Joshua SciarrinoLast name; “Sure-Reno”

Summary of ‘A Child Called It’ by Dave Pelzer | Child Abuse Story & PreventionFiled Under: Book Reviews

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This was one of the quickest reads I’ve had in a while. I would consider myself a ‘below average reader’ (in regards to speed) and it literally took only 5 1/2 hours to complete this book from cover to cover. That’s two sittings. Here is my Summary of ”A Child Called It” by Dave Pelzer:

The story starts with closure

The book begins with gruesome details of Dave’s horrific events when he was 12. I think, the first chapter brought up a situation where he was placed on the oven, to be burned alive, by his mother. After the details of this painful situation, young Dave was admitted to the school nurse. When the nurse asked questions about his bruises and marks, young Dave was silent (later to find out, he was dishearten due to the years of beatings and demoralization). Before young Dave knew it, a few teachers, the nurse, and an officer accompany him in room at school. Young Dave thought he was in trouble and been a ‘bad boy’ but instead, the officer took him away and said “Your free now.”

I literally almost cried because I have a best friend who has gone through child abuse when he was younger. Not only that, I’ve been a youth leader at multiple churches and young kids opened up to me to reveal they’ve been beaten and abused or their friends have. This happens, this is real. So, I rejoiced with Dave to hear ‘Your free now‘, tears of joy.

Good mother transforms

After reading that ‘everything will be alright’ from the first chapter, that young Dave survives, the story twists the entire mood of the book and prepares you for the worst (the later chapters).  It starts out talking about how the family started out loving and caring. There was an entire chapter of this love expressed. I was expecting Dave’s tooth to get knocked out or something but no, this was a good family. Then ‘the bitch‘ is unleashed. She starts to change into a monster, drink after drink, and focus her rage on 4 to 12 year old Dave. Keep in mind, Dave isn’t an only child, he’s one of 4 children, later in the book a 5th child is born, in the peak of the abuse but he is the only one receiving the child abuse. Yet Dave is ruthlessly beaten and tortured mentally and physically.

Forms of Child Abuse

Weaved throughout the entire book is young Dave’s deprivation of food. At one point Dave is starved for more than 10 days! He was placed on the oven to have his entire body burned only to come away with a semi-painful burn on his arm. Later as he got older his mother would play ‘games’ with him. Games like ‘you don’t eat until you finish your chores’ and when Dave did finish them, they weren’t completed fast enough, so he wouldn’t eat that night. Another time, after a brutal beating from his mother, Dave vomited and was forced to eat his own vomit.

After the birth of the youngest brother, Dave was demanded to eat his little brother’s feces, even after being starved for days on end, Dave resisted but his face was forced in the diaper. Young Dave persisted throughout the entire torment, that was his childhood, his will was strong as a rock. At points, in the story, David couldn’t finish his chores due to exhaustion. He stole food from other classmates in school, only to be reported to his mother, which produced more beatings.

Amidst all of the suffering Dave had two ‘breaths of air’. The first was when God answered one (and the only one; according to the book) of his prayers. Dave prayed that his mother would get sick, the next morning she was terribly ill, it lasted for a few days. The second, and final, breathe of air was when a social worker was inspecting the family for signs of child abuse. The social worker asked young Dave ‘if he’s been abused’ and he declined because he mother was standing over his shoulder but as soon as the social worker left, David was beating across the room for being a ‘bad boy’.

Dave also was commanded to drink ammonia. He had to clean the bathroom with a mix of bleach and ammonia, with the door closed, for hours on end. Only afterwards to cough up blood for more than an hour. On another occasion, Dave was forced to sit in ice cold water for 5+ hours, his brothers would laugh and pick on him for being a ‘bad boy’ yet Dave never did anything wrong to be punished this horribly. Finally, he was stabbed with a kitchen knife by his mother and then forced to do chores as he bled everywhere. He father enforced his mother’s command, which totally broke the trust Dave had in his father.

Father’s passivity and Dave’s Prayer

During the continuous abuse by Dave’s mother, Dave’s father did nothing to stop the abuse. He just stood there, afraid of his wife. He was a fireman in California and saved people from fires but when their was a ‘fire’ in his home, he didn’t know how to react. He couldn’t make a phone call. Although he promised young Dave that he was going to ‘rescue Dave from this torment’, instead Dave’s father decided to leave the house and not come back. His father had a drinking problem, like his mother, but it resolved in a paralyzing cowardice.

Dave’s prayer near the end of the book was the Lord’s prayer, ‘deliver us from evil’. Near the end of this 8 year abuse, Dave is totally broken and lost most, if not all, of his will power to live. His only hope was a prayer and a wish.

Conclusion and Critics

The story comes full circle when Dave Pelzer is now full grown and revisits the house that all the torment occurred. He brings his young child with him and naively says “I like it here Daddy.” His child affirms his love for his father and the story concludes.

There has only been two strong critiques about Dave Pelzer and his books. In the first, namely his brother, Stephen, is criticizing him and said, “David wasn’t at all ostracized from the family; he was very close to me and Richard. We were the Three Musketeers. David would make up lies, to receive some attention. But David had to be the center of attention. He was a hyper, over happy spoiled brat.” [2] This doesn’t surprise me because weaved throughout the book is Dave’s brother’s looked down on Dave as if he were ’scum of the earth’. There is also another critique but it seems more balanced than the WIkipedia article or New York Time’s article. [3]

In summary, this is a gut-wrenching story. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, there are going to be people jealous of your efforts and fame. The fact is Dave Pelzer was rescued by the school system and sent into foster care. The fact is that his teachers knew the details and stand by Dave’s story/books. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but it doesn’t mean they are correct. I stand by Dave because I’ve heard stories similar to Dave’s, he’s entitled to monetizing his horrific past, and he’s out making a difference in the lives of other youth. Below is how you can do your part.

Child Abuse Prevention | Act Now

Please read on:

• National Center for Protection of Child Abuse
• Tennyson Center for Children at Colorado Christian Home
• Child Abuse Education and Information
• National Child Abuse Stats 1-800-4-A-CHILD
• Prevent Child Abuse America 1-800-CHILDREN (1-800-244-5373)

Every 6 hours a child dies because of child abuse/neglect. That means, every time you have a meal, a child dies due to child abuse. 79% of the children killed are younger than 4. [1]

You don’t have to provide your name. If you think, feel, or see child abuse, REPORT IT. It’s better to be safe than sorry. A child’s life is at stake. You can save a life.