The Pale-Faced Lie: A True Story

The Pale-Faced Lie is one of the most gripping and emotionally intense memoirs I have ever read. David Crow’s true story of growing up in a violently abusive and deeply dysfunctional family is heartbreaking, shocking, and impossible to look away from. His father’s psychological warfare and brutality make this a difficult read at times, but Crow’s honesty and vulnerability make it incredibly powerful.

What makes this memoir truly remarkable is Crow’s resilience and determination to build a life beyond the trauma. His journey from survival to success is inspiring and deeply moving. The book also offers important insight into complex family dynamics and Native American experiences.

This is a tough but unforgettable read that stays show more with you long after you finish. Absolutely powerful and worth reading. show less

No one ever knows what truly happens behind close doors except those behind the doors. And yes, horrific things do happen. The tragic events that happened to, and were perpetuated by, the author are sometimes hard to believe as stated, but "The Pale-Faced Lie" was definitely a page turner just the same. Hard to fault the childhood behavior when partnered with the parental mental and physical abuse endured. And yet, I couldn't help but wonder how some of the subjects of his childhood pranks and criminal acts would feel in reading this today ... especially the VW owner.

This had a surprising twist--largely this is a coming of age memoir. Focusing mainly on Crow's relationship with his father, although a fair amount about his mother too, and peoples' racism and perceptions.

4.8

David Crow waited quite a few years before telling his story. I think he waited until his parents were no longer around to read it. That was probably freeing.

Born to self-centered parents, both of whom blamed others for everything bad in their lives, David grew up on reservations, in poor parts of cities, and occasionally in a middle-class area, depending on how well his father was doing. His father's quick temper and need for revenge combined with his will to steal and kill to get what he wanted, and resulted in a father who was unwilling to help his children in any meaningful way.

He did teach David how to steal. How to lie. How to think others are against you. At the same time, he continually called David weak, pathetic, useless, no show more matter what David did or didn't do. Yet David was his father's choice when he wanted to steal or get out of trouble.

David was the older boy. He struggled in school, and when teachers tested him and found him dyslexic his parents did not wish to help him. His father just considered him weak and a liar. They did finally get him glasses when his vision became so bad he could not see the words on a page. Growing up in a family where he was constantly told he was Cherokee and all Cherokees are strong and sharp-eyed, David had to find his own shortcuts where he could.

Among the ways David learned to fit in was his ability to pull pranks. Mean ones. His younger brother joined him most of the time, and both grew up proud of how they put one over on so many people. It was one way to escape the bullies and become one of them. Needless to say it didn't earn him real friends.

His mother would not lift a hand to help him, but because she was beaten by his father he felt for her. She also behaved in a strange way, and maybe she really was some kind of crazy.

Over the years his parents grew farther apart until his father forced a separation, then a divorce, and took a new wife, who was in some ways worse.

This child's life was frought with one difficulty after another, as were his siblings' lives. Yet somehow they all survived to adulthood and managed to function as decent, capable humans.

I had to wonder why. What gave them that drive? Was the horror of their childhood so bad that they were determined to escape it? I suspect it was something like that.

Another thing, though, that interested me. In a junior high class, David wrote a short essay on a book that he had never read, instead making up something funny. He was given an F for it but I couldn't help but notice how well written it was! Did nobody notice that? How did he gain that skill? Were his parents poor yet well-spoken? Clearly it foreshadowed his future ability to tell this story well and compellingly.

It's an engaging story that offers a lot of material for thought, a worthwhile subject for discussion. show less

Wow, first off I applaud the author for sharing his story. It is not easy to put yourself out there for the whole world to see and judge. Yet, this is one of the most real memoir type books I have read in a long while. In the beginning of the book, I was just a casual acquaintance but by the end, I had become a fan of Mr. Crow.

Experiencing what Mr. Crow went through, it would be easy for many people to give into this same life style as an adult. If abuse is all you know, it kind of becomes a part of your DNA. So, here is how I became a fan of Mr. Crow. Let's be honest; his childhood was horrible. Yet, he and his siblings dug themselves out of the hole to become successful people with good families of their own.

There was a saying that show more I really liked. It was from a man who lived in Mr. Crow's home from childhood. After hearing Mr. Crow's story, the man said to Mr. Crow "You can't change your childhood, but you can let it go."

Warning as this book does feature abuse. Not just physical but psychological abuse as well. show less

This book was difficult to read in the sense of it being so painful to hear all the abuse, no, outright torture David Crow went through. I had to read it in limited amounts at each sitting to be able to get through it e weigh out my heart being torn out because it hurt to know he was treated so terribly by his parents, the ones who were supposed to protect him. Not to mention other kids, his teachers, and even strangers who joined in to make his life basically a living hell. I found myself rooting for his success throughout the book. Definitely a great read.