By DARLENE PRINCE
prince@crescent-news.com
An author of an international best seller, Richard Pelzer, will be in Paulding on Thursday to speak to a public gathering about child neglect and abuse.
Pelzer will speak from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Paulding High School gym. The event is free and open to the public. He will have a book signing at 6 p.m. at the gym, before his speech.
Pelzer will also be present at the Family Resource Center in Defiance earlier in the day to read a book to the children at the center. The book reading is not open to the public.
Pelzer is the author of the acclaimed best seller, A Brother's Journey, first published in 2005, which details his childhood of horrendous abuse by his mother at their home in California. He and his brothers were routinely tortured by their mother. They were starved, beaten, chained and left half naked. And that was not the worst of their treatment.
To his credit and with the support of his wife, Pelzer was able to overcome his childhood of abuse, write his book exposing his background and go on with a normal life. He has also written a sequel to his book, A Teen-ager's Journey.
The program is being sponsored by NOCAC and Paulding County Family and Children First with funds given to each county by the state. These funds are to be used to promote the prevention of child abuse and neglect.