Free Lunch

Content Warning: This section mentions physical and emotional child abuse, as well as domestic violence.

Rex Ogle is the author and narrator of the memoir Free Lunch. He writes from the first-person perspective of his child self, but with some of the wisdom of his adult self. He introduces both himself and his mother Luciana as angry, flawed people: “This is how it’s been my whole life. But some days—some days I hate my life, and I feel like fighting” (6). Having lived in poverty his whole life, 11-year-old Rex feels exhausted. He wants what his friends have, and sees the world as an unfair place. He doesn’t like the idea of receiving free lunches or food stamps, and is embarrassed by the fact that his family is poor. Rex largely blames his mother for their problems, failing to see the reasons behind her decisions. Yet, he is mature in other ways, taking care of his younger brother Ford in his parents’ frequent absences. When Rex gets angry, he self-reflects: “I wonder if I’m sick, or having a heart attack, or if I’m going crazy. I shake my head. I’m not like my mom.