Orphan

"Orphan" starts out with the police breaking into a house, finding a three year old girl crying in the kitchen with human waste smeared all over herself,and four year old Roger holding a dead baby,trying to feed it corn flakes.You don't think it could get any worse than this for Roger Dean Kiser,but it does."Orphan" will break your heart at what this kid had to go through in life.Beatings,Sexual Abuse,and Abandonment.There are some good people that Roger write's about,and some very funny stories.The ending will have you crying,and its a happy one.I could not put this book down for two days.I would honestly have to say that "Orpan" is one of the best books I've ever read.

I watched this man as he wrote this entire book. He sat at his computer a minimum of twenty hours a day, for more than two years and one half years.I sat and watched as this man, who has probably never cried a tear in fifty years, cry like a baby after completing each and every one of the stories inside this book.He is a very kind man, but he is a man who has never allowed anyone to truly enter inside his heart. I do not think that he knows how to do something like that. I have read the book "Orphan" many, many times, long before it ever hit the book stores. Still, I do not have the heart to tell my husband how sad the book really is.

While reading this book I experienced a wide range of emotions drummed up by the detailed descriptions and "childs-eye" view of the world portrayed by Mr. Kiser. Scenes were playing in my mind with extreme clarity and I felt like I knew the characters by the end of the book. This is ranked a 5 rather than a 4 or 3 because of the author's ability to put me in his shoes so that I would laugh and cry along with him and his orphan friends as they rambled through childhood. Another reason this is a 5 is because Mr. Kiser is able to transcend circumstances so that I could relate to his stories eventhough I was a child with a mommy and daddy. I can only imagine the imact this book would have on fellow orphans, foster children, victims of abuse, and the adults who work with these children. I am certain it must be 1000 times the impact it had on me, another justification for 5 stars.Let me note, this is not the first book I have read about a child rising though extreme circumstances in the United States; it is simply the best I have read.

This compelling, haunting and sometimes shocking book, chronicles Roger's childhood in an orphanage. Many of the scenes are not pretty, but Roger's amazing resiliency and presence of mind as a young child points to an inner strength that enabled him to overcome these horrors. This book proves that despite the injustices Roger faced, good can overcome evil. It's a great real life tale that either will make you appreciate your parents and/or give you hope that tomorrow will be a better day. Thank you Roger -- we believe you will become one of the world's leading spokesmen for anti-child abuse/child protection causes. You really are a Heartwarmer Gem!

I am continually in awe of Roger Dean Kiser's incredible stories. Each one touches some part of my heart and soul. His stories capture me from the first sentence and leave me breathless as I deal with the incredible emotions that well up from inside me.But I am even more in awe of Roger as a person. There is no one in this world who has more "reason" to use his past as an excuse for present problems than Roger. However, instead of becoming full of hatred, bitterness, and spite, Roger has become someone full of love, hope, and encouragement. Yes, I am sure it was a long hard road, with many trials since his youth, but he has come through the refiner's fire as tempered steel and not ashes. Roger, may you continue to fight the good fight, and use your past as a way to make a difference in the lives of millions! If only all of us were so strong of character and convictions!