3rd Quarter ORB

A Man Named Dave by Dave Pelzer. Penguin Books, 2000. Genre: Autobiography

The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer is about himself as he moves into adulthood. It is the third and final book of the trilogy. Dave always wanted to fly because when he was a kid still living with “The Mother”, he would sit in the basement, in his prisoner - of - war position, and look out the window and pretend that he was Superman and that he could fly away from all his troubles. He enlisted in the air force for that reason and also because he wanted to make his father proud, he had promised him that he would. You would think that his life could only get better from here but no. During basic air force training, he kept having nightmares and they were all the same, his mother standing in front of him with a knife and then he would run. To add on to that, he married a woman, named Patsy, that he does not trust or love, he married her because he got her pregnant. After eight years, they finally got divorced, and they had to share their son Stephen. His life seems filled with hardships and obstacles that gets in the way of his happiness but that’s not so.

“Pelzer…inspires us all. He is a living example that all of us have the capability to better ourselves no matter what the odds.” – Jack Canfield.

Dave Pelzer writes with great details about the obstacles that he faces, such as the death of his father, his mother haunting him in his dreams, and a friend who turned out to be an enemy. Although there were some downsides to his life, there were definitely ups in his life too, such as his loving son, a new wife that loves him very much and finally making his father proud. One can have empathy for him when he writes about the hardships and joy when he writes about his triumph and how he climbed over a hill in his life.

“All those years you tried your best to break me, and I’m still here. Father’s finally free, Ron’s in the service, and soon the boys will move out on their own. I’m a good person. I try my best in everything I set out to do. I make my problems. I stand on my own. And one day you’ll see, I’m going to make something out of myself. Whether I dig ditches or flip burgers for the air force, I’ll be the best, and somehow, someway, I won’t waste my life away. If you taught me anything, you taught me that.”

I loved the first two books of the trilogy and I loved this book just as much. I will probably read some of his other books because I loved his writing style and the message of “don’t give up hope” that is incorporated in those three books.