|
|
List Price: $11.95 Amazon.com's Price: $9.56 You Save: $2.39 (20%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 362.76092 EAN: 9781558743663 ISBN: 1558743669 Label: HCI Manufacturer: HCI Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 195 Publication Date: September 01, 1995 Publisher: HCI Studio: HCI Accessories: Editorial Review: Amazon.com: David J. Pelzer's mother, Catherine Roerva, was, he writes in this ghastly, fascinating memoir, a devoted den mother to the Cub Scouts in her care, and somewhat nurturant to her children--but not to David, whom she referred to as "an It." This book is a brief, horrifying account of the bizarre tortures she inflicted on him, told from the point of view of the author as a young boy being starved, stabbed, smashed face-first into mirrors, forced to eat the contents of his sibling's diapers and a spoonful of ammonia, and burned over a gas stove by a maniacal, alcoholic mom. Sometimes she claimed he had violated some rule--no walking on the grass at school!--but mostly it was pure sadism. Inexplicably, his father didn't protect him; only an alert schoolteacher saved David. One wants to learn more about his ordeal and its aftermath, and now he's written a sequel, The Lost Boy, detailing his life in the foster-care system. Though it's a grim story, A Child Called "It" is very much in the tradition of Chicken Soup for the Couple's Soul and the many books in that upbeat series, whose author Pelzer thanks for helping get his book going. It's all about weathering adversity to find love, and Pelzer is an expert witness. Product Description: This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games--games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy, but an "it." Dave's bed was an old army cot in the basement, and his clothes were torn and raunchy. When his mother allowed him the luxury of food, it was nothing more than spoiled scraps that even the dogs refused to eat. The outside world knew nothing of his living nightmare. He had nothing or no one to turn to, but his dreams kept him alive--dreams of someone taking care of him, loving him and calling him their son. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - I'm not sure...I thought the book was well written, everything the good reviews said, but the nightmarishness just made me physically sick to my stomach. It you are a sensitive person I would not recommend this book. Really. Not inspiring at all. Just horrors. Rating:  - The most disturbing book I've ever read... still!A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer is a memoir I read about 8 years ago. I could not put this harrowing book down, Pelzer is a child abuse survivor. He recounts the physical and mental abuse he suffered from the hands of his alcoholic and deeply troubled mother. This book brought me to tears and just broke my heart. I highly recommend this unsettling but important book. Rating:  - liesI recently had the displeasure of seeing Mr. Pelzer in person. He has either told his lies so many times that he actually belives them to be true or he is a just a snake oil salesman like so many others in his "profession". Being that he claims to have survived several Mustard Gas attacks(keep in mind that Hitler found this to be to cruel to use on "the enemy", durring WWii, but a mother used it against her own offspring), a stabbing(in person he claimed the wound was in his heart), being burned ... Read More Rating: - excellentThis book was unbelievable...I read it in a single afternoon!! Couldn't put it down. In the face of unreal odds, a boy's will to survive in a home so filled with hate and abuse. Rating: - What an emotional read!This is the story of David. A little boy who started out with what seemed to be the perfect family. Gradually as his mother starts drinking more and more, she ends up not caring about herself and feeling angry all the time. That anger was taken out on David. Through this book you read about the horrific things that his mother did to him and how his will to survive kept him going. This book made me cry, made me angry and most of all made me think. I know a lot of people do not believe his story. But ... Read More |
