A Brother's Journey: Surviving a Childhood of Abuse

by Richard B. Pelzer
CHS media, hardcover, 261 pages
genre: memoir

I borrowed this from Chaska H.S. for a student, but couldn't return it without reading it myself. Richard was Dave Pelzer's (A Child Called It) younger brother. He was the "Little Nazi" who helped their mom in her regime of abuse toward Dave. Once Dave was out of the house, Richard became her target.

These books are horrifying, though the writing is not especially good. I think what fascinates (and repels) is that a human being could have been so evil and no one stopped her. Some have said that the brothers have exaggerated if not outright lied about the abuse. I don't have trouble believing the abuse itself. Humans are amazing in their ability to inflict pain on others. It's heart-breaking when parents do these kinds of things to their own children.

This book leaves me with the question of how social workers, teachers, nurses, etc. can break the cycle earlier. How can we rescue kids, build up families before a child is in the ER?