The Pale-Faced Lie

Stephanie Jane reviewed The Pale-Faced Lie by David Crow

A harrowing memoir

4 stars

The Pale-Faced Lie is a harrowing memoir of childhood abuse which includes several scenes of extreme violence. At times I was almost unable to keep on reading because what David and his brother endured was so upsetting. I would like to be able to believe that child protection services have improved considerably since David's experience in the 1960s, but sadly I know that there are still cases where children are forced to suffer in silence.

As an adult, David has penned an amazing and very readable memoir. I appreciated the contrasts between his child's eye understanding of his family's circumstances and his view from so many decades later. That his child self readily took on so much of the blame for his dysfunctional parents is heartbreaking. I felt strongly for his elder sister who lost most of her childhood to perform the role of surrogate mother to her three siblings. …

The Pale-Faced Lie is a harrowing memoir of childhood abuse which includes several scenes of extreme violence. At times I was almost unable to keep on reading because what David and his brother endured was so upsetting. I would like to be able to believe that child protection services have improved considerably since David's experience in the 1960s, but sadly I know that there are still cases where children are forced to suffer in silence.

As an adult, David has penned an amazing and very readable memoir. I appreciated the contrasts between his child's eye understanding of his family's circumstances and his view from so many decades later. That his child self readily took on so much of the blame for his dysfunctional parents is heartbreaking. I felt strongly for his elder sister who lost most of her childhood to perform the role of surrogate mother to her three siblings. David's descriptions of living conditions on the Navajo reservations are just as sobering as those of his home life. How on earth can it be considered acceptable to reduce whole communities to such a degrading existence?

At times The Pale-Faced Lie reads like a thriller, rather than a memoir. David has a great sense of a good story and knows just how to pace a narrative. I would have liked to learn information like what brought about his father's Cherokee claims, but overall this shockingly vivid memoir is a memorable read.

Marsha Woerner reviewed The Pale-Faced Lie by David Crow

Review of 'The Pale-Faced Lie' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Somehow, I remember it being advertised as a "true crime". I don't think it quite fits that category, although it does involve crime, that's not the overall emphasis of the book. I think that the overall emphasis is overcoming unlivable and unbelievable circumstances and building a positive reality anyway.
Everything that the narrator does that's horrible and unforgivable is done as a child, and is thus, actually FORGIVABLE. What actually miserable life that all those children had growing up, and what a DESPICABLE father! And David is understandable with understandable mixed feelings and guilts. The whole thing just makes me so sad :-(.

Heather reviewed The Pale-Faced Lie by David Crow

Review of 'The Pale-Faced Lie' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

David Crow survived a chaotic childhood led by parents who definitely did not have their children's best interests at heart. His father was an ex-con who worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. On the side he stole items from the Bureau to sell. He was also involved in many other illegal activities including murder. His mother was mentally ill and tormented by his father. His father went to extremes of gaslighting her and getting the children to terrorize her. They went along with it because they were so scared of him. Besides the cruelty at home, David was brutalized at school and in his neighborhood on the Navajo reservation. The book recounts the horrific poverty and the effects of alcoholism on the community. It isn't a sympathetic recounting. He was a child who considered the Navajo men as people to be humiliated and scorned and hurt if possible. He …

David Crow survived a chaotic childhood led by parents who definitely did not have their children's best interests at heart. His father was an ex-con who worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. On the side he stole items from the Bureau to sell. He was also involved in many other illegal activities including murder. His mother was mentally ill and tormented by his father. His father went to extremes of gaslighting her and getting the children to terrorize her. They went along with it because they were so scared of him. Besides the cruelty at home, David was brutalized at school and in his neighborhood on the Navajo reservation. The book recounts the horrific poverty and the effects of alcoholism on the community. It isn't a sympathetic recounting. He was a child who considered the Navajo men as people to be humiliated and scorned and hurt if possible. He was lashing out at people who were in a worse position than he was. His father was very threatened by the success of his children. Some people might read that as strange but I know people like that. They are very resentful of their children being more successful than them. These families have generations of abuse in common. The parents go on and on about how they could have been as successful as their children if they had the idyllic childhood they gave their kids instead of the poor and abusive childhood they had - even when they were also highly abusive to their children. I don't understand why the children of these families stay in contact as adults. That played out here. He tried to make normal relations with both his mother and father. The showdown that was discussed in the blurb was a bit of a let down. I was anticipating a thriller-ready battle of wits that ended with one person left standing. It really wasn't that at all. I was intrigued by the beginning of the book but felt like the description of his childhood went on too long. He didn't give his transformation to a successful adult enough coverage. How did he go from a dyslexic kid with poor eyesight who didn't really pass his classes to being successful in college? Was the dyslexia ever treated? How did he manage to have the basic knowledge needed for his classes? It isn't ever fully discussed. He just did fine in college. This is an uncomfortable book because everyone does horrible things in it. If it was fiction, it would be considered too unbelievable. I wish it would have focused more on how he worked to break the cycle of abuse and self-centeredness endemic in his family and how that led him to do the charitable works listed in his author bio. This isn't discussed in the book at all.

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Meet the Author:

David Crow spent his early years on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona and New Mexico. Through grit, resilience, and a thirst for learning, he managed to escape his abusive childhood, graduate from college, and build a successful lobbyist business in Washington. Today, David is a sought-after speaker, giving talks to various businesses and trade organizations around the world.

Throughout the years, he has mentored over 200 college interns, performed pro bono service for the charitable organization Save the Children, and participated in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. An advocate for women, he will donate 10 percent of his book royalties to Barrett House, a homeless shelter for women in Albuquerque. David and his wife, Patty, live in the suburbs of DC.

Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ LinkedIn

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This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story