his tormentor and, in the process, is made whole.