Top 50 Dave Pelzer Quotes (2024 Update)

1. “To help yourself, you must be yourself. Be the best that you can be. When you make a mistake, learn from it, pick yourself up and move on.”

— Dave Pelzer

Featured in: Moving On Quotes, Mistake Quotes, Being Yourself Quotes, Moving Forward Quotes

2. “Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.”

— Dave Pelzer

3. “You can be a victim of cancer, or a survivor of cancer. It’s a mindset.”

— Dave Pelzer

4. “In life you are going to make mistakes, you’re going to fall down, but it’s the getting up that counts. Just like in baseball: you’ll get a few hits, but most likely, you’ll strike out more than you’ll get on base. But don’t quit. Find your focus, relax, take a deep breath and give it a good swing.”

— Dave Pelzer

5. “One could come from less than humble beginnings, to become a winner from within.”

— Dave Pelzer

6. “I still love my former wife, I won’t call her my ex-wife.”

— Dave Pelzer

7. “Something good comes out of every crisis.”

— Dave Pelzer

8. “If it all ends now, I have lived, I have learned, and I have been loved. The greatest lesson is the gift of life, and no matter what, tomorrow is always another day.”

— Dave Pelzer

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

— Dave Pelzer

10. “Mother can beat me all she wants, but I haven’t let her take away my will to somehow survive.”

— Dave Pelzer

11. “Build on past successes, be grateful for what you do have, and know that this, too, shall pass. It’s only for the now. Whatever we’re facing, it’s not forever.”

— Dave Pelzer

12. “It is important for people to know that no matter what lies in their past, they can overcome the dark side and press on the a brighter world.”

— Dave Pelzer

13. “You have to understand that in a person’s life there are a few precious moments in which decisions, choices that you make now, will affect you for the rest of your life.”

— Dave Pelzer

14. “Of all Mother’s punishments, I hated the gas chamber game the most. Towards.”

— Dave Pelzer

15. “The most beautiful highway in the world.”

— Dave Pelzer

16. “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.”

— Dave Pelzer

17. “If it doesn’t do you any good, dump it. Take some action, push that lever, flush it away, and don’t look back. Take small steps everyday of your life, and start taking control of what you say when you talk to yourself.”

— Dave Pelzer

18. “Whatever you do, do something positive.”

— Dave Pelzer

19. “Even in its darkest passages, the heart is unconquerable. It is important that the body survives, but it is more meaningful that the human spirit prevails.”

— Dave Pelzer

20. “I just don’t want to forget this first day of the rest of my life!”

— Dave Pelzer

21. “I made sure I let go of my past, accepting the fact that that part of my life was only a small fraction of my life. I knew the black hole was out there, waiting to suck me in and forever control my destiny – but only if I let it. I took positive control over my life.”

— Dave Pelzer

22. “Gripping my arm, Mother held it in the orange-blue flame. My skin seemed to explode from the heat.”

— Dave Pelzer

23. “Hate is a cancer that spreads one cell at a time.”

— Dave Pelzer

24. “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.”

— Dave Pelzer

25. “Inside, my soul became so cold I hated everything. I even despised the sun, for I knew I would never be able to play in its warm presence. I cringed with hate whenever I heard other children laughing, as they played outside.”

— Dave Pelzer

26. “I believed that I was alone in my struggle and that my battle was one of survival. By.”

— Dave Pelzer

27. “Whatever you do for the sole purpose of having others admire you, your efforts will most likely be in vain.”

— Dave Pelzer

28. “I am a very shy, introverted guy.”

— Dave Pelzer

29. “The first two ultimate rules of being a foster child that I had learned while at Aunt Mary’s were never to become too attached to anyone and never to take someone’s home for granted.”

— Dave Pelzer

30. “One Child’s courage to survive.”

— Dave Pelzer

31. “I made a promise to myself that if I came out of my situation alive, I had to make something of myself.”

— Dave Pelzer

32. “I am proud of who you were, David-that hurt person who refused to “die.” And I’m more caring, giving, fixing person, the guy with the same sense of humor and that deft, sensitive touch. Good on you, David I love you.”

— Dave Pelzer

33. “I knelt down, trying to put the many pieces of the letter back together again. It was impossible. I dumped the pieces of the letter in the trash, wishing my life would end. I truly believed, at that moment, that death would be better than my prospects for any kind of happiness. I was nothing but an “It.”

— Dave Pelzer

34. “I had an attachment disorder.”

— Dave Pelzer

35. “The only way to keep your head above water is to convince yourself you are going to make it.”

— Dave Pelzer

36. “If people have a basic understanding of right from wrong, possess a strong desire to better themselves and persist in there cause, they can break the chain of any negative environment.”

— Dave Pelzer

37. “Draw Support From Those You Know And Trust. Don’t Leave Your Happiness To Fate.”

— Dave Pelzer

38. “I couldn’t lie to get myself fame and fortune.”

— Dave Pelzer

39. “I buy thousands of books a year.”

— Dave Pelzer

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

— Dave Pelzer

41. “The Stovepipe is a memoir full of laughter and tears and a moving story of sisterly love as well as their will to survive.”

— Dave Pelzer

42. “Everybody has a tragedy or two in their lives.”

— Dave Pelzer

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

— Dave Pelzer

44. “I was on my own, and every night I prayed to God that I could be strong both in body and soul.”

— Dave Pelzer

45. “My fans are buying the DNA of Dave.”

— Dave Pelzer

46. “I plan my life in 15-minute sections.”

— Dave Pelzer

47. “There’s a lot of Dave mania when I speak.”

— Dave Pelzer

48. “Children who had difficulty in learning basic skills were to be given special instruction to remedy those weak or unlearned skills.”

— Dave Pelzer

49. “I made sure I let go of my past, accepting the fact that that part of my life was only a small fraction of my life.”

— Dave Pelzer

50. “That day at school I prayed for the world to end.”

— Dave Pelzer