NPR

Scott Simon Draws The Mystery Of 'Sunnyside Plaza' From His Own Past

When NPR host Scott Simon was in his teens, he took a job in an assisted living facility in Chicago. "It really opened my eyes into seeing the world differently," he says.
Source: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

When NPR host Scott Simon was in his late teens, he took a job in an assisted living facility in Chicago, working with people who had developmental disabilities.

"It was more formative in my life, I think, than most any war I've covered, any political campaign I've covered, any reportorial experience I've had," Simon says. "It really opened my eyes into seeing the world differently."

Simon has wanted to tell this story for years, and so he drew on the experiences he

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