Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. This memoir blends a deeply personal story of family trauma with a researched history of the American homeschooling movement. Did you find this combination effective? How did the inclusion of figures like John Holt and the context of Texas law shape your reading of Stefan’s individual experience?

2. How did Stefan Merrill Block’s background as a novelist influence his storytelling in this memoir? If you’ve read his other books, like The Storm at the Door (2011), how does Homeschooled compare in its exploration of family, memory, and mental illness?

3. What were some of the most memorable or unsettling scenes for you, and why did they stand out?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. What role do you think online communities, like the AOL chatrooms Stefan used, play in forming an identity for young people who feel isolated? Have you seen or experienced virtual connections supplement or complicate real-world relationships?

2. The central theme of The Role of Loneliness in Forging Identity suggests that prolonged isolation can be both a creative and a damaging force. Stefan develops a rich imagination but struggles with social integration. In what ways do you think solitude can shape a person for the better, and when does it become detrimental?

3. Stefan’s teacher, Mrs. Shepherd, tells him he will have to break his mother’s heart to live his own life. This moment highlights the painful necessity of setting boundaries. Have you ever struggled to establish independence from a loved one, even when that relationship is causing harm?

4. Debra embraces the “unschooling” philosophy of John Holt, which centers on child-led learning. What are your thoughts on this educational model? What do you see as its greatest potential benefits and its most significant risks?

5. Block shows how the pressure to live up to Debra’s belief in his “genius” impacts his development and sense of self. Did you feel the pressure of parental expectations as a child? If so, how did it affect you?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The memoir is set against the backdrop of Texas’s newly deregulated homeschooling laws, which granted parents immense freedom from state oversight. Where do you think the line should be drawn between parental rights and the state’s responsibility to ensure a child’s well-being and social development? How does Block’s story inform this debate?

2. How does the social context of Plano, Texas, known as the “Suicide Capital of America” and a center of the 1990s heroin crisis, function as a larger mirror for Stefan’s private suffering? Does the community’s history of adolescent crises make the Block family’s story feel more or less unique?

3. What does the tension between the secular, leftist ideals of unschooling and the Christian fundamentalist movement that secured legal protections for homeschooling reveal about the practice’s complex cultural history in America?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. The memoir includes excerpts from Stefan’s fictional story, “The Boy from Nowheresville.” What literary purpose does this story-within-a-story serve? How does its evolution from a tale of magical escape to a story about needing to “be seen” reflect Stefan’s own psychological journey?

2. Roald Dahl’s memoir Boy (1984) is a significant influence on Stefan as a child. In what ways did you see Dahl’s style reflected in Block’s storytelling?

3. Debra’s full backstory, including her sexual assault and her father’s traumatic death, is withheld until late in the narrative. What is the effect of this structural choice? How did learning the origins of her trauma reshape your understanding of her character?

4. The author uses symbolism throughout the memoir, from the typewriter and filing cabinet Stefan takes to school to the shard of glass in his birthday cake. Which symbol did you find most effective, and what did it represent to you?

5. Block ends the memoir by shifting to Debra’s perspective on a snow day when Stefan was four. Why do you think he chose this specific memory as the closing note for the book? What does this shift in point of view accomplish for the narrative as a whole?

6. The author uses physical settings, such as his family home with its cracking foundation, and the marshland Debra calls the “Haunted Place,” as symbolic landscapes. How do these and other locations represent the Block family’s dynamics?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. When Stefan returns to school, Mrs. Byatt tells him he is brave. If you could write a letter to the 14-year-old Stefan as he starts ninth grade, what advice or encouragement would you offer him?

2. At the end of the book, Stefan must choose a short inscription for his mother’s memorial plaque. If you were tasked with this, what words would you choose to capture the complicated reality of Debra’s life and her fierce, possessive love?

3. If you were adapting Homeschooled into a film, which scene would you select to open the movie?