Return to the River

Reflections of Life Choices During a Worldwide Pandemic

By: Dave Pelzer

Narrated by: Tim Fannon

Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

From #1 international bestselling author, speaker, and humanitarian Dave Pelzer comes the next chapter in his life—how, after spending decades saving others in the military, as a fire captain, and an internationally acclaimed advocate, he needs to confront a way to save himself.

On the surface, Dave Pelzer’s life seems like an action movie—he’s walked the red carpet with celebrities and stood shoulder to shoulder with soldiers in Iraq; he’s flown top-secret missions for the U.S. Air Force, obtaining the rank of chief, and battled wildfires in California as a volunteer fire captain. And now—on the eve of the 50-year anniversary of this rescue from horrific childhood of abuse and into the safety of the foster care system—he reflects on the battles he’s fighting in his own heart. From a lifetime spent serving and saving others, can he learn how to serve and save himself?

Banished to his basement at age five, Dave Pelzer had cried a river of tears before most children learned to tie their shoes. His now classic books, A Child Called “It” and The Lost Boy, chronicled how he was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who nearly killed him multiple times. But despite the odds stacked against him, he rose to become a #1 New York Times bestselling author, inspirational speaker, and internationally recognized humanitarian.

After fighting for years to vanquish his pain and to channel it into service for others, Pelzer sifts through the psychological rubble of a life that has seemingly crumbled around him. What he shares is deeply transformative and unflinchingly honest. In his struggle to simply survive, he never learned how to just be. Reeling from the loss of a love—and a broken spirit—Pelzer must reconcile his life choices and free himself of blame and shame to find peace and renewed purpose.

Amidst the towering redwood trees and the serenity of his childhood utopia of the Russian River, Pelzer reflects on having the courage to move forward in your life, the peace to accept yourself, the vulnerability to strip yourself of facades, and to find the tenacity to carry on when life doesn’t turn out the way you planned.

For anyone who has been hurt, victimized, or feels alone, there is hope and there is always a way to rewrite your own story. Pelzer’s soulful and inspiring story will remind you to keep your faith, live with gratitude, and find the well of resilience deep within you.

Don't miss Dave's special message at the end of the audiobook!

©2023 Dave Pelzer (P)2023 Recorded Books

A good summation of Dave's life experiences

I read “A Child Called It” many years ago, and it resonated with me so much that I purchased his other books, too. When I saw he had yet another coming out this year (2023), I happily preordered it. At 265 pages it’s on the short side, so didn’t take me long to complete. “Return to the River” is a brief recap of his childhood trauma, which he revisits by transitioning from scenes in his present life as a 60-year-old man. At the end are a few letters written about Dave from people he knows, and on the audiobook is a recording of Dave himself speaking about the book. I found it interesting that the cover is an artistic rendering of a scene that took place in his childhood. As to the book itself, I found myself getting pulled back into Dave’s world. I was glad to finally hear Dave vent towards his father as I often got the impression from his other books that he held his dad on a pedestal. This is the guy who abandoned him in a crazy situation and yet was still highly admired. That always bothered me because I went through a similar abandonment by my father to a household of mental illness. I do think it’s admirable that Dave still loves and cherishes his father’s memory, but at the same time, I’m glad he finally said his peace. In some ways, there’s a dark tone to this book. For instance, I was saddened to hear of what happened to his marriage, his living situation, his thoughts of suicide, and even how shallow some of the people he worked with were. But Dave still found a way to pull through and offer some words of encouragement. I would not call this a self-help book. Instead, it’s more of a reflection with some wisdom interjected here and there. If this is Dave’s final book, I’d say it does a good job of summation. Thankfully that's not the end, as I was happy to learn that he has a podcast, which I will be definitely looking into.