A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive {have you read it?}

[Ptah]

My daughter recommended it.
A tear-jerker of a real story.


http://www.amazon.com/Child-Called-Childs-Courage-Survive/dp/1558743669/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-5864652-5283354?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188163817&sr=8-2

[Deja Q]

1. Yes I have.

And it's funny because my life is rather the opposite: Caring parents, a hostile society.

[Ptah]

3. I'm curious how you came to read that book. Did someone recommend it?

:hi:

[Deja Q]

6. A friend recommended it to me...

It's also an inspiration for one of the three books I am writing.

Though my autobiography will be a bit more in-depth... As much a learning guide as it is a sob story. Things to do and not to do so they don't end up emotionally crippled or worse; because it's NOT easy to overcome some things and end up acting as if nothing ever happened. (And I'd even show incidents where I was at fault. See, I don't want my book to have people accusing me I made everything up... (some of the negative comments on amazon were rather interesting; some of which would hold some weight too.))

[lost-in-nj]

22. hey you

I still want autographed copies.....


:hi: :hug: :hug:

lost

[Mojambo]

2. It's a devastating read.

Pelzer is an amazingly resilient human being.

[Ptah]

4. Daughter's Graymay gave it to her.

Her reaction is as close to an epiphany as I've ever seen.

Pelzer's life as an adult is remarkable.

:hi:

[Mojambo]

5. Yeah, I'm glad I read it.

Certainly gave me a new appreciation for my parents and how lucky I've been.

[pitohui]

7. wait...didn't we just have this discussion a couple weeks back...

and the conclusion was that the work was a hoax?

maybe i've got it confused w. another book?

[Ptah]

8. I don't know if it has been discussed here before.

:shrug:

I took it at face value.

Perhaps I have more to learn.

[pitohui]

9. nah maybe i've got it confused with another

i'll try to do a search in a minute but i'm terrible at search so appreciate corrections from the viewing audience as well :-)

[pitohui]

10. the slate article is interesting in view of usa libel law

under usa law you cannot libel the dead

Everyone who could question (his stories)—his mother, father, and grandmother—has died.

and i'm uncomfortable with this:

Pelzer is magnificently free of the New Age spirituality that clogs so much self-help literature. He's Ayn Randian. He survived because of his own strength, not divine intervention. The only god he worships is the god of the self. Unfortunately, he worships it all too much. Pelzer is unspeakably self-congratulatory: "I'm the real deal." He reminds readers of every award: "Here I was, an Outstanding Young Person of the World." His other characters constantly tongue-bathe him: "You're the most inspirational person I know." His book "is one in a million." Everyone else speaks in "ain'ts" and dialect, but Dave always sounds like a Rhodes scholar. He exaggerates his accomplishments. He refueled planes during the Panama invasion and the Gulf War: This he describes as "play a major role in operations Just Cause, Desert Shield, and Desert Storm." He calls himself a "Pulitzer nominee," though he wasn't a Pulitzer winner or "nominated finalist." Someone may have submitted his book for the award, but by that standard, if you mailed this article to the Pulitzer judges, I would be a "Pulitzer nominee" too.

above cites from slate article printed here:

http://www.slate.com/id/90532

wiki sez that his brother doesn't agree that his story is true either, but wiki changes day to day so who knows

i think i'm going to reserve judgment on this guy, he has obviously found a multi million dollar cash cow in being "the child called it" and that squicks me a little so maybe i can't be fair

[S n o w b a l l]

14. Are you thinking....

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey? That one did turn out to be fictional.

I'm pretty certain Dave Pelzer is not a hoax.

[pitohui]

15. yes i know frey has admitted that "a million little pieces" was a hoax

however there was a rash of hoaxes reported on at about the same time, hard to keep them all straight these days!

memoires, we're told, are not under oath and are not under any obligation to be true apparently!

[Mojambo]

11. It appears that a few people have said it's a hoax

Supposedly referencing the NY Times Review of books as a source of the hoax claim.

But in my limited searches I can't see where the NYT Review has said that.

I think people might be confusing two different books with similar subject matter.

[Ptah]

16. Fact or fiction, it moved me.

:thumbsup:

[Pithlet]

20. I wasn't part of the discussion, but I suspect the book is a hoax.

I remember when I first saw an interview of the author, and I was very moved by his story. I wanted to read the book so I did some research. Now I'm not really sure. I'm definitely not the only one.

[Oeditpus Rex]

12. Haven't read it, but I've heard Pelzer speak

Incredible story. Absolutely incredible.

[Ptah]

17. My daughter's recommendation and enthusiastic praise sure brightened me.

:hi:

[Midlodemocrat]

13. I've read the whole series. Incredible books.

[Ptah]

18. Nice post H . .

I agree.

:hi:

[LydiaJ]

19. I've read it but it's curious how lukewarm the author is

to his brother who also writes a similiar account of abuse.

According to the younger brother, he was treated like any other boy until his brother (the one in "It") was taken away by Social Services. That, according to the boy (now grown) was when the mother started abusing him.

Perhaps the older boy couldn't or wouldn't picture his younger brother being abused as well. He gives a nice reveiw of his bother's book on the cover but that seems to be about it. The younger boy's work does seem a bit unpolished and it makes you wonder if he got the book published because of his brother.

Nonetheless, I think some awful abuse occurred and "It" was a moving account of that abuse.

[lost-in-nj]

21. I will be honest

I couldn't get through the description of the book......
:cry: :cry: :cry:
so I doubt I will be able to read the book

thank you for telling us about it though......

another "there but for the grace of god go I" moment......


:pals:

lost

[crim son]

23. My daughter recommended it to me too.

I didn't find it uplifting. :cry: