Adaptation of my memoir about a prize student at an elite New York City prep school in the 1970s whose trust in a revered writing teacher leads him down a very dark path of sexual abuse and loss of identity.  This is crossed with events 40 years later when 30 former students at the school give Victim Impact Statements about how the abuse they've suffered there has impacted their lives.

SYNOPSIS:

Unlike most predatory teachers – especially in NYC 1970 – Robert Berman doesn’t try to blend in. He shaves his head, wears sunglasses and dark suits, despises popular culture and rails against the mental “dwarfism” of most students. This is not how the children of privilege are used to being addressed, and many transfer out of his class. But not Steve - he’s fascinated by Berman’s idiosyncrasies, awed by the breadth of his knowledge, overwhelmed by his self-confidence.

Steve himself – like most 16 year olds - is racked with doubts about whether he has anything original to say. Berman picks up on this and is soon telling Steve that he might be a genius – if only he takes Berman on as his mentor. When Berman sneaks up behind Steve on a school trip and kisses him on the mouth, Steve backs away, confused. Steve goes to the school assistant headmaster and reports Berman. But the school backs up the teacher and cautions Steve against making his accusation public, suggesting it will ruin his chances of getting into a good college.

After this rejection, Steve feels on shaky emotional ground. Berman, sensing this, gradually pares away all Steve’s friends and isolates him, breaking down his resistance. Finally, Steve agrees to meet Berman at his apartment.

42 years later, Steve is among a group of his students from Horace Mann who are being represented by attorney Gloria Allred in a mediation for the molestation they suffered while at the school. Steve forces himself to give graphic testimony in his “victim’s impact statement” to a roomful of lawyers and insurance agents. Will Steve finally get some kind of justice? And will he ever learn the truth about the strange and mysterious man who tried to drive him to suicide?