This book broke my heart. And not in the Nicholas Sparks Someone I loved died and I'm never going to love again oh wait I think I'm falling in love way. This was more painful to read than Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. This true, gut-wrenching story made me hurt inside.
The author, Dave Pelzer, narrates as himself from childhood, where he was brutally and continually abused by his mother. There were multiple passages within that made me feel physically ill to my stomach. The manner in which his mother singled him out among all of his other brothers as the "bad boy" and tortured him is unspeakable.
How he managed to survive his long sentence with his family I do not know. I certainly do not think I would have the will power to outlast everything that he endured. I can't imagine the courage it must have taken him to write out his story on paper for others to know. But I'm glad that he did, because we all need to be more aware of the prevalence of abuse, whether it be a child, a partner, or stranger. Just because I kiss my child more times a day than I can keep track of doesn't mean that every other child in the world feels that outward affection and love.
This book is the first in a trilogy chronicling David's story. While I don't want to deal with the raw emotions that accompany this subject, I feel like I need to know more about how everything played out. While we are told in the prologue that David does eventually get taken from his abusive home, this book does not end with the trauma resolved.
Hug your kid. If you don't have one, hug the person nearest you. Hug your dog. There are cruel people in this world.
I saw this book many years ago when we were in high school and had read a few passages, I also think I saw him on Oprah or something. It is a gutwrenching story and makes you wonder how people could treat any child that way. I think his mother must have been mentally disturbed to be able to inflict such pain to a child.
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