Justin Bieber's Mother Pattie Mallette on God in Her Life: 'Nowhere But Up'
From Drugs and Sexual Abuse to Salvation in Jesus
The details of Pattie Mallette's new book, "Nowhere But Up," have been released, painting the story of how the mother of famous pop star Justin Bieber used her faith in God to pick her up from a troubled life.
Mallette recounts in the book how she was first sexually abused at the age of three, just one year after her father walked out of her life. While she does not name any of her molesters, Mallette attests to the fact that more than one man abused her.
"I was sexually violated so many times that as the years went by it began to feel normal," the now-37-year-old mother wrote. "It's a strange marriage - knowing something is wrong yet at the same time finding it familiar and commonplace."
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Mallette also recalls a life fueled by drugs. She began to abuse pot and LSD when she was 14 years of age. By 16 she had left home and turned to petty crime to support her bad habits. It is around this time that Mallette's relationship with Bieber's father, Jeremy Bieber, also began.
At 17, Mallette states that she jumped in front of a truck, landing herself in a mental health center. It was there that Mallette first turned to God.
"I'm really grateful to God and to all the people who have surrounded me and loved me," Mallette said in a USA Today interview.
After being saved, Mallette admits that she relapsed and fell back into her old habits until she became pregnant with Bieber at 17. Returning to her faith, Mallette decided that it would be wrong to abort the baby despite her poor circumstances at the time.
"I knew that I had to do what it took. I just couldn't abort him," she writes.
Mallette was kicked out of her house and forced to live at a home for pregnant women. At 21, Mallette promised to abstain from sex before marriage, and before moving to the U.S. from Canada she agreed not to date until her son turned 18.
Mallette has not only kept her promise, but also raised Bieber to be faithful in the Lord. In early interviews she suggested doing this by keeping a travel pastor, a Christian tutor, and a management team with "faith based backgrounds."
"I think the most important thing is to surround him with good people, people that are not necessarily yes men, but [people who] will help to create a sense of normalcy around him and be pouring into him what's right," she said in a 2011 February interview with Plugged In. "I also just keep reminding him that he is here for a reason, that as much as it might look like it, it's not all about him, and that God has given him his gifts and talents for a reason, and to seek Him for what that is.
Mallettes new book, "Nowhere but Up: The Story of Justin Bieber's Mom" was released on Tuesday.
