I Survived Swiss Boarding Schools: All That Glitters Is Not Gold

In an era when the world seems to focus on flamboyant superstars, this must-read story reintroduces us to an unusual and nearly extinct class of genuine celebrities. During a long tenure at two very different boarding schools in Switzerland in the 1950’s and 1960’s, Richard René Silvin rubbed elbows with Elizabeth Taylor, Marlene Dietrich, families such as the Rockefellers, Onassis and Woodwards, as well as royalty from across the globe.   But, since all that glitters is definitely not gold, the reader will first be exposed to La Clairière, a tiny school for young boys. It was here that Silvin learned to escape random beatings by the headmaster, and to avoid a pedophile woodcutter.   Eventually, Silvin arrived at Le Rosey, then called “the school for kings and princes,” where his lack of academic training at La Clairière nearly led to his expulsion. Later, after being branded “a homo,” he learned how to stand up to molestation and even to thrive beyond it. Using sport victories, he created a healthy and graceful path to forgiveness and strength.   The result is a beguiling story, which creates a figurative “arc to triumph” worth emulating in any of life’s challenges.