Dave Pelzer's father never intervened as his mother abused him with shocking brutality. She told her son she could kill him any time she wanted to -- and nearly did. But even years after he was rescued, Dave felt rootless and awkward, an outcast haunted by memories of his years of abuse. Dave's dramatic reunion with his dying father and the shocking confrontation with his mother -- along with the discovery of her secret past -- led to his ultimate calling as a mentor to others struggling with personal hardships. Dave was finally able to break the chains of his past, learning to trust, to love, and to live.