Dave Pelzer Books in Order
Dave Pelzer has written 11 books, published between 1995 and 2023. The first book is A Child Called: One Child's Courage to Survive (1995) and the newest is Return to the River (2023). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 11
- Published
- 1995–2023
- Pages on record
- 2,226 in 9 of 11 books
- Reading time
- 37–56 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,226 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 9 of 11 titles with a page count on record.
Dave Pelzer writes memoir and self-help out of a childhood of abuse and foster care. A Child Called: One Child's Courage to Survive (1995) opens the catalogue, followed by The Lost Boy (1997) and A Man Named Dave (1999); Help Yourself (2000), The Privilege of Youth (2004) and Moving Forward (2008) turn to advice. Eleven titles are catalogued, the last being Return to the River, and the catalogue is dormant.
How many Dave Pelzer books are there?
Dave Pelzer has 11 books, released between 1995 and 2023. 7 of them belong to the Publication Order of's Memoirs Books series.
Dave Pelzer Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 11 Dave Pelzer books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1A Child Called: One Child's Courage to SurvivePublication Order of's Memoirs Books #11995 · 200 pages · confirmed 1/419952001/4
- 2The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a FamilyPublication Order of's Memoirs Books #21997 · 340 pages · confirmed 1/419973401/4
- 3A Man Named Dave: A Story of Triumph and ForgivenessPublication Order of's Memoirs Books #31999 · 339 pages · confirmed 1/419993391/4
- 420002181/4
- 520001281/4
- 620023361/4
- 7The Privilege of Youth: A Teenager's StoryPublication Order of's Memoirs Books #52004 · 229 pages · confirmed 1/420042291/4
- 8Help Yourself for Teens: Real-Life Advice for Real-Life ChallengesSelf-Help #32005 · 180 pages · confirmed 1/420051801/4
- 92008–1/4
- 10Too Close to Me: The Middle-Aged Consequences of Revealing a Child Called ItPublication Order of's Memoirs Books #62014 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/420142561/4
- 112023–1/4
Dave Pelzer books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Publication Order of's Memoirs Books in order
7 books- 1. A Child Called: One Child's Courage to Survive
- 2. The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family
- 3. A Man Named Dave: A Story of Triumph and Forgiveness
- 4. My Story
- 5. The Privilege of Youth: A Teenager's Story
- 6. Too Close to Me: The Middle-Aged Consequences of Revealing a Child Called It
- 7. Return to the River
Self-Help in order
4 booksDo you have to read Dave Pelzer books in order?
You only need to read Dave Pelzer books in order within the Publication Order of's Memoirs Books series, which holds 7 of the 11 Dave Pelzer books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Dave Pelzer
Start with A Child Called: One Child's Courage to Survive (1995), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Dave Pelzer book?
Return to the River (2023) is the newest Dave Pelzer book released so far.
Is there a new Dave Pelzer book coming?
No next Dave Pelzer book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Dave Pelzer at a glance
- Paused
- No new Dave Pelzer title has appeared for 3 years. The last was published in 2023.
- Release pace
- Dave Pelzer books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
- Length
- 2,226 pages across the 9 of 11 books with a recorded length, a median of 229 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Dave Pelzer books, 6 of 11, were published in the 2000s.
What the Dave Pelzer books are about
10 of the 11 Dave Pelzer books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: abused children is tagged on 4 of 10. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Abused children 4 of 10 books
- Adult child abuse victims 4 of 10 books
- Biography 4 of 10 books
- Abusive mothers 3 of 10 books
- Change (Psychology) 3 of 10 books
- Family violence 3 of 10 books
- Foster home care 3 of 10 books
- Case studies 2 of 10 books
- Childhood and youth 2 of 10 books
- Children of alcoholics 2 of 10 books
- Family life 2 of 10 books
- Foster children 2 of 10 books