This book is part of a trilogy, and is based on Dave’s life from ages 4 to 12. It’s a very easy read, largely because of the *ahem* large font size and generous line spacing. I have a nagging feeling that instead of a trilogy (which is, of course, where *kaching* happens), everything could have been condensed into just one book. 
Nonetheless, it’s still a good read because what Dave shares is so horrific that you won’t imagine a mother ever doing to her own flesh-and-blood.
Dave’s mother has tried to burn him, drown him, poison him, create a ‘gas chamber’ in the bathroom for him, among other cruel acts of abuse. The main one would be starving him every single day, prompting the boy to steal food from his schoolmates’ lunches, fish leftovers out of bins, etc.
I’m not sure what mental ailment the mother must have been suffering from. Apart from alcoholism, surely some other mental affliction must have caused an originally loving mom to turn on one of her sons like that. Sure, Dave managed to escape thanks to his teachers and social workers. But his younger brother would end up taking his place as their mom’s punching bag. Apparently, the brother has also written his own memoir after watching Dave’s success at publishing. But I’m not sure I can deal with a double dose of what has certainly weighed heavily on my heart.
I think Dave’s father, being a fireman and all, should have done a lot more to prevent the horrible abuse happening in his own home and rescue his son who was being treated worse than a slave. Instead of pulling off a daring rescue, he goes on to impregnate his (already unstable) wife. 
As for Dave, I don’t really want to read the next 2 books in the trilogy because it seems to be motivated by money-making. While I have little doubt that he’d suffered abuse, I do wonder how much the actual abuse has been exaggerated in the telling of his story. After all, when you’re starving all the time, your memory will either fail or play tricks on you, no?
Still, this book has been a bestseller and over a million copies have been sold. Have a read, if you’d like. 