“My mother ruled the house. Everything had to be in its place...

“My mother ruled the house.  Everything had to be in its place and orderly.  There were plastic coverings on the sofa and armchairs.   She cleaned every day and I had to help her.  She was like a drill sergeant.  She told me when to wake up.  She told me when to go to sleep.  I don’t remember having interactions with her that weren’t her telling me what to do.  And if I resisted, she’d lash out physically.  She’d push me around.  She’d hit me in the face.  My only escape was reading.  After school I’d explore the stacks in the library, pick random books off the shelf, and choose anything that I found interesting.  I’d check out as many books as I could carry.  Back then you were allowed to keep them out for four weeks.  I’d read in my bedroom, in the bathroom, at the dinner table.  Books removed me from that toxic environment.  They exposed me to different worlds, different ways of thinking, different points of view.  I began to do really well in school.  I skipped grades.  On the citywide tests, I scored in the 99th percentile for vocabulary and reading comprehension.  My mother resented it all.  She’d call me an ‘educated moron.’  I went to City College at sixteen.  Graduated at nineteen.  Then after graduation, I used all my savings to travel to Paris for a month.  I explored the city.  I visited museums.  I met so many people from so many countries.  And by the time I came home, I had everything planned out: I found a job, found an apartment, and waited for my parents to visit their country home.  Then I packed up my things and left.“