A Place Called Home: A Memoir

I don't write many book reviews, but this book was beyond amazing. My neighbor recommended it to me and I am so thankful because this book is in my top 5 of all books I've ever read and now I am recommending it to everyone. I have even bought a few copies to give to friends because I loved it so much. In this memoir, the author details his childhood in poverty, homelessness, and foster care. He has siblings and a mother that is suffering from mental illness. As a mother, my heart absolutely broke reading this story, but there were also moments of happiness where I cried tears of joy for the author. This book has opened my eyes to homeless and foster care issues - things that I knew, but didn't really know. The author wrote this memoir adding in ways to reform issues surrounding poverty and foster care and wants this book to be a starter to that change. It definitely starts the conversation with those that have read the book.

David Ambroz’s A Place Called Home is not just a memoir—it’s a masterclass in resilience, a searing indictment of systemic failure, and a love letter to the power of hope. From the very first page, Ambroz pulls you into a childhood marked by homelessness, abuse, and neglect, yet never lets go of the thread of humanity that runs through even the darkest moments. What makes this memoir extraordinary isn’t just the harrowing detail—though it’s unflinchingly honest—but the clarity and compassion with which Ambroz tells his story. And at times, you have to put the book down to feel and embrace the struggles he faced truly. His voice is raw, intelligent, and deeply empathetic. You feel the hunger, cold, and fear—but you also feel the fire of a young boy determined to survive, learn, love, and lead. I’ve witnessed David’s work in the community at Los Angeles Community College; his passion for purpose and change is remarkable. Sometimes you think you know someone until you read their true story and have a new level of love and respect for them. Well done, David! ❤️

I was fortunate enough to listen to David read the first chapter aloud at a non-profit fundraiser, and I was hooked immediately. David’s story is both heart-wrenching and inspiring, detailing his family's struggle with homelessness, abuse, and the foster care system. His vivid storytelling and raw honesty expose the harsh realities of poverty and the inadequacies of the social services system. One moment that stood out to me was when David described an incident when on the streets his family was harrassed and assaulted by two police officers. They taunted his mother about them all being rats, sucking off welfare. The neighbors from their balconies see, "They all see, but I don't expect them to help. What are they going to do, call the cops?", which truly encapsulated the depth of his family's plight. The book brings to life the struggle and despair but also the human spirit and strength around maintaining hope and paying it forward.Similar to *The Glass Castle* by Jeanette Walls and *Educated* by Tara Westover, Ambroz's memoir is a gripping personal account of deprivation and triumph. Walls and Westover's stories deeply moved me with their depictions of overcoming poverty, mental illness, and family abuse—experiences that resonate with my own. I was left with the same emotion after reading A Place Called Home. I'm forever changed by the memoir, and I know it has inspired me to do better. David's journey from homelessness to becoming a leading advocate for child welfare is extraordinary. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the true meaning of resilience and the power of hope.

I worked as a volunteer in a crisis pregnancy center in the 1980s in Albany NY and was pretty familiar with what was going on in social services in the area. I found this book very, very disturbing because I believed the hype that child welfare workers were caring about the needs of the child, that social workers, although harried, were aware of what was going on, that mentally ill people let out in the community with children were carefully monitored, and that foster parents were very carefully screened and then carefully monitored. Albany and suburban Boston were supposed to be model communities with regard to social services. If the treatment that David received, who was a pretty bright, generally well behaved kid who could look out for himself and eventually learned how to escape diffficult situations was possible there, then what is happening to less bright and less self motivated kids in other regions? The cruelty that David experienced I thought had ended mid tewentieth century at the latest. The eighties were also the beginning of the movement of finding adoptive homes for teenage foster kids as people realized that the group home movement of the seventies, which was supposed to provide better services and supervision, did not live up to what it had promised . Even the supposedly loving Holly and her husband let David down when they were under pressure, and lied about it too, rather than provide a commitment. No one considered finding an adoptive home for him or his siblings. This book a reminder that good intentions are just not enough. We all have to be vigilant to help children as well as other vulnerable people and not say when we suspect an issue that it's none of our business. I gave it only 4 stars because I believed it should have gone into more depth about solutions as well discussing what happened later on? Were Mae and Buck eventually discovered, did he keep in touch with Holly, what about the child welfare workers who were so negligent?

A Place Called Home is one of the most powerful, gut-wrenching, and ultimately hopeful memoirs I’ve ever read. David Ambroz brings you inside the mind and heart of a child navigating homelessness, hunger, abuse, and the foster care system—not with bitterness, but with remarkable clarity, compassion, and even humor. His writing is vivid and unflinching, and there were moments I had to pause just to sit with the emotion. What struck me most was not just what he survived, but the empathy and urgency with which he calls on us to do better—for kids, for families, for our systems. By the end, I felt both heartbroken and galvanized. A Place Called Home isn’t just a memoir—it’s a call to action. I can’t recommend it enough.

I cannot recommend A Place Called Home by David Ambroz enough. David was born on a tightrope over a cliff with real life monsters on all sides and no safety net. His memoir recounts, in heart-wrenching detail, his eleven years surviving homelessness and an abusive mother who suffers from mental illness. When he finally escapes into *our* foster care system, the cruelty really begins. Yet his story is filled improbably with humor and hope. By his own will and the kindness of a few good souls, he somehow makes it to the other side. Once safe, though still a child, he immediately turns around and starts to build a bridge for those kids who follow. David has dedicated his life to improving the lives of homeless and foster kids by pushing for major policy reforms. This stunning book, his story, takes his advocacy to another level. It’s so easy to look away from our country’s overlapping crises of homelessness, education, medical care, mental health, and racism. It’s easy to feel that moment of sadness, to blame the system, then do nothing because it’s too hard, and look away because it’s too depressing. Once you read David’s story, you won’t want to look away. Your heart will grow larger and you’ll want to help him build his bridge.

I have heard David speak at events, and I am a reluctant reader, but this book was captivating. Inspired by the light that is David, I committed to reading this book and I couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed his voice in it, you could hear the child but also he would drop nuggets of his current voice. It was heartbreaking, a lot to take in, and heavy - but it is the truth and it needs to be shared. I work in the child welfare space, and I think this is an important read for anyone working with kids, in any capacity. It was shocking to hear David put out a cry for help that would go unanswered time and time again. I am so proud of him, and I really hope this book inspires more people to take action. I know I will be telling everyone I know about it!

Powerful l, a call to action and superbly written! Highly recommend