This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games—games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy, but an "it." Dave's bed was an old army cot in the basement, and his clothes were torn and raunchy. When his mother allowed him the luxury of food, it was nothing more than spoiled scraps that even the dogs refused to eat. The outside world knew nothing of his living nightmare. He had nothing or no one to turn to, but his dreams kept him alive—dreams of someone taking care of him, loving him and calling him their son.
An author best known for his 1995 memoir of childhood abuse, A Child Called It.
At the age of 12, Dave was removed from an abusive home and placed in a series of foster homes. In 1979, he joined the Air Force and later became an author of memoirs and self-improvement books.
A CHILD CALLED "IT" IS COMING TO THE BIG SCREEN.
August 2017 - We are very excited to announce that write...
- 本书真实记录了加州历史上最严重的儿童虐待案之一，作者大卫·佩尔泽被母亲视为奴隶而非儿子，遭受殴打、饥饿及精神折磨，被迫在地下室恶劣环境中求生，展现了人性在极端黑暗中的挣扎与生存本能。
- 书中详细描写了作者如何通过适应环境、在内心寻找动力来对抗绝望，强调即使身处地狱般的生活，也要珍惜微小价值，拒绝被过去吞噬，体现了从受害者到幸存者的心理转变过程，警示人们正视创伤而非逃避。
- 作者反思了家庭暴力的复杂性与旁观者的冷漠，指出父亲等亲属的视而不见加剧了悲剧，同时探讨了对施暴者保持理解而非仇恨的艰难平衡，呼吁社会关注儿童保护，揭示母爱缺失与人性扭曲带来的深远伤害。
- 对心理学、创伤恢复及家庭暴力议题感兴趣的读者，希望通过真实案例理解虐待幸存者的心理机制，学习如何面对过去阴影，重建自我价值，以及探讨人性在极端压力下的反应与救赎可能性。
- 关注儿童权益保护、社会伦理及家庭教育问题的读者，本书揭示了监护缺失与情感忽视的严重后果，适合希望深入了解家庭内部暴力隐蔽性，反思父母责任边界，并寻求如何预防类似悲剧发生的群体。
- 具备较强心理承受能力，愿意直面人性黑暗面与痛苦经历的读者，本书内容残酷且情绪强烈，不适合寻求轻松娱乐的读者，但适合希望从极端逆境中汲取生存意志，理解坚韧与宽恕力量的深思型读者。
- 本书内容涉及极度残忍的儿童虐待细节，阅读过程可能引发强烈不适与情绪波动，建议读者在心理状态稳定时阅读，避免在心情低落或敏感时期接触，以免受到过度负面影响，必要时可暂停阅读以保护心理健康。
- 读者需理解本书为作者个人视角的回忆录，部分情节可能存在记忆偏差或主观解读，书中对施暴者动机的探讨并未提供明确答案，建议保持批判性思维，不盲目代入或过度简化复杂的人性与伦理问题。
- 书中强调放下过去、接受现实的重要性，但读者应警惕将作者的个人经历普遍化，每个创伤案例都是独特的，阅读时应关注其生存策略与心理重建过程，而非简单模仿或评判，避免对受害者或施暴者进行非黑即白的道德审判。
- 读者普遍认为本书内容极其残酷且令人震惊，许多人对亲生母亲虐待孩子的行为感到难以置信与愤怒，同时批评父亲及其他亲属的冷漠与不作为，认为这种家庭内部的包庇与忽视加剧了悲剧，引发对人性邪恶与社会责任的深刻反思。
- 尽管部分读者质疑作者叙述的真实性或认为转变过于突兀，但多数读者被作者顽强的求生意志与最终展现的感恩与宽恕所打动，认为本书具有强大的情感冲击力，能让人深刻体会到童年创伤的毁灭性及治愈的艰难与重要性。
- 读者共识认为本书不适合所有人群，尤其是心理承受能力较弱者，但同时也肯定其作为警示录的价值，强调一个好的童年能治愈一生，而不好的童年需一生治愈，呼吁社会关注儿童保护，拒绝视而不见，正视家庭暴力问题。
本导读基于书籍简介、目录、原文摘录、短评和书评生成，不等同于全文精读。
- "那些经历，我学会了适应环境，善于在恶劣的处境中生存下去，学会了在内心寻找生活的动力。这些经历使我善于从他人不甚了解的角度理解生活。别人认为是理所当然该得到或占有的东西，我却懂得珍惜它的价值。"
- "With no dreams, I found that words like hope and faith were only letters, randomly put together into something meaningless - words only for fairy tales."
- "Today I am. I made sure I let go of my past, accepting the fact that that part of my life was only a small fraction of my life. I knew the black hole was out there, waiting to suck me in and forever control my destiny – but only if I let it."
- "They look the other way, believing that by not acknowledging their past it will go away. They seem to believe that above all Pandora's Box must stay closed."
- "一个十二岁的小家伙——有点儿疑惑，对有些事情考虑得过多，对另一些事情明白不过来。我明白，为了生存，你得事先考虑很多。不过，你需要把那些忘掉。你可能永远找不到答案，而且，我不希望你的过去纠缠着你。我甚至不明白，可能永远也不会明白，为什么这些事情要发生在孩子身上。但是我知道，你需要非常小心地对待此刻正做着的事情，而不是试图寻找关于过去的答案。"
- "她拉着我的一条胳膊，往煤气灶蓝里泛黄的火苗上拽。我鼻子里闻到胳膊上汗毛被烧焦的气味。"
- "厨房的炉台上放着另一块尿布，上面的屎尿比刚才那一块还多，一股臭味叫我直想呕吐。”把它吃了“。"
- "妈妈：真对不起，到这儿来并不是我的意思。我不想泄露那个秘密，我不想伤害咱们的家庭。你能原谅我吗？"
