Nortie and the Abuser

Nortie's dad is an abuser, wife beater, scumbag; simple as that.  In fact, when Nortie was younger, he had an older brother.  To make a long story short, Nortie's brother endured the same horrible acts of cowardry (if thats even a word) that a 13 year old boy should have to take.  He could not take the pain and humiliation anymore, and on Nortie's 7th birthday he received a present he shall never forget...Nortie's mom told him to walk into the garage to find his bike that he was getting for his birthday only to find his brother hanging from the ceiling, dead as a doorknob, with a note stating that he was sorry.  Let's get one thing straight here: I do not really cry during books or movies or stuff, but this section in the book, well, lets just say I sniffled a little. It really makes you think about the horrors of child abuse in American and other societies around the world.  Child abuse makes me sick.  I can not understand how a parent could hit their child to the point that they are driven to commit suicide before their life has really begun.  Life's too grand for someone to miss it before its started and I consider it a shame that this man was not imprisoned.