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That drive comes from a sincere place. Growing up, David Bruce knew all too well what it was like to experience emptiness and isolation, as if there was a barrier between himself and the world. Afflicted severely by symptoms of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder), He was raised in an alcoholic household and bullied in school. As a result, his childhood was a struggle, often leaving him alienated and lonely. “There are millions of kids today who can identify with how I felt growing up,” states David Bruce. “Whatever their circumstances—school bullying, an emotional or psychological disability, being shuttled between foster homes—they need to know that they’re not alone.”
In his literary debut MANNERS I. CARE, the first in a series of twelve imaginative children’s books designed to help kids learn to connect with others, David Bruce provides some of those tools. A magical mentor named Manners I. Care pops onto the shoulders of a boy named Jack Bantam who lives in “time out for acting out,” the modern day equivalent of standing in the corner for bad behavior. Manners leads Jack through a fabulous hall of whimsical characters where he shows him how to have more fun making friends than acting out. The book is a vehicle for a landmark national effort architected and spearheaded by Bruce to benefit one-hundred select children’s charities and will be fueled by an extensive multi-media campaign featuring live performance events. "I hurt. Feeling so rejected,” comments David Bruce. “I was always scared and desperate for attention and approval. Then I got the support I needed. Now I want to lend the same support to children in need. Thank God, and those who helped me, that now I can help.” David Bruce is one of California’s most innovative entrepreneurs, and the general partner in a real estate development company. He is the founder of Child Life Books, LLC and the Child Life Books Foundation I. He lives outside Los Angeles with his wife, their three children, one cat and three goldfish. MANNERS I CARE is his first book. “There are so many kids who feel disconnected and alone and I’m determined to give them what I wished could have been given to me when I was young—the tools to have fun and make friends. It wasn’t friendship, but I would cling to anyone, desperately treading water like I was drowning in my own fears. Ultimately, others gave me the real support I needed. That’s my mission now, and I thank God I have the means to do it." David Bruce is articulate, passionate, candid and available for
interview. |
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To
that end, David Bruce, one of California’s most innovative
entrepreneurs, is the creative engine behind a landmark initiative
to give disconnected kids the tools to have fun, make friends and
break down that invisible wall that separates them from others.
“Having those tools can mean the difference between success
and failure later on,” comments Bruce. 
A Family Life Company