#dave pelzer

Dave Pelzer’s childhood was marked by severe and relentless abuse that began when he was just a young boy. Initially, Dave’s family life appeared normal. He lived with his parents and four brothers in a seemingly stable household in Daly City, California. However, behind closed doors, Dave was subjected to unimaginable cruelty by his mother.

Catherine Pelzer’s abuse was systematic and brutal. She starved Dave, forced him to wear the same clothes for months, and inflicted physical and emotional torture on the young boy. She isolated him from the rest of the family, making him sleep in the basement and forbidding him from interacting with his siblings. Among the many horrific acts, she burned him on a stove, stabbed him, and forced him to consume harmful substances. She also forced him to eat his own faeces.

Dave’s father, Stephen Joseph Pelzer, was aware of the abuse but refused to intervene. He eventually abandoned the family, leaving Dave even more vulnerable to his mother’s wrath. Dave’s ordeal continued for years, largely unnoticed by those outside his home. However, his teachers at school began to see signs of his suffering. His unkempt appearance, frequent injuries, and constant hunger raised alarms. In 1973, when Dave was 12 years old, his teachers and school staff intervened. They reported the abuse to the authorities, leading to Dave’s removal from his home and placement in foster care.

This intervention marked a turning point in Dave’s life. While his journey through the foster care system presented its own challenges, it provided him with a refuge from the daily horrors he had endured. His time in foster care allowed him to begin the long process of healing and recovery. Dave Pelzer’s story did not end with his escape from his abusive home. Despite the immense trauma he faced, Dave exhibited remarkable resilience and determination. He went on to serve in the United States Air Force and later dedicated his life to helping others who have experienced abuse.

tagged by the lovely @tinygarbage 🩷

okay listen i know a stranger's heart without a home on the books row isn't a physical book but i love it dearly and it's the reason why i started to finally started being active on my blog after sitting in the background for so many years so. . . yeah

Book

A CHILD CALLED ‘IT’ Dave Pelzer

Published 1995

            A Child Called ‘It’ is a memoir about a young Californian boy being abused by his mother during the 1960s and 70s. This book won’t take you long to get through it, however; the topic is heavy; it’s about child abuse and also brings awareness of what happens to a lot of children behind closed doors.

            Dave’s family lived in Daly City, a middle-classed suburb in San Francisco; his mother was a socialite who quickly had five sons throughout the 1960s.

            Pelzer alleged that his mother was an alcoholic who beat him, starved him, treated him like a slave, forced him to drink ammonia, stabbed him in the stomach, burned his arm on a gas stove, and made him eat his own vomit.

            He stated that his father enabled his mother’s behaviour by not reacting. His brothers who witnessed the abuse were in a more favourable position with their mother. His brother later stated that he was ‘more fearful that she might kill me than of the possibility of my brother bleeding to death.’  

            Pelzer was sent to a foster family aged 12, in 1973 and not long after his father left his mother.

            A Child Called ‘It’ was published after his mother died in 1992, only six people attended her funeral - five sons and their grandmother. The family members have very little contact with each other’s and there’s also a lot of resentment between them. They all agree that their mother was a drunk and the family home was dysfunctional.

            His brother Richard published his own book which affirms Dave’s story and said he was abused once Dave was sent into foster care. His younger brother Stephen denied that Dave was abused and the reason why Dave was sent into foster care was because he started a fire and was shoplifting. Dave’s grandmother said she believed that her daughter abused Dave, but not as bad as he described in his book.

            Dave later stated his mother should never have children.

#achildcalledit #davepelzer