A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive (Paperback)

by Dave Pelzer (Author) "March 5, 1973, Daly City, California-I'm late..." (more)
Key Phrases: fight for food, While Father Is Away, The Lord's Prayer, The Accident (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
David J. Pelzer's mother, Catherine Roerva, was, he writes in this ghastly, fascinating memoir, a devoted den mother to the Cub Scouts in her care, and somewhat nurturant to her children--but not to David, whom she referred to as "an It." This book is a brief, horrifying account of the bizarre tortures she inflicted on him, told from the point of view of the author as a young boy being starved, stabbed, smashed face-first into mirrors, forced to eat the contents of his sibling's diapers and a spoonful of ammonia, and burned over a gas stove by a maniacal, alcoholic mom. Sometimes she claimed he had violated some rule--no walking on the grass at school!--but mostly it was pure sadism. Inexplicably, his father didn't protect him; only an alert schoolteacher saved David. One wants to learn more about his ordeal and its aftermath, and now he's written a sequel, The Lost Boy, detailing his life in the foster-care system.

Though it's a grim story, A Child Called "It" is very much in the tradition of Chicken Soup for the Couple's Soul and the many books in that upbeat series, whose author Pelzer thanks for helping get his book going. It's all about weathering adversity to find love, and Pelzer is an expert witness.

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up?This autobiographical account charts the abuse of a young boy as his alcoholic mother first isolates him from the rest of the family; then torments him; and finally nearly kills him through starvation, poisoning, and one dramatic stabbing. Pelzer's portrayal of domestic tyranny and eventual escape is unforgettable, but falls short of providing understanding of extreme abuse or how he made his journey from "Victim to Victor." It takes some work to get past the poor writing and the self-aggrandizing back matter, but the book tries fervently to provide a much-needed perspective. One of the greater obstacles to healing for males is admitting that they have been victims, especially if their perpetrator is a woman. This author has overcome that obstacle and succeeded in life by such masculine norms as joining the Air Force and receiving awards for his volunteerism. However, while personal accounts of child maltreatment provide crucial information about the realities of childhood, youngsters need insight and hope in order to digest the raw material of abuse. James Deem's The 3 NBs of Julian Drew (Houghton, 1994) is a well-crafted, fictional work that effectively covers much of the same ground.?Carolyn Polese, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 195 pages
• Publisher: HCI (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558743669
• ISBN-13: 978-1558743663
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1,968 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #956 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #1 in	Books > Parenting & Families > Family Relationships > Dysfunctional Relationships
  #2 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > Abuse

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

228 of 252 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational story of resilience. A must read!, November 7, 1999

By A Customer

A Child Called "It" is a real life story about a boy who was brutally beaten and starved by his mentally disturbed and alcoholic mother. At first, David Pelzer lived a healthy and normal life with his parents and brothers. His mother, however, unexpectedly transformed into a monster, venting her anger on her helpless child. David was submerged in freezing cold water, forced to eat his own vomit, slept in the basement under the stairs, stabbed, and forced to sit on a burning stove. These are just a few of the torturous games that his mother used to play. She treated him not like her son, but like an "it". David suffered both mental and physical abuse. In order to survive from his mother's sick games, David used willpower. Through all of her torturous games, David's inner strength began to emerge.

This book is a perfect example of how the human spirit can provide strength in the toughest of situations. David's spirit helped him to survive through his mother's emotional and physical abuse. He refused to let his mother win. He had no one to help him so he learned how to fend for himself. His courage and determination saved him from all of the suffering that he endured at such a young age.

David is a living testament of resilience. His faith and personal responsibility helped him transform into an emotionally healthy and competent adult. A large percentage of emotionally and physically abused children become abusive in their adult years. The abusiveness could be a cycle, passed down from generation to generation. Their rage and pain of being abused could be turned on themselves or the ones they love. David, at a young age, showed strong signs of being a planner as well as a problem solver. These character traits, along with caring adults (nurses, teachers, social workers, etc.), help him to become resilient. David's inner strength helped him turn shame into pride and rejection into acceptance. A Child Called "It" sends an inspirational message of resilience and the human spirit. A person has the ability to leave their dark past and look forward to a better tomorrow. If David Pelter could do it than anyone can!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A story of resilience, May 24, 2009

By	Max Bender (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A child called "It" is a non-fiction book by Dave Pelzer. He shares his unforgettable story of the many abuses he suffered at the hands of his alcoholic mother and the averted eyes of his neglectful father. Someone with no one to turn to, his dreams barely kept him alive. Through each of his struggles, I found myself enduring his pain, comforting his loneliness and fighting for his will to survive.

One of the worst child abuse cases in California's history came to an end on March 5, 1973 when Dave Pelzer entered foster care. Dave 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, Dave was proud of his accomplishments and used the statement, "I was the king." This goes to show the level of neglect he endured to consider frozen dinners to be a prize and hiding in the family's garage to gobble them up. These are less than kingly accommodations.

A Child Called "It" didn't leave me empty as I know that the child survived this abuse. It began with the rescue and then was led through the happy times, and then into the abuse.

The book is written from the perspective of a child. It is eye-opening to see how Dave perceived the treatment of his mother, as she didn't treat Dave's other brothers this way, and how the abuse impacted his self-worth. Yet, Dave still had this incredible will to not only survive, but to rise above it all. I highly recommend this book! It is a story of the human spirit that can withstand so much.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Child Called "It", March 5, 2000

By A Customer

I had the opportunity to see Dave at a conference and he had all of us spellbound. The fact that this atrocity had taken place is astounding enough and the fact that Dave, even as a child, had the tenactiy to endure and overcome his hellish childhood and survive is truly amazing. I have read both this book and it's sequel and I can truly say they are must read works. It is filled with personal insight to what his "life" was like and how he had the courage to endure. Not everyone who reads these books will believe his story, but I can tell you that while seeing this man before us relaying the events with such conviction and firmness with tears in his eyes made a believer out of me. No one could write books like these and call them fiction. Child abuse is real and the story Dave tells is real. If one person sees the signs after reading these I pray they too have the courage to step in and help their "Dave" out of their abusive situation. You sometimes need to "read between the lines" to find the cause for some actions as they are not clearly visible. I can't wait to get the final book in his trilogy. The saying " What doesn't kill you will make you stronger," truly fits this remarkable human and the people who helped him survive! God bless him!