A Child Called “It”
Dave Pelzer
Health Communications
September 1st, 1995
184 pages
The subject of this book was Dave Pelzer and I chose him because his life story interested me. What interested me about Pelzer was that he was strong, courageous, and smart enough to play his mother’s own games.
Significant Events: 1) At age 12 Dave was finally rescued from the horror his mom would cause and placed in a series of foster homes until he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at age 18. Even with all that was against him, Dave was determined to better himself - no matter what the odds. 2) As a member of the Armed Forces, Dave was hand-picked to midair refuel the highly secretive SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Stealth Fighter, which played a major role in Operations Just Cause, Desert Shield and Desert Storm. While serving on active duty and maintaining a rigorous flight schedule, Dave made time to give of himself. 3) His first book was a major success and was about his alcoholic mother who was very abusive to him. Pelzer is the survivor of the third worst case of child-abuse in California’s history, a case he vividly recalls in A Child Called “It”. 4) Dave is the first to have four # 1 International Best Sellers and to have four books simultaneously on the New York Times Best Sellers List.

Minor Events: 1) Dave was honored as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans. He joins a distinguished group including: John F. Kennedy, Anne Bancroft and Christopher Reeves. In 1994, Dave was the only American to be honored as The Outstanding Young Person of the World! In 1996, he carried the coveted Centennial flame for the Olympic Games. 2) Dave was paid tribute as the recipient of the 2005 National Jefferson Award. Other alumni of this award include Colin Powell, Sandra Day O’Connor and Bob Hope.

Author’s better known works:
1) His first breakthrough occurred when he wrote his first book called: A Child Called “It”. It was a big success and many loved his writing. It was listed on the New York Times Bestseller List for several years and in 5 years had sold at least 1.6 million copies. Pelzer was even asked to attend several T.V. shows to be interviewed.
2) His second success came from his second book called: The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family. It was published a few years after his first book. This book was designed to cover his teenage years.
3) After writing his second book he decides to write a third book talking about his experiences as an adult and how he was able to forgive his father.
4) In 2001 he wrote Help Yourself: Finding Hope, Courage, and Happiness which was a self-help book. When discussing his seventh book Moving Forward he said, "My message has always been about resilience".
Important Quotations: 1) “At the core of my soul, I hated myself more than anybody or anything. I came to believe that everything that happened to me or around me was my own fault because I had let it go on for so long. I wanted what others had, but saw no way to get it, so I hated them for having it.” pg. 136
These are Dave’s feelings during the summer of 1972. His rescue is only about eight months away, but he has no way of knowing this. He has been ground down for so many years by the stream of emotional and physical abuse that he has nothing left but self-hatred. Like many abused people, he has been taught to believe that he is to blame for his own abuse. 2) “You are a nobody! An It! You are nonexistent! You are a bastard child! I hate you and I wish you were dead!” pg. 140
Dave’s mother’s words after she reads a letter his teacher, Mr. Ziegler, has written to her telling her that Dave is one of the best students in the class.

Analysis of the book:
As a child Dave’s flexibility helped him to overcome life-threatening hardships. As an adult, for over 25 years, Dave’s work has been inspiring and encouraging to many organizations and individuals to recommit their efforts and remain dedicated to their personal confidence. He has experienced some things that no one ever wants to experience because of his alcoholic, abuse mother. Pelzer had several accidents where he almost died by the hands of his mentally disturbed mother. At age 12 Dave was finally rescued and placed in a several foster homes until he enrolled in the U.S. Air Force at age 18. Even though Pelzer went through some hard times when he was younger, he was determined to better himself. Dave has written seven books that have been inspiring to others and he chooses to commit to overcome any challenge, while loving life to its fullest.