Summary of Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life tells the story of Jude St. Francis and the people in his life. Jude, left partially disabled by a terrifying injury as a teenager, is distraught about his past and hides most of that past and himself from others, even those closest to him. The relationships he forms as a young and older adult sustain him longer than he ever expected to live, but in the end, Jude has faced too much abuse and heartache to go on.

Jude was left as an infant by his unknown parents in the care of a monastery, where he grew up being taught—and physically and sexually abused—by several men. Jude developed a trusting relationship with one of the monks, Brother Luke. Jude and Brother Luke ran away from the monastery, but Brother Luke sold Jude as a child prostitute out of motel rooms...