In Dave Pelzer’s memoir The Lost Boy, trust becomes a  Trust'N central theme because the narrator, Dave, begins his story with a profound absence of it. As an abused child removed from his mother’s home, Dave enters the foster care system carrying deep wounds—not only physical, but emotional.

His ability to trust others has been shattered. For him, trust is not a familiar comfort but a foreign concept he must slowly relearn. Through Dave’s journey, the reader sees how trust can be broken, rebuilt, and transformed.

For a child, the first experience of trust typically comes from a parent. When a caregiver provides love, stability, and protection, the child learns that the world is predictable and safe. But in Dave's early life, those foundations are missing. His mother’s cruelty teaches him the opposite lesson: that adults can hurt, betray, and abandon. Because of this, Dave becomes suspicious of kindness and fearful of expressing his needs. This illustrates an important truth about trust—when violated early, it takes tremendous time and support to repair.

As Dave enters foster care, trust begins to appear in small, gradual moments. His foster parents, social workers, and teachers do not ask him to trust them immediately. Instead, they show trustworthiness through consistent behavior: providing food, offering encouragement, setting boundaries, and standing up for him. These small actions show the reader that trust grows slowly through repetition and reliability. It is not demanded; it is earned.

Over time, Dave learns that not all adults resemble his abusive mother. Some genuinely care. Some believe in him. Some want him to succeed. This shift reveals another aspect of trust: its ability to heal. When someone who has been deeply hurt encounters compassion, trust becomes a pathway to recovery.