First published 1995
Dave Pelzer is trapped in a basement, forced to scavenge for scraps while his unstable, alcoholic mother torments him. Starved, beaten, and stripped of his identity, Dave must endure her twisted games to stay alive. With no one to turn to, his only hope is to keep dreaming of a better life - one where someone will finally see him as a son, not a slave.
Genres: abuse, autobiography, biography-memoir, family-drama
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: California, Daly City, United States
184 pages · Paperback · Health Communications Inc
Content warnings: child-abuse, emotional-abuse, physical-abuse