Help Yourself: Finding Hope, Courage, and Happiness

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Summary: A Must Read
Review: A friend/co-worker actually gave me this book. She knew that I was stressed at work among other things going on in my life. What a wonderful gift to receive. I so enjoyed reading this book. No matter how stressed you are, how bad you think you have it or how anxious you are, there is a way to come out of it. In this book Dave points that out, he actually gives examples of his own life and what he did to overcome the obstacles in his life.
Just knowing what this guy went through in his childhood and has the courage to share this with others. I have a great respect for him.
If you think your life is bad, you have tons of problems you can't possibly overcome then read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Help Yourself
Review: Any book by this incredible man is worth the read, make sure your heart is ready to be forever changed. Being a severly abused child myself, David struck a cord, then played out a bunch of notes into a beautiful melody. His inspiration of hope and courage is for some eye opening, for me... a lifeline. Thank You David for saying what we all need to hear! RECOMMEND! A++++

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Summary: Help Yourself : Celebrating the Rewards of Resilience
Review: Dave Pelzer is a inspiration to anyone who has Read his Books that he has wrote about his true life and what a Wonderful Man he turned out to be, after all the horrible abuse he went through. I to was abused Phyically and Mentally for many years. But nothing like Dave Pelzer was. It teaches us all a New meaning of how to forgive and go on and make our lifes better. I could read this book many times and still learn something new each day from Dave Pelzer. I am stronger because of his books that he has wrote and shared what he went through in his life. Dave Pelzer you are a Phenominal Man who could move mountains. Thank you for Sharing your life with me , it has made my life a better one. All because you Shared all the horrible things you went through. I think each and every person should read these Books they will help you to see that abuse cannot break you (not always), but make you turn your life around and make things better each day with the Wonderful help of reading a Book that gives you Motivation, Strength, and most important forgiveness in your Heart and knowing we cannot ever Forget abuse, but Forgiveness is the Key to getting through life and all it stuggles. Each day we can learn something New and Dave Pelzer I have you to Thank for the Strength I have now to not be afraid to say who abused me, but that I have Forgiven them.

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Summary: This is such a well written book...
Review: Help Yourself gave me the chance to do what I am doing right now; fixing computers. In this book, Dave talks about the pains of his childhood, but that didn't stop him from being alive. Just because you are in a negative environment does not mean that you will succeed. In this book, he helps you that only you can make a chance, and nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it. He also credits people like Colin Powell from coming up from poverty to become the Secretary Of State (but he did not put the Secretary Of State, just the Joint Chief's of Staff because this book is kind of old). He also gives you the courage to live out your dreams, and to make yourself a better person. He writes in the book that if you can get rid of the negative crap out of your life, and try to look at the positive things, then you will be a much more happier person. The pain that he describes is real and very painful. No matter how hard he tried in school, his drunken mother always told him that he was stupid and she hated him and wished that he was dead. He survived and proved his mother wrong. The thing is that he does not hate his mother, or his father from turning a blind eye to the abuse. Dave wrote that no one should hate anybody no matter what they put you through. This is a very good book, and a real life saver.

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Summary: DAVID PELZER - A TRUE HERO AND INSPIRATION
Review: I have read all of David's books and there is no other way to describe David other than to say he is a true hero and inspiration to victims of child abuse. If you do not appreciate his books, his physical and emotional strength, chances are you have never walked in the shoes of one who has experienced the true terror of child abuse.

There is much wisdom spoken in this book, but the two most outstanding sections deal with cleansing the soul and getting rid of the baggage of the past. As a counsellor, I have spoken with many adult survivors of childhood abuse. If you can learn to let go of the past, learn to forgive what you could not control, and you can find peace of mind and contentment within yourself, you are already on the healing path. If every adult victim of child abuse, had a David Pelzer by his/her side, the journey to happiness and self-esteem would be less painful, and the road a lot smoother.

David Pelzer's books are not easy to read. For anyone who has not experienced child abuse, it could be difficult to comprehend how he survived. For those who have experienced the pain of abuse - physical, sexual and/or emotional, reading his books can evoke memories of the past; however, in therapy, it is the acceptance of those memories than can also set you free. Everytime I read one of David's books, I am reminded of the song, "Wind Beneath My Wings. David truly is a hero; his personal inner strength, his books and his work in the field of child abuse are an inspiration to child abuse survivors around the world.

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Summary: Lessons of what Not to do...
Review: I've read many self help books but never one like this in which the keynote speaker who travels around most of the time relates his messages of survival through abuse of any kind. It's too bad he blames his mother for all his torment and feelings of hate. In writing the other books of childhood abuse, he seems to have regressed, but is it real? Did his mother really do all the things he feels she did? I knew a little girl who was being abused by a grandmother. I wonder if she feels the way he does.

If he'd practice what he promotes as truth, he might be a viable source of information but to blame his mother for his own bad feelings and failures is a little hard to take.

He uses such tantalizing titles as "the baggage of guilt" (don't we all have guilt to some extent about things we wish we hadn't done?), "letting go" (something very hard for a mother to do with her youngest child -- then, she really is alone.), unresolved issues which will follow a person with a conscience throughtout his life, "turning adversity to your advantage" (we all have to do that, or be victims of fate forever -- we can create out own fates)and "peaks and valleys" (a fact of life, not mental illness -- at least, he didn't go so far as to claim his mother was crazy, only hateful (full of hate).

He even tells the reader how to talk to himself. I see people on the streets of Knoxville talking aloud to themselves on a daily basis. I always look to see if they have a hidden phone.

I was disappointed in this book as I found no lessons to be learned, only what should be "un-learned." He is better at writing about other lost boys, those abused children who weren't allowed to grow up. He did a service to the public by informing us of the possibility of children being treated this way. Right now, there is a child in KY whose eyes were swollen shut due to abuse by her father. It's not always the women who are so frustated that they have to take out their pain on children.

Rating:
Summary: Help yourself
Review: Most of us have perfect lovely childhood memories.Dave Pelzer is one man who unfortunetaly doesn't!
He was raised by a Mother who hated him,beaten him,stabbed him,starved him - a mother which introduced all the unimaginable horrors to her child,to her own blood and who can be more innocent than a baby or a kiddo - not even the biggest prominent humanitarians.
Dave in his books didn't weep or sob saying "I've had to use drugs, or become an alchoholic to get over my unpleasant childhood memories"...nor did he kill or been bad to someone.In contrary, Dave loved people and his country,joined the Army when he was 18, and today he counts numerous awards for his accomplishments. He is a great father/husband to his family and he still helps people to get back on their feet again - as who better than someone like Dave can understand their pain.

Anyways,'Help Yourself' seemed to be like a nice self-help book.
It has new theories we have never heard of before and that can be useful and very helpful if applied in our daily lives.
Every line makes sense and it doesn't take long to read. It is important for you to know that this is not another book about his mother.This book is about YOU and how you can make a better life. The bottom line : With his writings he creates a garbage bin and he shows us how to identify the garbage inside ourselves and he even goes the extra mile to show us the way to make them end up in that garbage bin.

One more thing I'd like to add is :
I hope he wont allow to put out Journals for this self-help book as people like me may missunderstand them as if Dave was focusing more on making money then helping people. Some self-help authors have already revealed their true intentions and the last thing I would do is to reveal their names too.

Rating:
Summary: Good advice from a good guy
Review: Those who have read Dave Pelzer's previous books will be glad to see him take his wisdom to a new level. This book isn't really about the horrors he suffered in one of the worst child abuse cases in the state of California. Rather, it is about the elements of mental survival in difficult situations. He helps readers achieve clarity, direction, and satisfaction with their lives by unveiling the inner mechanisms that can be blocking them. It might sound like this info should come from a psychologist, but Pelzer's advice works admirably. It's like a one-on-one talk with your wisest and most experienced friend. I think a lot of people, especially those who have suffered traumatic or very difficult situations, or those who have met roadblock after roadblock in life, will find this book of tremendous value.

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Summary: a reviewers suggestion
Review: When I met Dave Pelzer a few years ago, you could see the chips still in his teeth from his head being slammed against the counter. He showed off pictures of his wife Martha and his son Stephen. Also in his wallet, his father's badge, which choked him up as he talked about it. He was also doing a book-signing for "Help Yourself".

Considering Dave Pelzer was the author, I thought that this book would be along the lines of his previous 3, maybe a new installment in his life, but it is a self-help book, which was a bit disappointing. This book has some very good advice.

If you expect the typical Dave Pelzer story writing, you will be disappointed with this book. If you are looking for a self-help book on your mental attitude and resilience of the human spirit, you should read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Help Yourself, read Dave Pelzer's other books instead
Review: With best intentions, Mr. Pelzer has written a self-help book. However, most of the advice doled out is really anything your mom or dad or teachers could have and probably did tell you over the years. Believe in yourself and Motivation comes from within are old addages that are key to this novel's advice. Drawing from his own childhood experiences of abuse, the author shows how you can overcome any obstacle to become a happy human being. The book is good, but its lessons aren't anything I haven't read or heard before. What is inspiring are the author's other 3 books. A Child Called It, The Lost Boy and a Man Named Dave. This trilogy of novels is gut-wrenching and inspiring at the same time. I admire Mr. Pelzer's will to achieve and to help others & those books and his personal appearances are where his strengths lie. Not in the self-help, Help Yourself.