Nazifa Azizi

“A Man Named Dave”
David Pelzer
“A Man Named Dave,” a true story, is a phenomenal book concluding a lifelong journey of a courageous man. One could wonder how a person can manage normally after having such a horrific start at life, as written in David Pelzer’s first book, “A Child Called It.” After having years of abuse and living a nightmare, Dave still goes through many obstacles. Joining the air force, which was evidently his life long dream in “The Lost Boy,” was not the solution to his life’s problems.
It is said that good people are always taken advantage of, and this is true when Pelzer met the mother of his child, Patsy. What seemed like a woman who had similar struggles like his and a bright future marriage with him turned out to be a disaster with constant fights about money and trust.
David’s son, Stephen, is the only light in his life. Looking at Stephen, David wonders how anyone could mistreat their child in any way. He makes sure his son will not go through the horrors that he had to go through, and makes sure that others who were like him get the comfort that he lacked as a child. David does this by becoming a motivational speaker and working a straining schedule with work, speeches, being a father, a under satisfying husband, and visiting his mother to get the answer he always craved his whole life.
In this book, Pelzer is having an internal conflict as well as multiple external conflicts. He can’t find himself to trust anyone; but this all changes when he meets the one woman he truly loves and trusts, Marsha, who he has come to learn from and also teach many things to.
In “A Man Named Dave,” Pelzer demonstrates determination in way never shown before. Through what seems like a never-ending struggle, his dedication to himself made him succeed in multiple fields like joining the air force, winning multiple awards, and making differences in countless lives, including those just like his. Pelzer is living proof that success and happiness can be obtained even after living the worst conditions as a child, teenager, and adult. I recommend this remarkable book to everyone, but I also recommend reading “A Child Called It” and “The Lost Boy” first.