A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive by David Pelzer

Parents are not supposed to have favorites, rather make each child feel special in their own way. At the age of five, David began receiving unusual treatment from his mother, and by seven, he knew he was the “chosen one” and not in a good sense of the term. As more brothers are born into the family, the gap between David as a member and outcast grows, as does the malice of his mother’s dreadfully twisted games. David’s ideal lifestyle of trips to the lake, playing freely, and holiday celebrations fade into memory as he must quickly adapt to her deranged behavior in order to survive. As David reveals the story of his youth, you may become angered with his parents’ sensibility as well as those in most direct contact with him. Dave’s story is one of the worst recorded cases of child abuse in California state history, although it is often refuted by his own family members. This controversial biography and subsequent extensions of his life story are told in The Lost Boy and A Man Called Dave. Dave Pelzer, who schedules more than 200 for profit speaking engagements released a self-help book, Help Yourself, further benefiting off those who are captivated by his story of struggle and perseverance. --Allison Trevaskis

Pelzer, David. A Child Called “It”: One Child’s Courage to Survive. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc., 1995. Print.