Weakling.

New York State, the border of the 1960s-1970s. A boy is subjected to a humiliating attack by a teacher. Mr. McEnery is unhappy that Jonathan is thirteen years old and weighs at most thirty kilograms. The child is forced to question his right to occupy space in the world, his right to his own body. Jonathan's father, concerned about his son's lack of masculinity, develops a training and nutrition regimen.

Unintentionally, the boy plays a divisive role in his parents' marriage. As a result, Jonathan is sent to a Swiss boarding school, where he manages to find himself among fellow outcasts and misfits. His father seizes the opportunity to come to Europe and impose strange views on what it means to be a real man, threatening to destroy the space that Jonathan Wells has so hard won for himself.

Critically acclaimed American poet Jonathan Wells presents an honest and powerful memoir about adolescence and self-image, the fragility of masculinity, and the eternal search for solace in the world.