Good Essay About A Child Called It

Born December 29, 1960 in San Francisco, California, David Pelzer grew up facing what has been considered the worst child abuse in the history of California at the hands of his mother, Catherine Roerva Christen Pelzer. His father Stephen Joseph Pelzer, a San Francisco fireman died earlier in 1980 living him with his mother who later died in 1992. He was the third child in the family with four other siblings, who were all boys. Pelzer, who is now married with lives with his second wife and children in a different state, was helped with the intervention of his teachers on 5 March 1973 at 12 years old placing him in foster care. He later became famous after writing a childhood memoir about his abuse titled a child called it – his mother referred to him as “it”.
Some of the things Dave passed through them at the hands of his mother includes being stabbed in the stomach, burned on his arm on a gas stove, being forced to drink ammonia, being starved, and forced to eat up his own vomit among several other things. Despite not participating in this molestation, his father did nothing to stop the abuse until his death leaving Dave in even worse conditions. His other books include A Man Named Dave (1999), the privilege of the youth (2004), and the lost boy (1997), which all addressed child abuse in California and the United States.
“A child called it” is a publication of 1995, which is an autobiography of the author recounting Dave’s experiences in the hands of his mother. A child called it was a book that gained much publicity in the New York Books for the way he brought about the facts. The book is written in a chronology from the time the author was born through his early years with the family that treated him like a slave and lost respect for him. His mother pummeled his head, forced him to perform household chores as his brothers watched television or played around with their mates. He always had hope, which he believed that would one day materialize. Dave believed that he would one day find someone who would take care of him and regard him as a child and not an “it”, even if they would not be his real family, he would one day be appreciated as having life and dignity.
David Pelzer’s publications have helped in explaining the disturbing situations that children pass through them in hands of their parents. Growing up as a child experiencing child abuse is very difficult, especially since parents are the last people a person would expect to abuse their children, not to the extent that Pelzer passed through it. His writings have been valued since audiences believe his stories are from firsthand experience as a child. Pelzer has also been a contributor to child-supporting organizations as well as a mouthpiece of the oppressed children while preaching reconciliation. He has since forgiven his parents, who left marks on his body that he will have to see for the rest of his life. He has since earned awards and recognitions such as the California Volunteer Award in 1990 since he has been volunteering in community projects despite enlistment in the United States’ Army at the age of 18 when he left foster care.