The author travels around the U.S. giving workshops.

How to deal with fears and overcome them and grow.

As a child Dave Pelzer was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother, a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games that left one of her sons nearly dead.  She no longer considered him a son, but a slave; no longer a boy, but an 'it'.  His bed was an old army cot in the basement, his clothes were torn and smelly, and when he was allowed the luxury of food it was scraps from the dogs' bowl.  The outside world knew nothing of the nightmare played out behind closed doors.  Dave dreamed of finding a family to love him and call him their son.  It took years of struggle, deprivation and despair to find his dreams and make something of himself.  A Child Called 'It' covers the early years of his life and is an affecting and inspiration memoir of one child's determination to survive.

 

This shouldn't be read by anyone who is extra sensitive!  It is a very powerful book that does not hide the awful truth of what happened to this young boy.

The author of this personal account is both a doctor in the field of manic-depression and a sufferer of the disorder.  Even while she was pursuing her career in academic medicine, she was affected by the same exhilarating highs and catastrophic depressions that afflicted many of her patients.  'An Unquiet Mind' is a memoir of enormous candour, courage, wit and wisdom, which examines manic-depression from the dual perspectives of the healer and the healed, revealing both its terrors and its cruel allure.

 

This book also raises many interesting psychological debates, such as the implications surrounding the change in the diagnosis of manic-depression to bipolar disorder, whether mental health sufferers should have children, and much more.

Harrison has written an account of her life as a foster parent caring for over 100 children involved in various situations - whether they have been abused, are troubled, neglected or mentally ill.  She shares with her readers the trials and tribulations related to becoming a foster parent, caring for foster kids and of course navigating the foster care system and politics.  This memoir is at times funny, sad, brutal, heart-wrenching, distressing but for all that it is rewarding.

 

The book is at times brutely honest about people in the system and the system itself- including the children, their parents, adoptive parents (her family inc), social workers, doctors, lawyers etc.  However, it is Harrisons honesty that makes the book so interesting and worthwhile.  She doesn't gloss up her faults or those of the system, rather she challenges them and teaches us that we can learn from mistakes as well as thrive in situations that we wouldn't otherwise expect to. 

 

She illustraits quite eloquently the needs of every child - biological, fostered, and adoptive - as well as the needs of those involved in that childs life.  The children aren't just numbers, labels or products of varying circumstances.  But rather individuals with unique aspects that must be nutured, healed, cared for, ultimately preparing them for the years ahead in their lives.  She shares with us the lives of several individuals including Danny, a developmentally delayed eigth-year old with destructive tendencies; Karen a seven-month-old whose mother was an alcoholic, and a child who she passionately fought to adopt, and Sara, a six-year-old who has been sexually abused, has several psychiatric disorders and ultimately is unable to control her behaviour.

 

This was an interesting book that I think should be read by all involved directly and indirectly with childrens lives - from parents, to foster parents, to community workers, people involved and social services and ultimately those designing and implementing policies.  Definitely a worthwhile human interest story.

This e-book provides the reader with very powerful, tried and trusted information on thinking, problem solving and decision making when one is engulfed by the problems of life. It discusses some theory and uses a specific example from real life to show the reader what it is all about. The basic truth is that you you have to look beyond yourself to other people to solve your own problems.

There are now various books and e-books available on this topic at www.ontowebmedia.com.