Child abuse. We know it's out there. But do we ever really think about it? I mean, sit down and ponder about whether a young one could be locked in a basement right now, or digging out of a trash can, or getting hit on the back of the neck with a broken beer bottle. "A Child Called It", by Dave Pelzer (who happens to be the real, live, main character) is a deeply moving story about a child's courage to survive his abusive mother and all of her attempts to keep him an "it." As I read I find myself crying, as it is hard not to. Imagine being no more than 8 years old and being starved, having ammonia being forced down your throat, having your face being shoved into a soiled diaper, and having your mother stab you in the chest. Dave Pelzer Also had to endure other incidents such as having to clean a sealed bathroom and inhale fumes of a bucket of ammonia mixed with bleach, being burned on the stove, being beaten with a rubber hose and being forced to sleep on an army cot in the cold, harsh basement. Horrible. This kid ended up getting in trouble at school for stealing food, he hungered so much.
Maybe something similar of this sort happened to you, or maybe you know someone, so this isn't a matter to be taken lightly. If you do know someone undergoing the life of child abuse, please, report it. That child will thank you someday. Other than that, this book is a wonderful read, (although disturbing) and it could change the way you think about taking things for granted.
