{"id":18823,"date":"2020-11-21T00:38:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-21T04:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=18823"},"modified":"2020-11-29T09:48:55","modified_gmt":"2020-11-29T13:48:55","slug":"child-called-it-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/child-called-it-book\/","title":{"rendered":"A Child Called &#8216;It&#8217; Book: What Happens to Dave Pelzer?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What happens in the <em>A Child Called &#8220;It&#8221;<\/em> book? How did the <em><em>A Child Called &#8220;It&#8221;<\/em> <\/em>book cover the abuse of Dave Pelzer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>A Child Called &#8220;It&#8221;<\/em> book is about the abuse of Dave Pelzer at the hands of his mother. It went on for about 8 years until he was finally removed from his home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep reading for more about the <em>A Child Called &#8220;It&#8221;<\/em> book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>A Child Called &#8220;It&#8221;<\/em> Book Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>From the ages of 4 to 12, Dave Pelzer suffered brutal physical and psychological abuse at his mother\u2019s hands. When he was finally taken from her custody, Pelzer\u2019s case was one of the worst cases of child abuse ever reported in California<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>A Child Called \u201cIt\u201d <\/em>book is Pelzer\u2019s autobiographical account of his experience, told through his childhood perspective; <strong>the book is a rare look at the epidemic issue of child abuse through a victim\u2019s lens. <\/strong>This is the first in a trilogy chronicling Pelzer\u2019s experiences\u2014first as a child enduring abuse, then as a teen in foster care, and finally, as an adult rehabilitating from his traumatizing experiences. Throughout them all, <strong>Pelzer demonstrates resilience and determination in the face of horrific abuse and adversity.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Before the Abuse<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>David\u2019s earliest childhood memories are happy ones.<\/strong> He looks up to his fireman father, and he loves his warm, caring mother who goes to great lengths to create memorable and magical experiences for David and his two brothers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those early years are filled with day trips to San Francisco, cherished family vacations, and memorable holiday traditions. But amidst it all, <strong>there are a few hints of Mother\u2019s odd behaviors.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, one day Mother seems unlike herself and claims to be sick, but after dinner she manically paints the garage steps and tacks on rubber mats before the paint has dried, making a mess of the wet paint. When David asks her why she didn\u2019t wait until the paint dried, Mother simply says that she wanted to surprise his father.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the book is written from David\u2019s childhood perspective, he doesn\u2019t question or analyze details like this with an adult\u2019s insight. Rather, he accepts them as a child would.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Change<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>For Dave Pelzer, <em>A Child Called &#8220;It&#8221;<\/em> is an opportunity to share what he went through after his mother changed. Around the time David\u2019s in first grade, Mother\u2019s behavior shifts dramatically.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mother limits the severity of her abuse when Father is home, but he works 24-hour shifts at the fire station and is often out of the house. <strong>Mother singles out David among his brothers and subjects him to increasingly cruel punishments<\/strong>, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Shoving David\u2019s face into a mirror and then forcing him to stand in front of it, looking at his reflection and repeating, \u201cI\u2019m a bad boy!\u201d<\/li><li>Leaving David at his aunt\u2019s house with no explanation while the rest of the family goes on their annual vacation, and then beating him when she finds out he tried to run away to join the family.<\/li><li>Giving David no gifts for Christmas\u2014while his brothers each get dozens\u2014and berating Father for getting David two small gifts.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>One day, the abuse reaches a turning point when Mother holds David\u2019s arm over a flame on the stove and then tries forcing him to lie on top of the stove. <strong>That day David vows to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/accepting-responsibility\/\">take responsibility<\/a> for his survival<\/strong> <strong>and outsmart Mother any way he can.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>A Child Called &#8220;It&#8221;<\/em> Book: <strong>Mother Weaponizes Food<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Withholding food is Mother\u2019s primary punishment for David<\/strong>; he seldom gets dinner or breakfast. Father tries to help David by sneaking food scraps to him, but when Mother catches him, it causes huge arguments that ultimately make things worse for David.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>David resorts to several methods of stealing food at school:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Taking food from other students\u2019 lunches<\/li><li>Sprinting to a nearby grocery store during lunch recess and stealing food<\/li><li>Sneaking a frozen lunch from the school cafeteria&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>David always ends up getting caught, and eventually, <strong>Mother starts forcing him to vomit every day after school to ensure he hasn\u2019t stolen any food during the day.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Mother Forces David to Eat the Inedible<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>For Dave Pelzer, <em>A Child Called &#8220;It&#8221;<\/em> showcases some of the horrifying things he was forced to eat\u2014sometimes as punishment and sometimes out of desperation\u2014including:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Dishwashing soap&nbsp;<\/li><li>A spoonful of ammonia<\/li><li>Dinner scraps out of the trash can<\/li><li>Feces from his baby brother\u2019s dirty diaper (in this case, Mother shoves David\u2019s face in the diaper but he manages to avoid eating any)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Mother Ostracizes David&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mother\u2019s abuse is designed to isolate David from the rest of the family and force him into the role of \u201cfamily slave.\u201d <\/strong>She does this by:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Forbidding David from looking at or talking to anyone<\/li><li>Forcing David to stand in the garage each night while his family eats dinner<\/li><li>Forbidding David from playing or watching TV with his brothers<\/li><li>Never using David\u2019s name, calling him only \u201cthe Boy\u201d and \u201cIt\u201d<\/li><li>Banishing David to sleep on an old army cot in the cold garage&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Mother Stabs David<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As time goes on, the abuse intensifies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One night when David is 10, Mother is giving David his list of chores for the evening, holding a knife and threatening to kill him if he doesn\u2019t finish them within the time limits she gives. As usual, Mother is drunk. <strong>Mother begins to sway and loses her balance, and a moment later, the knife in her hand strikes David in the stomach.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>David blacks out. When he comes to, Mother is dressing his wound. Neither she nor Father takes David to the hospital, and Father\u2019s failure to act devastates David.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mother still makes David wash the dishes, though she shows some warmth and caretaking as the night goes on: She allows David to play outside with his brothers, calls him by his name, and checks on him through the night.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, when David wakes up the next morning, it\u2019s business as usual. Within a few days, the wound becomes infected and David must resort to using a dirty rag and a few drops of water to clean it himself. <strong>David renews the vow he made to himself the night Mother burned him, to survive through self-reliance and strength of spirit.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Father Doesn\u2019t Protect David From the Abuse<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>For a while, David considers Father his protector because Mother limits her abuse when Father is home. But as time goes on, <strong>Father spends more time at work or at bars to avoid being home, and eventually, his presence no longer deters Mother\u2019s abuse.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Around the time David enters fourth grade, Mother\u2019s abuse includes:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Starving David for 10 days<\/li><li>Locking David in the bathroom with a bucket full of a noxious mixture of ammonia and Clorox (David calls this the gas chamber)<\/li><li>Forcing David to offer to mow neighbors\u2019 lawns for a fee\u2014which she\u2019ll pocket\u2014setting an unrealistically high earnings quota, and beating David when he can\u2019t reach it<\/li><li>Forcing him to lie for hours in a cold bath with his head under water, leaving only his nostrils above water to breathe<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>At one point, <strong>Mother forbids Father from seeing David, and David loses all hope of a better life.<\/strong> He stops praying to God and stops fantasizing that some superhero will rescue him.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>David Hits Rock Bottom<\/strong> in the <em>A Child Called &#8220;It&#8221;<\/em> Book<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One day, out of the blue, Mother apologizes to David and tries to make amends. He spends two blissful days believing her charade, but it comes to a crashing halt when a social worker visits the house to ask David about his relationship with Mother; <strong>David immediately realizes Mother\u2019s gestures were hollow, and the abuse continues<\/strong>. He\u2019s crushed, but, at the very least, he\u2019s grateful to have had two good days.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the social worker\u2019s visit, <strong>David loses faith in God and resigns himself to simply surviving each day. <\/strong>He stops finding escape through his imagination, and he comes to hate everyone around him because no one has stepped in to save him.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>David hates his Father and brothers for going along with Mother\u2019s abuse, but most of all he hates himself because he feels responsible for allowing the abuse to continue for so long. David is convinced that he\u2019s weak and that he deserves his mistreatment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>David sinks so low that he wishes he were dead. He assumes Mother\u2019s torture will ultimately kill him, so he decides to provoke her.<\/strong> For a short period, David rebels\u2014doing his chores sloppily and disobeying Mother in every way he can\u2014until she locks him in the gas chamber longer than ever before and tries to dunk his face into the bucket of chemicals. After that, David returns to submission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Around this time, Mother and Father\u2019s marriage reaches a breaking point. Their relationship has been disintegrating for years, and Father finally moves out a few days after Christmas. David is resentful, jealous, and, most of all, scared of what Mother will do to him now that Father\u2019s gone. <strong>David is sure Mother will kill him soon, and he merely hopes she\u2019ll do it quickly.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>David\u2019s Rescue<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s March 1973 and David is a fifth-grader in Daly City, California, just outside San Francisco. When he arrives at school, the nurse does her regular inventory of David\u2019s new bruises and scars. David attempts to give one of the explanations Mother told him\u2014that he ran into a door\u2014but the nurse knows better and eventually David admits that the marks are from Mother.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shortly after, David\u2019s called into the office to meet with the nurse, two of his teachers, the principal, and a police officer. The nurse asks David to show the scar on his stomach from when his mother stabbed him.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The officer takes David to the police station, where he calls David\u2019s mother to tell her that David is now in the custody of the San Mateo Juvenile Department. <strong>David is terrified, but the officer reassures David that he\u2019s finally free.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As an adult, <strong>David attributes his survival to the fact that he took control of himself and his circumstances any way he could. <\/strong>He also credits his horrific experiences for his strength, adaptability, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intrinsic-motivation-psychology\/\">intrinsic motivation<\/a>, and unique perspective on life.&nbsp;This is a key message in the <em>A Child Called &#8220;It&#8221;<\/em> book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After he escapes, David vows to make the most of his life by creating success and pushing himself to be the best person he can be. He finds community and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/a-sense-of-purpose\/\">a sense of purpose<\/a> as a member of the United States Air Force, and he builds a loving relationship with his own son.&nbsp;For Dave Pelzer, <em>A Child Called &#8220;It&#8221;<\/em> is the background to show what he has overcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: David\u2019s parents faced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/world\/memories-of-a-family-at-war-20050329-gdl0o8.html\">no charges<\/a> after he was removed from their custody. His father <a href=\"http:\/\/archive.boston.com\/news\/globe\/living\/articles\/2006\/04\/26\/family_feud\/\">died in 1980<\/a> and his mother in 1992.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What happens in the A Child Called &#8220;It&#8221; book? How did the A Child Called &#8220;It&#8221; book cover the abuse of Dave Pelzer? The A Child Called &#8220;It&#8221; book is about the abuse of Dave Pelzer at the hands of his mother. It went on for about 8 years until he was finally removed from his home. Keep reading for more about the A Child Called &#8220;It&#8221; book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,20,12],"tags":[157],"class_list":["post-18823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-ethics","category-relationships","tag-a-child-called-it","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Child Called &#039;It&#039; Book: What Happens to Dave Pelzer? - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What happens in the Child Called &quot;It&quot; book? Dave Pelzer shares the story of a traumatic childhood filled with abuse by his mother. Read more.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/child-called-it-book\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Child Called &#039;It&#039; Book: What Happens to Dave Pelzer?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What happens in the Child Called &quot;It&quot; book? Dave Pelzer shares the story of a traumatic childhood filled with abuse by his mother. Read more.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/child-called-it-book\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-21T04:38:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-11-29T13:48:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/educated-sibling-abuse.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"765\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"509\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rina Shah\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rina Shah\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/child-called-it-book\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/child-called-it-book\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Rina Shah\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d07435826f13a8f422d5d333dceac287\"},\"headline\":\"A Child Called &#8216;It&#8217; Book: What Happens to Dave Pelzer?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-21T04:38:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-11-29T13:48:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/child-called-it-book\/\"},\"wordCount\":1890,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/child-called-it-book\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/educated-sibling-abuse.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"A Child Called 'It'\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Books\",\"Ethics\",\"Relationships\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/child-called-it-book\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/child-called-it-book\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/child-called-it-book\/\",\"name\":\"A Child Called 'It' Book: What Happens to Dave Pelzer? - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/child-called-it-book\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/child-called-it-book\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/educated-sibling-abuse.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-21T04:38:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-11-29T13:48:55+00:00\",\"description\":\"What happens in the Child Called \\\"It\\\" book? 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