Story-Portal

"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 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 Wao

At thirteen years old, Stephen Mills is chosen for special attention by the director of his Jewish summer camp, a charismatic social worker intent on becoming his friend. Stephen, whose father died when he was four, places his trust in this authority figure, who first grooms and then molests him for two years.

Stephen tells no one, but the aftershocks rip through his adult life, as intense as his self-loathing, drug abuse, petty crime, and horrific nightmares, all made worse by the discovery that his abuser is moving from camp to camp, state to state, molesting other boys. Only physical and mental collapse bring Stephen to confront the truth of his boyhood and begin the painful process of recovery―as well as a decades-long crusade to stop a serial predator, find justice, and hold to account those who failed the children in their care.

The trauma of sexual abuse is shared by one out of every six men, yet very few have broken their silence. Unflinching and compulsively readable, Chosen eloquently speaks for those countless others and their families. It is a rare act of consummate courage and generosity―the indelible story of a man who faces his torment and his tormentor and, in the process, is made whole. 

Quote: I've known Stephen since we were in third grade. When he told a small group of us last year that he had written a memoir about the sexual abuse he had suffered as adolescent, it left me ashen. How could we have had no clue? How come he couldn't tell us? How could his mother, someone I thought I also knew well and held in such high esteem, have been complicit in this?


There were so many questions that have haunted me about this, but that's neither here nor there. What is here is one of the most courageous and haunting books I've ever read. After all this is not kind of thing men will reveal, either out of shame that leads one to ridiculously question their "manhood" or our tendency as a society to blame the victim, especially in cases like these.

The abuse in many ways derailed Stephen's life. In a high school class of geniuses (myself excluded), he may have been the smartest of all. Who knows what his life might have been if he had not been victimized or if he at least had been able to relieve himself of the guilt at an earlier age.

While the abuser escaped justice, for decades Stephen has been pursuing those who who knew about but let it happen to others as well. I hope he gets some measure of justice not only for himself but for the other victims as well.

But my point in writing this is not just to recommend this amazing book that you will devour overnight, but to make people aware that there are people around you who no doubt are suffering silently as well. You just don't know and you might not ever know. But if you suffered from abuse, there are hotlines to call that will preserve your anonymity and help you. If someone reaches out to you, be there for them. The fact that they did is indication of what an unbelievable burden such a secret is to bear for life.

I'm a journalist. I'd stake my career on Stephen's credibility. Get this book, read it, tell others about it. You'll find yourself like me, wishing he had been able to devote his enormous writing talent to another subject, but in the end I'm glad he had the guts to do this. Sexual abuse is a national epidemic and disgrace that must be stopped now.