Although, sexual abuse and pornography of children is nothing new within this society each time it is discovered and reported there is an accompanying knee jerk reaction of anger, disgust and distrust that follows so much so that it becomes hard to see the many facets of the whole truth about the situation such was the case with Christopher E. Pelloski M.D. His book, Trauma, Shame and the Power of Love which is a biographical work in which he bares his soul and shares his experiences from arrest to trial as a non productive participant of child pornography. From the outset reading, Mr. Pelloski's stark memoir, created an intense paradox of emotions within me especially because I am a parent of six children. On the one hand he was a Pediatric Oncologist whose job and intention was to help children at their most vulnerable moment and he made great strides in doing so. But on the other hand, he also participated in the very vulgar and harmful activity of online …show more content…
His inclusion of related sex offense laws, the judges sentencing statement, medical and psychiatric statements related his particular disorders made this book a cogently expansive read. While reading this book was not a pleasure it was a genuinely illuminating reading experience that I found deeply affecting and stayed with me well after completing the book. However, I did find that at times within his narrative there was a narcissistic bent that I did find somewhat off putting considering the nature of the book but ultimately understood as that seems to go along with the mental disorders that he suffers from. It is a shame that Mr. Pelloski's great work in the oncology field, including the many patients he helped are now largely discounted by his criminal actions and ensuing punishment. Unfortunately, the war against cancer is real and he was a warrior in his field albeit, a broken