A Child Called ‘It’ by Dave Pelzer

UK’s Mail On Sunday described this story as one that “cannot fail to move” and it is very true indeed. A Child Called ‘It’ is a story of Dave Pelzer’s abusive childhood that stirred my emotions with every chapter that I read.

In this memoir, Pelzer shared with us the horrible abuses that he was put through by his alcoholic mother. Forced to live in the basement with nothing but a few rags to keep him warm, Pelzer was starved, hit and treated like a slave.

As months went by, he was stripped off his identity and was simply referred to as an ‘it’. With the straining mother-son relationship also came worse abuses. He was made to eat his own vomit, locked in a ‘gas chamber’ and even fought for dear life when he was stabbed with a knife.

With no one to turn to, Pelzer’s only hope was his father. Unfortunately, afraid to offend his wife, all he could do was to turn a blind eye to Pelzer’s plea for help.

As a child, Pelzer blamed no one except himself for the abuse. He was made to think that he deserved the punishments he received for misbehaving. Plus, he never gave up hope and held on to his dream that one day, his mother would change for the good and all would be fine again.

Personally, this first part of a trilogy is a must-read (I finished reading this in one day). Besides reflecting the age and wisdom of a young boy, the tone and vocabulary also lent to easy-reading. However, it was definitely not easy on the emotions because Pelzer’s experiences were so well described that I found it impossible to not feel what he was feeling. For instance, there was a moment when I found myself cursing the mother for the nightmares that she put him through.

For all my life, I always linked child abuse to cases of severe beatings, cigarette burns, and starvation. This number one bestseller opened my eyes to an uglier world of child abuse that I never knew existed. I mean, who in their right mind would force a child to eat feces?

Overall, this testimony of Pelzer’s was an emotional roller-coaster ride. I cried, I got angry and I was touched by his determination to survive and to be loved again. I am not going to lie, this book can be very disturbing but most importantly, it provides us with an inspirational outlook on life, through the eyes of an innocent child.

My rating –

Other books by Pelzer include The Lost Boy and A Man Named Dave.

*Picture of the book cover was obtained at Shop.Com*

Post dated article: January 2007

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