Dave Pelzer

David Pelzer was a child referred to as "It" by his mother. David Pelzer was extremely abused by his mother. David was born on December 29, 1960, in San Francisco, California. David had a dysfunctional relationship with his mother for the beginning of his life. Around age seven, David's Mother began to hate him. David's Mom would be extremely violent with David. David was living a nightmare.

David's family was full of love, which then turned into hate. When David was born, he was surrounded by people who loved him and gave him affection. Around age seven, for unknown reasons, his mother began to slowly grow a deep, deep hatred for David. Sometimes she would tell him, "I hate you and I wish you where dead." His brothers were loyal to him, for a little while, but eventually began pretending he did not exist. David begin to lose hope in his father because his father would come home less, and began to help David less and less. David did not have a very caring family growing up. 

The obstacles David faced where horrible. David was forced to wear the same clothes every day, and had chores to do every day. David was forced to drink ammonia. David would be so hungry he would eat the leftover food scraps that the dog ate.  David states in his memoir, A Child Called "It", that his mother would "grab my neck and shove me underwater." She would go as far as trying to drown him. In the winter David would be forced to sleep in the unheated garage on someone's old jacket. David's mom was the one doing all of this to him. David had to face all these obstacles.

David knew that he could fight back. There where many ways and methods to avoid or lessen these harsh punishments awarded to him by his mother. When being hit or kicked he would not respond, which would make his Mom feel less satisfied, and would make her not want to give the punishment anymore. Another example would be when he would be forced to breathe in the toxic fumes of Clorox and ammonia mixed together. He would put a wet towel over his face and breath trough the air vent. As harsh as this punishments were, David was able to figure ways out of them.

David Pelzer had survived the unthinkable. To me, he taught me to be grateful for everything. Even the simplest things that we take for granted, like food and clean clothes are things I appreciate more. I learned that we forget about these things, but to him this was a gift. David Pelzer is a real hero to me.