Child Called "It" (Turtleback School & Library edition)

A Common Issue

Dave Pelzer, who lived with his unstable, disturbed, alcoholic mother in a town in California during the early 70's, explains his story about his torturous unforgettable years as a young boy. Throughout the story, he does his best to survive from his mother and tries to stay alive from the pain of hunger, bruises and cuts he receives. The only thing that keeps him alive are his dreams, wanting a happy and safe family, and also being someone.
It's terrifying to think after reading this that, this really had happened to someone, it isn't fake. This made me say to myself, "wow, life can be so messed up, but you can survive even the most horrible things, as long as you follow your dream, and keep it with you as close as possible." I believe this is the message, Dave Pelzer is trying to reach out, not only to the people who get abused consistently, but also to those who suffer a great deal of pain from something terrible everyday. Once you have read the last word of the story, and closed the book, you will definitely know that this book has just changed your life.

Great Reading

This is one book that I wasn't able to put down until I finished it. The author painted a picture of how a child was able to over come severe abuse too become a great father and hard worker for the ones who cannot fight for themselves. I only wish there was someone like Dave around when I was I child going through an abusive home life.

This books affirms my choice of making social work my career path. It is a very sad story, but since it is an autobiography, you know he made it out ok in the end.

A Book You'd Like to Not Believe is True

You'd most likely be like me and wish that what you were reading isn't true. For a while, in fact, it felt "over the top" and too horrible to be true but if you open your mind to the author's words you will see and know and feel that it can be true all too often and is no doubt accurate with some variations to particulars in the lives of other victims.

It is a heartbreaking book, a book that begins in such a positive frame of mind describing an idyllic childhood with happy memories. But those happy memories only seem to increase the pain of what his home life turned into, having gone so almost seamlessly from heaven to hell.

It gives good insight into the failures of "the system". In the end the system redeems him and gives him a hope for a better life but all that is discussed in the author's continuing saga of his incredible life.

A very good book to read to become aware of the the way familys fall apart, how they interact and how they can turn on one another.

I recommend highly. It is easy to read in that it can be read quickly but hard to read in its tragedy.

We need to see beyond the surface of what appears to be going on down to the level where we can see reality which isn't always pretty.

execlant

Oce I picked this book up I couldn't put it down until I finished it. I am a very slow reader and read this book in two days. That is a record for me.