And he also created a magical atmosphere of trust between us by confessing his secret, which was that, as a very young boy starting at age four, he had been savagely and repeatedly physically abused by his stepfather, and the abuse had gotten so bad that he had had to drop out of school in eighth grade, even though he was very smart, and he'd spent almost 20 years rebuilding his life.
Il a créé une atmosphère de  confiance magique entre nous en me parlant de son secret: à partir de l’âge de quatre ans, il avait été abusé sauvagement et à répétition par son beau-père. Tellement qu’il avait dû quitter  l’école en huitième année, bien qu’il était très intelligent. Il avait passé près de 20 ans  à se refaire une vie.