A Child Called It

Le Rack

Has anyone read this book? Its so unbelievable, if you haven't read it then go get it. Well its actually a trilogy but I'm only on the first one and theres no words to describe it......

Pen0s

my girlfriend swears by this book, she said she was crying when she was reading it, its true story or something isnt it?

Le Rack

Yeah its the true story of a boy (Dave Pelzer) who was brutally abused by his mother. She put his arm in the flames of the stove at one point and tried to make him lie on top of the stove naked!!! Its so heart wrenching or rendering whatever especially since the abuse started about the age of four and this particular book goes from age 4-11/12 theres two others from other parts of his life. Its so terrible and he was the 3rd worst abused child in the history of the USA.

mayordenis

I couldnt bring my self to read that.

Le Rack

oh no seriously its unbelievable and incredible cuz its also the story of his survival

humbleCounty

how do you survive that?

you might be breathing, but i don't think you could ever live

Le Rack

Its true. the poor boy became an empty hollow shell and all that was in him was pure hatred for everything. Even those who tried to help him.

Fantasy

Iv read that ... and cryed for most of it. Its extremely disturbing. At one stage his mother made him eat the contents of his younger brothers/sisters ( can't quite remember which) nappy. seriously awful stuff in that book.

Le Rack

The most awful thing about it is its all true.....! but once you pick it up you cant put it down!

simu

Why would you want to read such a book? I'm not saying we should deny the existence of child-abuse but who needs to get an in-depth account?

wasted_winter

I read the book when it was first published. It is an amazing account of one mans life - and I had some of the same thoughts you have all mentioned when I read it. However, it didn't move me to tears - it baffled me.

I knew before reading it who the author was, and I had watched him conduct numerous interviews, so while I was reading it I was trying to correlate the image of a strong, handsome & sensitive man to the small, battered, hate-filled rat that was presented to me in those words.

Besides that I was also trying to understand how anyone, even a child, could exist in those conditions... because it was just an existence - not a life.

At the time I was coming from someone who was just recovering from a complete breakdown - and although the situtions were planets appart I was stuggling to find Dave's motivation to get up and face each day.

I'd love to know if anyone else has read the other books he published? I have to say in all honesty the book didn't affect me hugely. At the time I was searching to find the extent of human endurance - which is how I came to read the book.

Since then I'm kinda done with Pelzer - he seem to be constantly on TV, the book was brought up in debates and everytime I called to a bookstore there was another edition. When he finally hit 'A man called Dave' I thought, 'THANK GOD!'.

Sysiphus

Just finished reading it today (started it yesterday) . Harrowing to say the least. Can't quite agree with the attitude expossed by Simu, the whole don't want to know, but don't want to deny attitude. The only way to create the moral outrage neccessary to stop this kind of thing happening is to inform the public of ALL the details, the more the better. Otherwise the attrocites of the world, WW2, Magdelan, Bosnia, Iraq, NI etc. would never come to light with the neccessary illumination to cause change.

wasted_winter

I've been meaning to post this for ages but everything keeps getting put onto the loooooong finger!

I don't know if anyone has read "When Rabbit Howls" by Truddi Chase. It runs along the same vein as 'A Child Called It' - the survival ( or continuing survival ) of an individual after a horrific childhood.

Truddi Chase was diagnosed with suffering from MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder) which, her therapist believes, she developed primarily to deal with the traumatic childhood abuse ( sexual, mental & physical ) she endured at the hands of her parents.

This book is one of a kind. It was written while Chase was undergoing psychotherapy - yet the book was not written directly by Chase. It was in fact written by the myriad of personalities her body is a home to - some of these personalities, referred to as “Troops”, are not aware of the existence of the others.

Amazingly enough Truddi Chase is not treated as abnormal by her close family and friends. She got married and had a daughter; she later divorced but remains close to her ex-husband. She has ran several successful businesses & although she was unaware at the time, her various personalities each had their own talents and strengths - art, management, mathematics... Truddi managed to live a 'normal' life until late adulthood without any of her employee's, family, friends or even herself realizing she actually had MPD.

The book is very fragmented, but after starting you should be able to settle into the pace of the book. I'm not affected with MPD, nor do I know anyone who is, so there were times when I found understanding the concepts within the book very hard - but again, I just reread some sections and opened my mind.

I have to say it is a fascinating read; it's not laden with medical jargon nor does run along the whole Girl, Interrupted/Institution type story. It is simply one women’s amazing story of survival - one beyond all belief - that will open your mind to the amazing power of the human mind & our inherit instinct to survive against the odds.

cecilwinthorpe

Ive read them and the only way i managed to read them was by repeating to myself that he was able to write the book because he survived it. Its really sick what he went through though! in my opinion the first book is the worst the second and third are much easier to read as the abuse isnt half as bad