A Boy Called It

[MasterFarter]

Being a bit short on new reading material, I borrowed this book and its sequel 'The Lost Boy' from a guy at work. He did warn me that what I was about to read might prove difficult to cope with. Well, as I say, he did warn me.

http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/9/7/0/6/ABoyCalledit.jpgDave Pelzer looks back on his life (such as it was) up to age twelve, under the brutal hand of a disturbed and alcoholic mother. The treatment that 'it' received in the family home over a period of seven years from about age five was such that his survival could really be seen as something of a miracle.

What compounds the horror that the reader experiences is the cowardice and even indifference of 'it's' Father and other family members who never really did anything to protect a helpless boy from an existence of utter brutality.

When Dave's story first came to the attention of the authorities it was rated as the worst ever recorded child abuse case in the history of California and the second worst recorded in the U.S.. With treatment from his mother including punching, kicking, stabbing, burning and poisoning with household chemicals, his daily life was modelled after what his Mother believed was the way prisoners of war and concentration camp victims were treated.

It is quite amazing that Dave manages to tell the story of his horrific childhood without the bitterness that one would almost naturally expect from someone who had survived everything that he had been through. It is also interesting that Dave as an adult looking back has presented us with the story in the simplistic language of a child, which somehow adds to the overall impact of the book.

http://forum.zgeek.com/gallery/files/9/7/0/6/lostboy.jpgDave, is free! His struggles are not over yet however. 'The Lost Boy' deals with Dave as a teenager who has absolutely no idea how to act like a human being, and who is completely unable to relate to other people because of what his life was up to age twelve.

This second part of his story allows us to follow Dave on his painful journey through a series of court cases, foster homes, schools and encounters with 'The Mother'.

Having made the gut wrenching journey through these two books, I am looking forward to reading 'A Man Called Dave' where we see that he has grown into a well adjusted and accepted member of society and has a family of his own.

Please take a look at these books, they are well worth the read and are really quite uplifting because of the inner strength that Dave shows in not only surviving to manhood, but living a succsessful life free of the baggage of his past.

Daves Site (http://www.davepelzer.com/)

Daves Books (http://www.booktopia.com.au/frontpagelinesonly.asp?StoreURL=booktopia&searchbycriteria=Dave+Pelzer&searchby=author1&submit1=Search&db=au&ezppc=google&ezcamp=davepelzer)

[kleph]

First, I want to say is I have to commend any book or person who brings this issue to fore. Covering law enforcement issues in Southern California I beheld, first hand, acts of abuse that simply defy the mind's ability to understand. The description of this incident is similar to the "target child" that has been documented in several relatively famous cases.

But, on the other hand, I find anyone using that as a means to forward their own fame and wealth contemptible beyond words. While there does not seem to be any outright dismissal of Pelzer's claim, if we learned nothing else from Stephen Fry, we should have learned to be wary.

One reason I am suspect of this account is that I have never heard of it. I covered a case (http://www.caller2.com/1999/september/20/today/national/174.html) of a child severely abused in Southern California several years ago. We did a pretty hefty amount of research into any similar cases that had occured in the region and this one never popped up. That's... unusual, particularly given the thoroughness of the Los Angeles Times and te Los Angeles Herald-Examiner's archives which we had use of.

Aside from that, what does not jive with me in this account is his supposed transformation from such an abused child to such a normal adult. This type of abuse leaves physical and mental scars that lasts a lifetime. The ability to lead what anyone would consider a "normal" life is something most survivors only dream about.

There have been several voices questioning the accuracy of Pelzer's highly-profitable books. Several family members - including his brother - have come forward to criticize the books as complete falsehoods. He also has a tendancy for playing fast and loose with the facts. He once claimed the book was "a Pulitzer Prize nominee" when, in fact, there is no nominee selection. The Pulitzer Prize committee accepts any work submitted to them for consideration.

So are these books true accounts? It is possible but, I have to say, unlikely. But I hope I am wrong. I would like to see this story do what Pelzer claims he wants it to do - help to break the horrible cycle of child abuse for others.

[MasterFarter]

Interesting.

You have pricked my curiosity. So I will probably have to do more reading around this now ,as I hate unanswered questions :)

[kleph]

One thing I learned covering cases like this is that is usually a good idea. The raw outrage in response to the initial stories in the case I refered to in 1999 was incredible. And most of the coverage that came out of the case reflected that (check the sixth item down in this column (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=2071))

The truth of the case was not that simple. That was one of the reasons my fellow reporter and I dug deeper to produce the story I linked to. The mother was clearly a victim of horrific abuse herself and the grandfather was not well either (most likely he had been suffering from the early stages of Alzheimers for much of the time the crimes occured but we had no way to verify that).

Does it excuse what they did? Of course not. But exorcating them doesn't do much good in trying to understand what occured and how it could have been prevented.

I have not read these books. I don't know the facts of Pelzer's case. But the way he has gone about presenting his story raises a lot of red flags for me.

[MasterFarter]

At this point I am leaning towards believing the story. I have done a lot of reading today and few few things I found were;

- Stephen Pelzer (the brother who denied the claims) was apparently a developmentally disabled boy who was cocooned from the situation in the family home by his mother

- Richard Pelzer, indicated as the baby brother sitting in mum's lap while she was torturing Dave, has written books himself which verify much of what is said in Dave's book

- Another reporter who raised the issues around the veracity of the story was invited to take a look at Dave's tongue, which he says was a yellow colour rather than the normal healthy pink.

none of this is conclusive of course, but as stated I currently lean towards belief.

[Javaira]

The thing with abuse, is the amazing ability of people close to the situation to live in denial.

It isn't even a conscious decision of the part of the people involved, it is a defense mechanism. Sometimes it isn't so much a denial, just a different view on what occurred. It takes a big effort to pull yourself out of a dysfunctional family and look at what has happened to you or a sibling with the eyes of an outsider, with the eyes of someone with a normal life.

Then of course you wonder how on earth you could have ever seen it differently and how did you think that something like that was ever OK. These things are hard to face. Better to stick to your old point of view.

I am not saying we shouldn't question the validity of the story, simply that the fact that one brother denies it does not prove it didn't happen.

[MasterFarter]

I read the third book 'A Man Called Dave' this week.

In it he speaks of being allowed by an old court social worker to read his file before it was sealed.

This would certainly explain that reporter not seeing the file. He said he had access to all county files but you could bet your house that this did not include 'sealed' files.

Another thing is everyone going on about Dave being too perfect given his background. When you read about his adult life he certainly produces a glossy exterior for the public, but on the inside he is fucked up. You can see him trying to build on the good stuff in his life.

As someone who had a pretty fucked up past this third book about him as an adult rings way too true for me to say anything but good onya Dave Pelzer.