A Brother's Journey : Surviving a childhood of Abuse - Softcover

Richard B. Pelzer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0316729485 ISBN 13: 9780316729482

Publisher: Time Warner Books, 2005

Synopsis

This is a story about how one little boy found the courage to survive years of physical abuse-and how the human spirit can triumph over the most severe circumstances.

About this title

About the Author:

Richard was born forth of five boys in 1965 in Daly City, California. During his childhood, Richard lived the nightmare and horrors we only hear of - known as child abuse. From his earliest memories, Richard recalls watching his older brother David being abused and was the only witnesses to his mother's attempt to kill her son and Richard's older brother. Once the California authorities learned of the unspeakable acts occurring in a suburban California home, the state removed Richard's brother leaving him and three other boys behind. Throughout his adolescence and teen years, Richard suffered physical, mental and emotional abuse at the hands of his mother. Richard spent most of his teenage years moving about the country from Maui, Hawaii to Richmond, Virginia seeking the support and love of a family. Richard barely survived his incredible abusive childhood and his own self-destructive teenage years. After thirty years and with the support of his wife, Richard collected his memoirs and created his first book "A BROTHER'S JOURNEY". This collection of memoirs tells of the emotions and heartache that a child abuse victim carries throughout those tender and short years from ages 5 to 15. "A BROTHER'S JOURNEY is due for release in January 2005. His second book, "FROM PREDATOR TO PREY a teenager's journey" takes a hard look at a young man struggling to find himself. A very honest and straightforward look at the challenges facing teen's that grow up as abused children, "FROM PREDATOR TO PREY" provides a unique insight for anyone who has ever been or will ever be a teenager. The experience and honesty in this work is carefully woven into a life story of challenges, failures and accomplishments of a teenager desperate to find closure and leave his childhood behind him. Until recently he was employed in the banking and financial fields. Richard lives on the South Shore of Massachusetts where he now spends his time as a writer. Currently Richard is finishing his third memoir "CLOSER a man's journey" which tells of the heartbreak and embarrassment found in the pages of his memoirs of years past and the lessons learned. "CLOSER" is a satisfying close to the journeys of a young, red head freckled faced child who eventually made it through and survived a life that few adults could even fathom. By the end of the series, the reader learns that grown men cry and often secretly desire to revert back to the innocence of childhood - at any age and that anything can be overcome if there is a reason to. RICHARD B. PELZER is the younger brother of Dave Pelzer, the bestselling author of Help Yourself and the acclaimed trilogy of personal memoirs, A Child Called "It," The Lost Child, and A Man Called Dave. Richard lives outside of Boston, Massachusetts, with his wife and four children.

From AudioFile:

Although not meant to be a horror story, the chilling descriptions of the author's childhood abuse by his mother could be mistaken for those of a Stephen King novel. The woman beat the children, stabbed them with a kitchen knife, made them eat their vomit from the floor, and called the youngest son, David, "It." Joshua Gates's mean tone for the drunken woman's tirades jumps out like a monster from the dark. However, he mollifies the disgusting acts with a soft voice that makes hearing about them tolerable. These clever inflectional changes allow listeners to both hate the mother and suffer for the children. The taciturn pitch used for the abused boy's thoughts sounds dominated and terrified. A maturation of the boy's character at the denouement scores a partial victory for good. J.A.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Time Warner Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0316729485
• ISBN 13: 9780316729482
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272