A Brother's Journey: Surviving a Childhood of Abuse

A Memoir by Richard B. Pelzer

Abridged on 3 CDs / Read by Joshua Gates,

with an Intro and Afterword by the Author

 

Richard Pelzer's brother, award-winning author David Pelzer, writes, "It is my sincere hope that Richard's story will help others with an unfortunate past to become productive, responsible, and fulfilled adults." David is the acclaimed author of personal memoirs entitled A Child Called "It," The Lost Child, and A Man Called Dave.

 

The Pelzer family led a secret life. First exposed in David Pelzer's A Child Called "It," these family secrets of fear and abuse have given the world a glimpse into not only what can and does go on behind closed doors, but how resilient the human heart is in its capacity to heal from horrific trauma. Richard Pelzer doesn't whitewash his childhood. He describes days of abuse when he found himself "always in trouble" and couldn't understand why. He lives with memories of abusing his brother David, who was removed from the home at age 13. Now Richard finds himself in a precarious predicament--he is the remaining target of his mother's alcohol-induced wrath. His fear goes beyond dread as he genuinely believes that he is going to lose his life to his out-of-control mother. "I'm afraid that now I'm her IT," he says.

 

But Mrs. Pelzer was determined to keep her abuse of Richard hidden. She found other ways to torment him--ways that would not show. While his story is depressing and all-too-often true in homes across America, its main story lies in the survival of this child and his ability to triumph over unimaginable tragedy. It's also the story of how he struggled to overcome his shameful abuse of his brother, and builld a productive life for himself.

 

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