Dave Pelzer

When you please others in hopes of being accepted, you lose you self-worth in the process.

I became a war hero before going on to critical acclaim as a professional victim.

Everyone picked on me in school because I was in foster care.

I really believe I'm no different from anyone else. I just had a few challenges I had to learn from at a very early age.

Everybody has a tragedy or two in their lives.

I'm always looking for a story of survival.

'A Child Called It' was a story about resilience, it was never about boo hoo hoo, it was about a kid that didn't quit.

I learned from Arnold Schwarzenegger, too, that it's O.K. to be pluggish.

I buy thousands of books a year.

My fans are buying the DNA of Dave.

Something good comes out of every crisis.

I plan my life in 15-minute sections.

I am a very shy, introverted guy.

Even when I lecture per se, I am a joke comedian, I can do the voices.

I am not the most eloquent guy in the world.

I had an attachment disorder.

I know I can be very standoffish.

I couldn't lie to get myself fame and fortune.

The thing is, at the end of the day you still have to face yourself.

What distresses me at times is that I meet a lot of people in their 40's, 50's, 60's, who still say they're a victim of child abuse.

Everybody makes mistakes.

My message has always been about resilience.

I still love my former wife, I won't call her my ex-wife.

There's a lot of Dave mania when I speak.

Ask yourself: was there anything I could have done to prevent the situation? If the answer is yes, do something now and become a better person for it.