Critique of Dave Pelzer's Autobiography, "The Lost Boy"

"The Lost Boy" by Dave Pelzer is the sequel to "A Child Called It." This book focuses more on Dave's adolescence, rather than his abusive childhood. It is a moving story, starting out with a brief glimpse into the horrible abuse that he experienced as a child from his mother, and then moving into the difficult trials of being placed in numerous foster homes. The abuse that he went through is tear-jerking. His mother made him sleep in the basement on a cot without blankets, would only feed him when she wanted to which was rarely, and played evil mind games with him, leading him to believe that he had done everything to deserve the abuse that he got. The abuse he encountered was everything from being intentionally burned, to being physically beat up, and left in a closed room with cleaning chemicals like bleach and ammonia.

The story starts when David is age 9. David runs away after being kicked out of his house by his psychotic mother who says that she wishes he had never been born. David soon finds himself back at the house due to a well-intentioned police officer, but not for long. His teachers at school had long been witnesses to the scars and bruises on his body, as well as his soiled clothes and starving eyes. After being examined by doctors, David is placed in his first foster home. Feeling safe, he becomes a bit of a wild child, expressing his new freedom. After the first court trial, when David is pronounced a ward of the court, he becomes more relaxed, feeling that his mother was no longer out to get him. Wanting to fit in, he soon starts stealing things from his foster home and convenience stores to impress the older foster children. This gets him into trouble with his foster mother, and soon he is sent to his first ...

... middle of paper ...

...een good therapy in working out problems, to have started writing in the first place must have been a challenge. I would have liked to have known when Dave started dealing with his past to better his future. I also would like to know how the experiences he had with children when he was a child translated into adult relationships. I'm sure that it wasn't a sudden change, but it would be interesting to know what he did to confront his past, and how that translated into writing books about it.

"The Lost Boy" was unique because it was a glimpse into the life of an adolescent in an unusual situation. Some of the problems that he encountered were typical, but the way that Dave dealt with them was different because he was in foster care. I'm sure that this book helped many people who either came out of foster care or are in it currently to better understand themselves.