“At night I no longer dreamed, nor did I let my imagination work during the day. The once vibrant escapes of watching myself fly through the clouds in bright blue costumes were now a thing of the past. When I fell asleep, my soul became consumed in a black void. I no longer awoke in the mornings refreshed; I was tired and told myself that I had one day less to live in this world. I shuffled through my chores, dreading every moment of every day. 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.”
David Pelzer - A Child Called’ It’
The book, A Child Called ‘It’ unfolds an unbelievable and pathetic storyline based on a child who went through an enormous amount of child abuse for several years.
Dave Pelzer, the survivor of extreme child brutality penned his life story and published the book in 1995 to make the world aware of the suffering a child goes through growing up in an atmosphere of domestic violence and child abuse. The series of incidents which unfold throughout the chapters are intensely distressing and disturbing, and a child should never undergo or encounter anything like this in his lifetime.
Today, Dave Pelzer is a public speaker, philanthropist, and activist fighting against child abuse. His voice has influenced many organisations to stand for child safety in terms of emotional, psychological, physical, social well-being. Child abuse is an unforgivable crime. The damage caused by child abuse is something hard to rovercome, and it could lead to several psychological issues while leaving permanent scars in one's mind.
Responsibility
A child is the future of a nation. Having a child is not a trivial thing and lresponsibility lies in the hands of two adults; because; they are the creators of the next generation of people. The parents should be in a position where they have the energy, strength, and knowledge in taking care of a child till they can stand on their own feet. However, adults knowingly or unknowingly take on this two-decade-long project, which is a child. Presently, most people decide to have a child due to pressure coming from society or without any preparation and knowledge as to whether they could take care of them. It is the kind of mistake most adultsmake.. Being a parent itself defines that you become the most significant person in your child's life. And the person who could influence their life while being the role model for every step he takes.. Leaving a child unloved is an unforgivable crime an adult could commit.
Dave Pelzer was exposed to horror and brutality from four years of age till he turns twelve years old that one could never imagine how extrinsic the trauma is. Apart from the physical torture, the psychological torment went as far as his mother putting him down to the ultimate low levels a human being could name. Calling him 'it' and convincing him that he no longer could be considered as a human, which his mother forced him to believe, has influenced him to name the book as such.
Message
The book A Child Called ‘It' opened the eyes of millions of people, and it sent the strong message that ill-treating a child leads to severe punishment by law. Dave's story is known to the world today as he raised his voice on behalf of silenced innocent souls. However, it is a mystery how many stories are gone unheard, unseen, and unknown. Children never should be a victim to mentally crooked and paralyzed adults. The compulsive hate-oriented impulses of adults are the roots of all kinds of abuse towards a child. The book A Child Called’ It’ will leave you in tears, and Dave’s story will make you aware and motivated to perform your responsibility as an adult to uproot child abuse from your society at all levels and ensure it never passes to the next generation.