Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 1205

Tonight's special guest is David J Brown from Fort Collins, Colorado, an abuse survivor and first time author of a novel called "Daddy Had To Say Goodbye." The novel, written in the third person, is based on a true accounting of David's life story. "I was born in Duluth MN in 1948," David writes, "the 2nd born of 4 boys. My dad was a blue color union man. Mother was a stay at home drug addict. I had to repeat the 1st and 2nd grades. The Duluth school district classified me as retarded. My parents placed me in parochial school to avoid the stigma of having a retarded kid." The beatings stopped when David was was ten, when his father got sober. "I could never trust mom or dad even after he stopped drinking. I was always scared that they were going to kill me. I knew that if I told anyone about it I would get beaten even worse and for sure they would kill me. Teachers didn't dare to ask or want to know what happened to my face. "Daddy Had To Say Goodbye" is based on a true story of how a severely broken man hides his mental illness. But he develops PTSD from his work as a Paramedic and a Police Officer. Conjoined with his lifelong depression and Alcoholism, the main character, based on David, faces suicide. He knew what he had to do but feared he didn't have the courage to live sober and face the truths. Gutting himself of his false pride and ego was a tall order. Taking responsibility and not blaming others would be all but impossible. Thinking that the pain of living had to be worse than the pain of dying, was a constant. Surrender was his only hope. David reports he's, "been sober for 24 years thru the grace of God and the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous."