Stefan Merrill Books
The Story of Forgetting – 2008
A teenage boy named Seth investigates his mother's rare early-onset Alzheimer's, tracing her family's hidden history, while an elderly hunchback, Abel, reflects on lost love and regret on his isolated Texas farm. Their stories intertwine with a mythical land called Isidora, where memories never fade, exploring grief, genetics, and the power of forgetting.
The Storm at the Door – 2011
In 1960s Massachusetts, poet Frederick is committed to a mental asylum by his wife Katharine after erratic behavior. Drawing from family history, the novel follows his institutionalization, interactions with fellow patients under a flawed psychiatrist, and the lingering effects on his family, blending fact and fiction in a poignant examination of mental illness and confinement.
Oliver Loving – 2018
After a school shooting in small-town West Texas leaves shy teenager Oliver Loving in a persistent vegetative state, his family grapples with grief, secrets, and blame over a decade. A new medical test offers hope to unlock his mind and reveal the night's truth, testing bonds and the healing power of stories amid tragedy.
Homeschooled – 2026
Stefan Merrill Block recounts his childhood in 1990s Texas, when his mother pulled him from public school for unregulated homeschooling driven by her intense love and eccentric methods. Isolated yet bound in a closed emotional world, he reflects on devotion's darker side, eventual reconnection, and the lack of oversight in homeschooling systems.
Short stories
Life Lessons – 2019
A concise short story exploring themes of friendship, profound loss, and the bittersweet process of growing up. From the author of acclaimed novels, it captures emotional milestones and the lessons life imparts through personal connections and inevitable change in a compact, reflective narrative.
contributions
Better Than Fiction: True Travel Tales from Great Fiction Writers – 2012
An anthology of true travel stories by acclaimed fiction authors, including Stefan Merrill Block's contribution. The collection features personal, evocative tales of journeys that surpass fiction in wonder, humor, revelation, and unexpected insight, spanning diverse global locations and experiences from disorientation to profound discovery.