A CHILD CALLED IT; ONE CHILDS COURAGE TO SURVIVE

Dave Pelzer

• Paperback: 195 pages
• ISBN-10: 1558743669
• ISBN-13: 978-1558743663
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• 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.

This is a re-read for me, as I read this story a few years ago when my mother recommended it to me. This grim story is one that was so disgusting I just couldn't turn away. Each and every page brings a punishment for David even worse than the last and even when you think its at the point where his mother couldn't possibly find anything worse, she continues to make you sick. You will put this book down and want to cry with David.

Finished: February 6, 2010