User:TheCrystalHermitCrab/Dave Pelzer

David James Pelzer (born December 29, 1960, in San Francisco, California) is an American author, of several autobiographical and self-help books. His 1995 memoir of childhood abuse, A Child Called "It", was listed on The New York Times Bestseller List for several years, and in 5 years had sold at least 1.6 million copies. The book has brought Pelzer his fame and well know name, and also been a source of controversy for Pelzer, with accusations of several events being fabricated coming from both family members and journalists.

Biography
Pelzer was born in San Francisco, California on December 29, 1960 and was the second of five boys. He grew up in Daly City, California. He is the son of Catherine Roerva Christen Pelzer (1929-1992) and San Francisco fireman Stephen Joseph Pelzer (1923-1980). Pelzer's books describe the abuse he suffered for several years of childhood, including continual mistreatment and beatings by his mother, who he said thought of it as a game. His teachers stepped in on March 5, 1973, when 12-year-old Pelzer was placed in foster care. At age 18 he joined the U.S. Air Force in 1979 and served in the Gulf War. In the 1980s Pelzer married his first wife Patsy (a pseudonym), with whom he had a son. In 1996 he carried a torch in the 1996 Summer Olympics torch relay. Pelzer and Patsy divorced and many years later he married his second wife, Marsha, who was his editor.

Current life[edit]
After writing his many books, David Pelzer spends much of his time within the community. He spends much of his time giving lectures across the country, and he is also a volunteer. Pelzer is now a motivational speaker and speaks to high school students and adults about the concept of resilience. Pelzer also sometimes makes television appearances here and there about his books. [https://littlethings.com/lifestyle/dave-pelzer-abuse-survival#:~:text=Dave%20Pelzer%20is%20now%20a,story%20and%20promote%20his%20book. https://littlethings.com/lifestyle/dave-pelzer-abuse-survival#:~:text=Dave%20Pelzer%20is%20now%20a,story%20and%20promote%20his%20book.] SOURCE ^^^

Abuse
His book A Child Called "It" describes from his viewpoint the severe abuse he suffered as a child. He writes how his mother was physically and emotionally abusive towards him from ages 4 to 12. He describes how his mom starved him, forced him to drink ammonia, stabbed him in the stomach, burned his arm on a gas stove, and forced him to eat his own vomit. He mentioned that his father was not active in resolving or stopping the conflicts between Pelzer and his alcoholic mother. He was sent to a foster family at age 12 in 1973. In the book he refers to his relatives by pseudonyms. By the time Pelzer was taken out of the home, he had already suffered a great deal mentally. This caused Pelzer to act out growing up. Although the main abuse had stopped, he fought internally a long time. Throughout his teen years, he struggles to feel loved. Being in a foster home and haing suffered abuse caused him to yearn for the family and love he couldn't have. He even forgave his father for ignoring the abuse, and wrote a letter to his mom saying he loved her as his mother, but would never see her again. She died before he could send it. Throughout the rest of his life, he somewhat healed from the abuse but will never forget what he had been through. He now has written self help books to help others overcome their challenges and abuse they suffered.

One of Dave's brothers, Richard B. Pelzer, published his own autobiography, A Brother's Journey, that detailed his experiences. Paraphrased, Pelzer said in the afterword of his book that his objectives for his story was to show how a parent can become abusive and how the human spirit can triumph and survive.

Sources for abuse : https://www.enotes.com/topics/the-lost-boy-pelzer/themes

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2743.The_Lost_Boy

https://www.conductdisorders.com/community/threads/the-david-pelzer-a-child-called-it-family-war-aftermath-of-book.60171/

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/86619.Help_Yourself_for_Teens

Books
Pelzer's first book, A Child Called "It" was published in 1995 and describes the abuse Pelzer suffered in his childhood. His second book, The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family was published shortly after in 1997. The book covered Pelzer's teen years. The third book in his series, A Man Named Dave: A Story of Triumph and Forgiveness was about Pelzer's experiences as an adult and how he forgave his father. In 2001 he wrote Help Yourself: Finding Hope, Courage, And Happiness which was a self-help book. When discussing his seventh book Moving Forward he said, "My message has always been about resilience".

A Child called "it" - A Child called "it" was Dave Pelzers first book, and a bibliography. The book covered the story of Dave Pelzer and the abuse he suffered from ages 0-12. Pelzer was physically and mentally abused by his mother. This book goes into detail of all different kind of abuse he suffered, beatings, starvation, manipulation games, and even being stabbed. Eventually the book ends with Pelzer escaping his nightmare and being placed into foster care.

The lost boy - Pelzers second book and a continuation of his first book, A Child called "it".  This book was released in 1997 and covers the time period in Pelzers life where he had come into foster care, up until he had found his forever home. During this book David goes through a lot of emotions. He had gone to court and confessed what his mother had done, ending up with him in the foster care system. David wonders if the abuse he endured was his fault. While in his first foster home David acted out frequently and had a stealing problem. He would still see his mother as visits who promised to get him back, but he eventually ended up going through foster families, getting in more trouble and finally getting sent to a juvenile hall. After David got out of foster care, he enlisted in the Air force. The book ends were David learn how to treat others and be a better person.

A Man Named David - This book is the 3rd book in the A Child called "it" series. This books takes place when David is an adult. It covers him becoming the person he is now, and how he handles what had happened in the past. He tries to find answers and ways to heal in this bool, as well as trying to find closure with his biological mom and dad.

Current life

After writing his many books, David Pelzer spends much of his time within the community. He spends much of his time giving lectures across the country, and he is also a volunteer. Pelzer is now a motivational speaker and speaks to high school students and adults about the concept of resilience. Pelzer also sometimes makes television appearances here and there about his books.