Jun 19 2008
“A Brother’s Journey” by Richard B Pelzer
A Brother’s Journey: Surviving a Childhood of Abuse by Richard B Pelzer was a very difficult memoir for me to read. The abuse described in this book made me sick to my stomach. I’d read his brother’s memoir, A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer, back in high school and remember crying - sobbing really - because of what happened to him. Richard’s memoir affected me as deeply as Dave’s had.
If you haven’t read A Child Called It, I would say that’s almost a must before reading Brother. Richard pretty much just jumps into the story with very little explanation - it’s almost as if it’s a sequel to Child. Reading them one right after another might be a bit much to stomach, however, because they are both so darn depressing.
For the few people who haven’t heard of A Child Called It or A Brother’s Journey, basically what happened is Dave and Richard grew up in California in the ’70s, and were subjected to intense abuse by their mother. When Dave was a part of the family, he was called It or or sometimes That Boy when someone was feeling nice that day. Eventually, the state came and took Dave away. Once Dave left, Richard became the de facto whipping boy, literally.
The mother was unstable, completely unbalanced mentally, and a horrid drunk to boot. She was regularly wasted by 10 in the morning, and sometimes woke up still drunker than a skunk because of how much alcohol she’d consumed the day before. The father was terrified of his wife, and stayed married to her until the day he died, even though he moved out of the house when Richard was still just a young boy. The mother is a monster, and that’s the nicest thing I can think of to say about her.
One thing that bothered me about A Brother’s Journey is that the story ends when Richard is only 15 years old. I felt like the author had intentionally cut the story in half (after all, he’s still living with his mother and brothers at this point - there is no Great Escape like there was at the end of Child) in order to write another book and make twice the money on the same story. Sure enough, after finishing this book, I did a Google search and saw that there is a sequel, A Teenager’s Journey. I don’t know if I want to read that one or not.
Overall, this was a hard book to read - I felt physically sick to my stomach during parts of it. I wouldn’t recommend it to the faint of heart.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars
Hava
I read A Child Called It in high school. My step-sister actually had to leave my room because she couldn’t stand listening to the book with me. It was a very hard book to read, and I had no idea another child suffered after Dave left. I think that is just horrible! I may or may not read it, but I appreciate the review, especially the warning about the graphic descriptions. I didn’t grow up in a great environment, but I just cannot imagine how those poor kids were treated. It’s just so awful!
Sierra
http://anxiety.today.com
I don’t know if I’m strong enough to read this one. Ever since becoming a mom, I find it harder to read about violence. I hope you get something happy for your next read!
Sierra >> A Child Called It was definitely one of the most depressing books I have ever read. And A Brother’s Journey ranks right up there with it. It was so hard for me to read, because the brother spends a lot of time talking about how bad he feels for how he treated his brother, because before Dave Pelzer was taken away by child custody, the brother (Richard) contributed A LOT to his horrible living conditions. He used to flat out make up lies about what Dave had done, just to get him in trouble with the mom (as if she needed an excuse to beat him) and then stand there as the mom beat Dave up. Richard *liked* getting Dave in trouble.
It was seriously twisted, and the guilt that Richard feels over it is overwhelming. After Dave was taken away and Richard ends up being the “It” child (his mother even starts calling him It) he tells himself that it’s only fair because this is karma coming back to repay him for everything he had done to Dave. He also questions why the state would take Dave away but leave three other sons in the home with that mom. A very good question indeed. Someone has this on their conscience - I hope it’s killing them at night.
Andrea >> I know what you’re saying about “being strong” enough to read it - I felt the same way. I almost quit several times because it was such a hard book to read. I don’t like reading about violence (I am a peacemaker to the core - my mother used to call me her little peacemaker when I was kid, and I’m still the same way now) so for me, this book was torturous. (Sorry, bad choice of words…)
If you’re squeamish at all, I sincerely recommend skipping this one. It is a good reminder that we need to be careful not to turn a blind eye to a bad situation though.
Hava
http://nonfictionlover.today.com