A Child Called It
...o requested a meeting with his mother. Part Two One of the worst abuse cases in California's history came to an end on March 5, 1973. Dave Pelzer begins his incredible story as an abused child with his rescue in part one of a series, "A Child Called 'It'". Calling this book a "page turner" doesn't give it justice. Easy to read, but difficult to comprehend how any mother could treat her child this way. Besides being horribly beaten, Dave was forced to eat his own vomit, swallow soap, ammonia, and Clorox. This was just the beginning of his mother's "games". Dave's childhood wasn't always a nightmare. There were the "good years" in the beginning and Dave devotes a chapter describing the feelings of warmth and safety provided by his mother. By the age of 4 these feelings were replaced with fear, starvation, and lowliness. The "I" statement is used a lot in "A Child Called 'It'" as Dave discovers the power he felt when he stalled his mother from burning him on the stove and "won". Trying to find food, making plans, and succeeding with the prize of eating frozen dinners from his family's deep freeze; he is proud of his accomplishment with the statement, "I was the king". "A Child Called 'It'" doesn't leave the reader empty as we know that the child survived this abuse. We begin with the rescue and then led through the happy times, and then into the abuse Dave endured. The book is written through the perspective of the child. It is eye-opening to see how Dave perceived the treatment of his mother, as she didn't treat Dave's brother's this way, and how the abuse affected his self-worth. Yet Dave still had this incredible will to not only survive, but to rise above it all. Dave Pelzer entered foster care at the age of 12 due to the severe abuse he endured at the hand of his alcoholic mother. The abuse became so terrible that she actually started referring to Dave as "The Boy," instead of a child, her son, or Dave. At the age of 18 Dave aged out of the foster system and joined the U.S. Air Force. Dave has won many awards and personal commendations from Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush. In 1993, Dave was honored as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans. In 1994, he became one of the only United States citizens to be awarded as the Outstanding Young Persons of the World, for his efforts in teaching about child abuse and it's prevention. Dave is also the author of "The Lost Boy", "A Man Named Dave", "The Privilege of Youth", "Help Yourself", and "Help Yourself for Teens". Today Dave is a husband and a father and resides in Rancho Mirage, California. The first part of a trilogy series*, A Child Called "It" is currently in nine languages and has been read by millions throughout the world. As stated by Jack Canfield, co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul ...