Help Yourself: Real-life Advice for Real-life Challenges Facing Teenagers - Softcover

Pelzer, Dave

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141021357 ISBN 13: 9780141021355

Publisher: Penguin, 2007

Synopsis

Rare Book

About this title

Review:

Having shared his story of redemption through his previous bestselling autobiograhy, Dave Pelzer now draws lessons from that experience with Help Yourself--a highly personal self-help book. Dave survived one of the worst child abuse cases ever recorded in the state of California. His mother, a mentally disturbed alcoholic, tortured and abused him throughout his childhood--smashing his face into a mirror, forcing him to swallow ammonia and making him sit on a burning stove, among other heinous cruelties. In his bestselling memoirs, A Child Called It, The Lost Boy and A Man Called Dave, Pelzer recounts his horrific childhood, demonstrating how inner resilience helped him survive and even become a highly caring and accomplished adult. (He was eventually selected as one of 10 Outstanding Young Americans.)

Although Pelzer has a graduate degree in the school of hard knocks, he never got a chip on his shoulder. In this self-help book, Pelzer sticks with his warm and plainspoken narrative style (think Chicken Soup for the Soul) to offer advice on how to help yourself overcome adversity and let go of the past. Wisely, Pelzer often deflects attention away from his overpowering story, offering anecdotes that pertain to more common, everyday scenarios: you feel taken advantage of at work but are afraid to quit; you have unresolved issues with your spouse. His guidance is familiar, such as never go to bed upset and tackle problems as they arise--don't let them fester. It may sound simplistic, but sometimes that's just what we need--a trustworthy ally who can dole out "been there" advice in a straightforward style. --Gail Hudson

From the Back Cover:

"What has made Dave Pelzer's story a best seller is that it is a story of redemption. It is a story where love, kindness, patience and endurance triumph."
DAILY MAIL

Dave Pelzer willed himself to overcome the worst life had to offer (his case of child abuse was one of the worst recorded cases in US history) and became the best he could. 'Help Yourself' weaves in stories from Pelzer's own experiences with the principles he has discovered on how to survive difficulty and embrace challenges as an opportunity for growth. This inspiring conclusion to Dave Pelzer's multi-million bestselling autobiography takes Dave's Story up to the present and shows us the way forward, for the first time offering readers the invaluable life lessons Dave learned along the way.

"Pelzer's unyielding determination 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 is a living testament of resilience, personal responsibility and the triumph of the human spirit."
JOHN BRADSHAW

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0141021357
• ISBN 13: 9780141021355
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208