David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

to his sister. She was more
disciplinarian than friend. He didn’t like
his stepfather. In any case, the marriage
didn’t last. He didn’t like his mother
either. “Whatever mind she had was
destroyed in the sweatshops,” he said.
“She was an angry person. And when
she married this ugly guy, who brought
this person in—my half brother—who
got half of everything I used to get, and
then she fired my mother...” His voice
trailed off.
Freireich was sitting at his desk. He
was wearing a white coat. Everything he
was talking about was both long ago and
—in another, more important sense—not
long ago at all. “I can’t remember her
ever hugging or kissing me or anything