Book Report On A Child Called It By Dave Pelzer

In the autobiography “A Child Called It” the author, Dave Pelzer, tells us about the abuse he suffers as a child. Child abuse is often defined as an action or failure to act when a parent or caregiver causes emotional or physical harm, death or injury to a child. Abuse can be physical, emotional, sexual or neglect. In his book, Dave describes for us the three waves of abuse he suffered, physical, emotional and neglect.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, mental illness is health conditions that involve major changes in our behavior, thinking and emotions and it causes distress/problems functioning in work, family, and social settings. Dave’s mother suffered from depression and mental instability. Dave writes, that his mother’s

Physical abandonment is when a parent/caregiver leaves a child without regard for the child’s welfare and mental abandonment is when a child lives with the parent or caregiver and the parent or caregiver neglects to provide adequate care for the child. Dave suffered both types of abandonment from his father. Dave’s father did not physically abuse David or degrade him with name calling like Dave’s mother did, however, he did show Dave a lot of mental abandonment, Dave writes about his father watching his mother abuse him and doing nothing to stop it. Dave’s father watched him be forced to swallow cleaning products, eat vomit, sleep in the garage, wear torn dirty clothing, and responded without compassion when Dave was stabbed by his mother. In my opinion, Dave’s father was emotionally abused and brainwashed into thinking Dave was a troubled child from Dave’s mother. When his father would step in Dave’s mother became worse with her actions and words. Dave’s father was stripped of his right to be a father and an authority figure. Dave state that his father once told him, “…Damn it boy, we don’t need anything that will make her more upset! I don’t need that tonight.” From this statement we are let to believe Dave’s father was emotionally worn out and knew that fighting and disagreeing with his wife accomplished nothing but more abuse from the mother towards himself and Dave. Dave’s father buried himself in alcohol and his work as a

In my opinion, Dave did not give up hope and continued to fight because he was able to remember the good times and, in some way, he felt that good life would come back. Fighting for survival was Dave’s way of defying his mother, as he states in his book, “In order to survive, I could never give in to her” and he could not outright defy his mother so, refusing to give in and show weakness was his way of secret defiance. When Dave’s father left for good Dave tried so hard to smell his father’s cologne off of a packaged giving to him by his father. When David could not smell anything he states, “At that instant, I hated God more than anything else in this or any other world.” With his father out of the picture Dave’s mother looks at Dave and sneered, “You are all mine now. Too bad your father’s not here to protect you.” Dave felt that his mother would eventually kill him and despite the fact that he hated God he bows his head says that he, "…prayed with all my heart.” And before getting out of the car and with “…peace in my heart” he finishes the Lord’s Prayer. The significance of Dave saying the Lord’s Prayer I believe, was Dave’s way of giving God one more chance to help him escape the evil that was upon him even though is meant