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David Pelzer
Pelzer speaking to Airmen while visiting troops in Southwest Asia.
Born	December 29, 1960 (1960-12-29) (age 49) Daly City, California
Occupation	Autobiographer,Motivational speaker
Nationality	American
Notable work(s)	A Child Called "It"
Official website

Dave James Pelzer (born December 29, 1960)^[1] is an American author, best known for his memoir of childhood abuse, A Child Called "It". Pelzer is the son of a San Francisco fireman, Stephen Joseph Pelzer (1923 - 1980), who was of Austrian and Irish descent, and Catherine Roerva Christen Pelzer (1929 - 1992).

Pelzer was born in Daly City, California, to Stephen Pelzer and Catherine Roerva Pelzer (née Christen) and was the third of five boys. Pelzer wrote in his book that as a child he was continually abused, mistreated, and beaten by his mother, who thought of it as a game. The book documents how his mother starved him, forced him to drink ammonia, stabbed him in the stomach and forced him to eat his own vomit. His teachers stepped in on March 5, 1973 and 12-year-old Pelzer was placed in foster care. In 1979, he joined the Air Force and later became an author. The fourth boy, Richard B. Pelzer, has also written about his own abuse.

Works

Pelzer has written a number of books:

Memoir

• A Child Called It (1995) ISBN 1-55874-366-9
• The Lost Boy (1997) ISBN 1-55874-515-7
• A Man Named Dave (1999) ISBN 0-452-28190-3
• My Story (2002) ISBN 0-7528-5371-6, Compilation of A Child Called It, The Lost Boy, and A Man Named Dave
• The Privilege of Youth (2004) ISBN 0-525-94769-8

Self-help

• Help Yourself (2001) ISBN 0-452-28276-4
• Help Yourself for Teens (2005) ISBN 0-452-28652-2 '

Awards and recognition

• JC Pen Golden Rule Award (1990)

• California Volunteer of the Year (1991)

• Ten Outstanding Young Americans (1993)

• Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World(1994)

• National Jefferson Award (2005)^[2]

Controversy

A rather heated argument has been alleged between Richard Pelzer and his brother Dave Pelzer. Questions about Richard’s brother’s ethos have been raised concerning Dave’s heavily one sided depiction of his childhood, including accusations by his brother Stephen, which Dave responded to by claiming Stephen was "semi-retarded"^[3]. Numerous articles have been associated with Richard’s brother including The Mail on Sunday ("Is He Making 'It' All Up?"), the New York Times Magazine ("Dysfunction for Dollars", by Pat Jordan, July 28, 2002), and the online magazine Slate ("Dave Pelzer - The Child Abuse Entrepreneur")

References