And Life Goes On

As I was reading this book, I cried as I looked back on my own life. While my struggles were not near as horrific as David's, I saw some similarities. I also was in a large family where I was the only child who was the outcast. I, too, did not understand why the world simply looked on and did nothing. Why was I the chosen one? What did I do so wrong to deserve this pain and punishment? My abuse was more emotional, but very real to me none the less. I also did not understand why my father and my siblings stood by and let this happen to me. Like, David, I held my father on that same pedestal and knew that if he could he would surly do some thing. Pain slipped back into my body and into my mind as I read this book and as with David, my commitment to my own children would shine through.

This book gave me the courage to talk to my children about my parents, my family, and all those people that they would never know in their lives. It brought us to a new level of closeness as my children also read the book and struggled to understand.

The story begins with David's rescue. At first I thought this to be quite strange. As I read on in the book, it only made more sense. I am not sure that I could have read through all the horrible things that happened to poor David, if I had not known that he was rescued in the end and that all of his strength and sufferings had paid off.

David endured so much at the hands of his mother while the rest of his family stood by and watched. In reading the book, I am sure that it was out of fear, however, I have to wonder how these other children might have felt if David had simply stood by and watched this happen to them. Knowing David as you do through out the book, you know that this could not have happened. David was a child of strength, hope, love, and courage. How much you just wanted to reach into the pages of the book and take him away. You wanted to give him all the love and attention that he so much deserved.

While reading the book, it was amazing to me that the school that David attended did nothing to help him. They knew that he was not being fed, the clothing that was described would put us in jail today, not to mention the bruises. Did they just turn a blind eye? What about all the people in the neighborhood who heard the screams and saw this poor child's attempts to steal food. Did they not realize something was terrible wrong, or was it easier to just turn away?

I don't want to give all the details of the book, because it is one that you truly have to read to believe. This book is one that you surely can not put down. You just want to read on and encourage this child through his never ending will to survive.

FACTS ABOUT THE BOOK:

1.) The book can be found under Self-Help, Psychology, or Inspiration
2.) It is 184 pages long.
3.) Author is David Pelzer. Co-Author = Chicken Soup For The Soul
4.) There is a sequel called The Lost Boy which tells about David's life in foster care.
5.) Available in paperback.
6.) There are 7 chapters in this book.

CHAPTER ONE:

This chapter, as I said, is The Rescue: It talks about how David, after his many years of torture is finally rescued. The school finally recognizes the abuse that David is suffering and does something about it. It is a chapter of hope. Hope for David's new life.

CHAPTER TWO:

This chapter is called Good Times and speaks about David's life and his family before everything goes bad. It speaks of your topical family and really makes you wonder where it all went wrong.

CHAPTER THREE: Bad Boy, begins the saga of David's nightmare. This is when things between him and his mother begin to go bad. Life goes from discipline to punishment and torture.

CHAPTER FOUR: The Fight For Food, is amazing and horrific. David's mother actually stops feeding him. We live his fight to get food, not food for pleasure; but; enough to survive on. We also live the lengths to which his mother will go to prevent him from getting any.

CHAPTER FIVE: The Accident, tells us of a time when David's mother went to far. It was summer vacation and during one of her drunken stoppers, she actually stabs David. As if this was not bad enough, she does nothing to get him help. While reading this chapter, I actually could feel the pain that David was going through. I could not believe that his father did nothing to step in and help him. For the first time, we saw him a just as much a monster as the mother.

CHAPTER SIX: While Father is Away. By this time in the book, David's fathers solution to all that is going on is to just stay away. This makes things even worse for David as his mother has always been even more brutal in his absence. David starts to loose hope and as a reader I also began to think that this poor child would never get help.

CHAPTER SEVEN: The Lords Prayer, things are at there worst for David. His father has finally moved away all together. David goes through many helpless times. He was just sure that his mother was finally going to win and end up killing him. The chapter ends with a scene of his mother and brothers eating at McDonald, once again leaving him in the car. It gives him a time to reflect, dream, and pray. His final words of the chapter are "....and deliver me from evil." Amen."

The book then goes to the epilog which once again reassures us that: DAVID HAS BEEN SAVED!

I would recommend this book to anyone who has any interest in changing the statistics of child abuse in our country today. If anyone can hurt a child after reading this book there is something wrong, and if anyone can sit quiet and watch?