A Child Called "It."

by Adrisole Q. Kazoo Tue 21 Oct 2008, 7:52 am

So, here's something that's... really horrible.

I suggest you not read this if you have a problem with really, really sad books, though. You know how sad it is? I heard about it from my writing teacher, he said, "That book was so powerful. At a point I just wanted to put it down, but you have to finish it."
I can't even read it. I go on what I hear.

Have you ever read it? What are your thoughts?

Here's some tolerable description from wikipedia...

A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive is Dave Pelzer's 1995 autobiographical account of his maltreatment as a child by his alcoholic mother, Catherine Roerva, who singled him out much more so from among her other children as an object of abuse.

Dave Pelzer was the second born of five children. His father was a fireman and, according to Dave, his mother was originally a loving, kind and wonderful person that would do anything for her family. After the abuse started, Dave could tell what kind of day he could expect to have by the way his mother was dressed. If she was all made up then he could expect a good day, but if she wasn't he knew he would be beaten and starved.

Incidents cited in the book include forcing ammonia down his throat, cleaning a sealed bathroom while inhaling the fumes from a bucket of ammonia mixed with bleach, smashing his face against a mirror while forcing him to say "I'm a bad boy", beating him with a rubber hose, lying in the bathtub with freezing water for hours, as well as starvation and general malnutrition, and "accidentally" stabbing him with a knife when he didn't meet the time limit to do the dishes. His mother also put his hand on a gas stove which caused his hand to burn to crisp. She also said, "Now sit on the stove so I can watch you burn and die."

That last line can give you a pretty vivid description.

by Mindless Lauren Sun 26 Oct 2008, 1:32 pm

The child called it series themselves are amazing, there are 3 books to the series: A child called it, one from his teenage years (cant remember the title) and a man named Dave. All are powerful and something you have to keep reading once you start.

As for his mother treating him like that, she either had a mental condition or just generally she cant have liked him that much. I still cant understand why he loved her until she died.