Harold and Andy keep Jude's secret about what has happened, but the trauma of what he experiences with Caleb leads Jude to attempt to commit suicide. Harold eventually discovers what has happened and also realizes that Jude has been cutting himself. However, Caleb becomes horribly abusive, beating and raping Jude. Although Jude has never been in a romantic relationship, when he meets an attractive fashion designer named Caleb, he tentatively begins a relationship. He has never revealed anything about his past to anyone, he regularly self-harms, and he lives in constant dread that someone he cares about will find out about his past. At the same time, he lives with constant physical pain and psychological trauma. His career is extremely successful, and he earns a lot of money. He has many close and loving friendships, notably with Willem, and unconditional love and support from Harold and Julia. Throughout his 30s and 40s, Jude lives a double life.

Although JB apologizes, Jude is never able to forgive him. In contrast, Jude's relationship with JB gradually breaks down: Jude is hurt when JB exhibits paintings of Jude without asking for his consent, and later on, as JB succumbs to drug addiction, he cruelly mocks Jude's disability.

Meanwhile, Willem's career as an actor has taken off, and he and Jude remain very close. Secretly, Jude knows that his health is deteriorating, and he wants to ensure he always has enough income to live in comfort. Jude initially begins working as a public defense attorney but eventually takes on a much higher-paying role at a corporate firm. Since Harold and Julia grow to love Jude like their son, they eventually end up formally adopting him. Over time, Jude becomes close with Harold and his wife, Julia. Jude attends law school, where he attracts the attention of a professor named Harold. In the years post-graduation, the careers of all four men gradually advance. Andy helps to protect Jude's secrets and does his best to care for him. The only person with whom Jude is fully honest is his doctor, Andy. Jude is beloved by his friends but is also very secretive about his past he never reveals the source of his disability, nor the fact that he regularly engages in self-harming behaviors as a way to cope with his past trauma. After graduation, Jude and Willem move in together in a shabby apartment on Lispenard Street in New York City. Jude feels closest to Willem because, like him, Willem is an orphan who did not grow up in a wealthy family. At college, Jude becomes part of a circle of close friends along with Willem, an attractive aspiring model, JB, a painter from a Haitian family, and Malcolm, an architect from a wealthy family. However, in the hospital, Jude encounters a sympathetic social worker named Ana, who encourages him to plan to go to college. The injuries Jude sustains in this incident leave him with permanent disabilities and lifelong pain. Traylor holds Jude captive, raping him repeatedly, and eventually running him over with a car. Along the way, he becomes very sick and ends up being abducted by another sadistic man, known as Dr. When he is fourteen, he runs away and attempts to hitchhike to Boston alone. Jude is transferred to foster care, where he continues to experience physical and sexual abuse. One day, in Montana, police raid the hotel room and attempt to arrest Brother Luke, though he hangs himself before they can detain him. During this time, Luke both repeatedly rapes Jude and offers him to other men to have sex with in exchange for money. They spend years on the run, crisscrossing the country. When Jude is 11, Brother Luke abducts him from the monastery. They are generally cruel and abusive towards him, and when one priest, Brother Luke, takes a special interest in him, Jude initially feels grateful for the affection. Jude is abandoned at a monastery in South Dakota as an infant and raised by the priests there. The plot is conveyed through flashbacks and retrospective narration. A Little Lifeexplores the tragic life of Jude St.

A little life book