David Pelzer

If you read A Child Called 'It,' as you read, it will touch your heart as you read about a child's courage to survive. It is a memoir about David Pelzer. His mom, who was an alcoholic, abused David, her poor, innocent, 10 year-old boy until he dropped to the floor. His Father tried to protect him, but he could not overpower his Mother. So, after a while, his Father and four brothers did not accept him as a part of the family, but only an "It'.

David's brothers' names are Ronald, Stan, Kevin, and Russel, who are a little younger than he was. David was born in San Francisco on December 29, 1960. When he was a little boy, he was part of the family until he turned 9 or 10, and his Mother's bad side came out. She decided to treat David's brothers twice as nice, and him twice as mean. He still does not know why.  David wore ragged clothes and smelled, while his brothers got new clothes. David became the family slave. He gets barely got any food or water. Every day before and after school, David would get a new set of chores, and if he did not complete them in a certain amount of time, it would not be looking to good for little Dave.

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Some problems he faced were when his Mother did not feed him for 10 straight days. He had to find food, or else he knew he would not survive. So, at school, David snuck into the cafeteria during recess and ate frozen food trays. David's Mother knew he was eating because he was not begging for food. Because of this, one day, when David got home from school, David's Mother shoved his hand up his throat causing him to vomit. Then she could see what David was eating. After, she got a bowl and made him eat it with his bare hands. Another day over the Summer, he got to play with his brothers for the first time since a long time ago. They were on their way to go fishing, but his Mother told him to stay back and help her with the newborn baby (his brother.) Once everybody left, his Mother made him stick his face in a diaper filled with feces. Another struggle he faced was when his Mother burnt his arm on a hot stove. She ordered David to strip off his clothes and sit over the burning hot stove. He refused yelling and screaming until his brothers got home from school. David's Mother yelled at him to put on his clothes and sit in the garage and he avoided sitting on the stove. Later, his parent got separated and he had to stay with his Mother. His Father was his protector but he was not there to help him. Before all of this happened he told himself this, "When he was home, Mother only did about half the things she did when he was gone." The book "A Child Called 'It,'" ends with David praying in the car, driving away from his Father's motel after they got separated. He says, "... and deliver from evil. 'Amen.'" As they drove away, David's Mother told David this, "You're all mine now. Too bad your Father is not here to protect you." Some other problems David faced were when his Mother threw a knife at his chest, when he drank a spoonful of ammonia, and when he sat in a freezing cold bath for 2 hours.  He also had to clean the bathroom with a big bucket of Clorox and ammonia was next to him, and much more. This was just some of the abuse David faced throughout his life.

Fortunately, David eventually becomes free from his Mother. Here is how it happened, at school, after 4 or 5 years, the nurse noticed David had bruises and scars. She thought he was just a clumsy kid, but after a few weeks of her asking him about the bruises, he confessed. He didn't want to rat out his Mother, but he knew it was the right thing to do. David told the principal, a police officer, and the nurse about his life story and how his Mother abused him. After, the police officer took David to the station and called his Mother. The police officer said, "David won't be coming back to dinner tonight." When David was in the car with the police officer, David asked him, "Where are we going," and the police officer said, "Don't worry, your free now." In the end, it made me so happy that I knew his life was going to turn around. And it definitely did because he grew up to be well known and published multiple books about his life living with his Mother.

After David became free and grew up, he married his first wife and had a son. He then married a second wife after, who is his editor. He is still alive now. David is currently 56 years old. Now he helps kids who get abused like he did, David also published 14 books for kids, teens, and adults. All of them are about his life through child abuse. Some of them are Lost Boy, A Man Named Dave, Help Yourself, A Child Called "It," and more. His brother also published a book called A Brother's Journey. It is about his perspective on Dave getting abused when they were children.

To me, David Pelzer is a true hero because he inspires me to be a better person and to stand up for what is right. Some adjectives that describe David is that he fights back no matter what, he is brave, courageous, and faces hard circumstances and still puts himself out there. He is courageous because he found the courage to tell the nurse about his life outside of school. Well, he is obviously brave because he survived his horrible life living with his mother. As you can see, David Pelzer is bold, fearless, gallant, and daring. He stepped up when no one would and that is why he is a heroic child.