children of alcoholics

As a child, Dave Pelzer was brutally beaten and starved by his mother. The world knew nothing of his living nightmare and he had nothing and no one to turn to. But his dreams kept him alive -- dreams of someone taking care of him, loving him and calling him their son.

Dave Pelzer's story is the story of a child brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played torturous, unpredictable games -- games that left one of her three sons nearly dead. Dave had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave, and no longer a boy but an 'it'.

Richard B. Pelzer, author of the childhood memoir "A Brother's Journey," continues his personal story, chronicling his teenage years and young adulthood during which he suffered his mother's emotional abuse and struggled to come to terms with her physical abuse of him and of his brother David when they were small.

David Pelzer, victim of one of the worst child abuse cases in the history of California, tells the story of how he survived his mother's brutality and triumphed over his past.

Explores the causes and effects of codependency, the coping mechanisms that codependents adopt, and ways to break free from a codependent mentality.

Readers who have a parent or parents that are alcohol/drug abusers learn how to survive in a chemically dependent household, and find out where to get help for their parent(s) and themselves.

Suggestions for dealing with alcoholic parents so their drinking doesn't control their children's feelings and their lives.