HAYWOOD’S HYPE

Guest reviewer: Rosalinda Torres

A CHILD CALLED IT

One of the worst abuse cases in California’s history ended on March 5, 1973: A story of a child, who was abused by his alcoholic mother and had a father who ignored what was happening. This story is easy to read, but difficult to comprehend; the difficulty lies in understanding how any mother could treat her child this way. Besides being horribly beaten, Dave was forced to eat his own vomit, swallow soap, ammonia, and Clorox; these were just the beginning of his mother’s “games”.

Dave’s childhood was not always a nightmare. There were “good years” when his mother would take him and his brothers to have fun as a family. All the love and admiration that Dave felt for his mother changed at the age of four and turned into hate, fear, and loneliness. There were times when Dave had to steal food from his classmates in order to survive. He was able to plan a way he could eat once a week.

The book is written through the perspective of the child. The abuse became so terrible that she actually started referring to Dave as “The Boy,” instead of her son, or Dave.

Dave Pelzer received many awards and personal commendations from Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush. In 1993, Dave received the honor of being chosen “The Outstanding Young Persons of the World Award” for his efforts in teaching about child abuse and its prevention.

Dave is still coping with his trauma. The nightmares he went through he will not forget, and to this day, he still has memories of what it was like to be abused by his mother. Among other books that Dave has written is The Lost Boy a continuation of the story A Child Called It.