Home is a place of comfort and security, where your parents love you and where they support you. What happens when all this changes? When your home is now a place of pain and fear; Richard Pelzer knows exactly how it feels. His childhood is characterized by constant abuse and abandonment. In all cases of child abuse, the effects do not end as soon as the parent decides to stop. Surviving child abuse is a lifelong battle. The child faces pain every day of his life even when he becomes an adult. When a child is abused, their adult life is now open to addiction, mental disorders, and suicide years later. The long-term effects are much worse than immediate bruises and broken bones. Many people start taking drugs to forget and not feel the pain of their life. When the person starts taking the drug a window for addiction opens. Adults with abusive childhood pasts want to forget their repugnant past more than anyone else, and this leads to drug problems. In fact, adults who have a history of child abuse are twice as likely to become alcoholics (San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center). Living a life dedicated to drunkenness is simply not a life anyone would be proud to live. Not only is there a chance that the abused child will become an alcoholic, but his or her chance of becoming a smoker is also doubled (San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center). Smoking destroys your lungs and kills you very slowly. The abused child is now causing harmful effects to his lungs due to his past. To make matters worse, adults who were neglected as children are three times more likely to develop a drug addiction (San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center). No parent would rejoice in being the cause of......middle of paper......busato (Iannelli). About 75% of children suffered from abandonment (Iannelli). Of these victims, 27% were less than 3 years old (Iannelli). Being abused as children makes them more prone to drug use, brain disabilities and suicide. That is if they are lucky enough to survive the abuse like Richard was. Since on average almost five children die every day due to abuse or neglect (Iannelli). Child abuse makes adulthood a battlefield. Works Cited “Abused Children Are at Higher Risk of Suicide.” ABC News. Np, nd Web. 24 February 2014. Iannelli, Vincent, MD Facts about child abuse. Np Jan. 29, 2014. Web. Feb. 20, 2014. “Abuse and Child Abuse Prevention Information.” San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center. Np, nd Web. 25 February 2014.Pelser B. Richard. A Brother's Journey: Surviving an Abusive Childhood. New York: Warner, 2005.Print.