dave pelzer

[jannan]

i just got threw reading the first dave pelzer book . i picked it up in an airport on my way to cantral america. i'd like some feedback from mothering readers. one friend of mine says she questions the validity of the books. i don't question the validity but i find it hard to believe that his mother never did any jail time for the abuse she inflicted on this poor child. oh, they are written in a series of three:

1. "A child called it"
2. The lost boy"
3. A man called Dave"

[glh]

I read two of the books, a friend lent them to me and insisted I read them. The abuse he describes is almost unbelievable, how he lived through it is amazing to me. My biggest complaint with the books is that they are so poorly written.

[jannan]

dave pelzer

glh, i agree. they are poorly written. did it surprize you that his mom did not do any jail time?

[Irishmommy]

I've read them. I remember a pretty credible article in the Toronto Star about a year ago about it, and there was some doubt as to the validity of the book. The mom denied it (innocent or guilty, she would), but so did at least one of the brothers. There should be records around, especially as he was in care. I'm in two minds. I think there definitely was abuse, but as for the severity of it, only two people can vouch for that, and one is dead.

[glh]

Yes, it did surprise me that she didn't do any jail time. I can't remember, but were the other children taken away from her? It seems like I remember that they weren't. That is even more surprising.

[Irishmommy]

No, none of the other kids were taken, or I believe, abused.

glh, love your sig line.

[glh]

Thanks Irishmommy, I "borrowed" it from Kelly Osbourne who said on "The Osbournes" show "my vagina, my business" when she was mad at her older sister for making her a gynocologist appointment without her permission.

[Christi]

I read all three of the books when they first came out. I guess maybe I'm gullible. I never questioned the validity of the abuse. I think that it is so amazing that he could turn it into such a positive thing. Especially for his son. I watched him also on Oprah. Just because we are great mothers doesn't mean that everyone is as we all know.