A Child Called It, The Lost Boy and A Man Named Dave

For this report, I have read all three of Dave Pelzer's books about his life: A Child Called “It”, The Lost Boy and A Man Named Dave.

A Child Called “It” chronicles Dave's life as a child, and is told from that viewpoint. From his earliest recollections of a relatively happy life with "the Mommy" to his life and death struggle with "The Mother", this book details the horror of Dave’s dehumanizing existence. Going far beyond “typical” physical, emotional and psychological abuses, Dave’s story tells of intentional starvation, forced coprophagia, poisoning and much more. This volume covers his life from his earliest memories at age 4 until his rescue at age 12.

The Lost Boy picks up the story where the first book leaves off, following Dave through the foster care system until the age of 18. Dave’s navigation through the foster care system is an arduous journey. His sense of survival is strong, but being a foster child is not easy.

A Man Named Dave is the final book in the trilogy, covering Dave's life from his enlistment in the Air Force through the present day. From his resolve to be accepted by the Air Force to his almost desperate determination to be a good father to his son, Dave shares with the reader his difficulty adjusting to a “normal” life.

Diversity

The Pelzer family was white and middle class. Dave’s father, Stephen, was a firefighter, and his mother, Catherine, was a homemaker. Both parents were alcoholics. They lived in a “good” neighborhood in a modest home. Until the abuse began, Dave’s life with his parents and brothers was good. In his words, “Our every whim was fulfilled with love and care” (Pelzer, 1995).

The two areas of diversity I recognized in these books are economic status and disability. Because...

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...tainable: his mother’s love.

Bibliography:

Erikson, E. H., (1950). Childhood and Society. New York: Norton.

Erikson, E. H., (1968). Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: Norton.

Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper & Row.

Pelzer, D. (1995). A Child Called “It”. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc.

Pelzer, D. (1997). The Lost Boy. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc.

Pelzer, D. (1999) A Man Named Dave. NY: Penguin Putnam, Inc.

Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (1987). A History of Modern Psychology. Orlando, FL:

Harcourt-Brace.

U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. (1979). [Brochure]. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing office.

Zastrow, C., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (1997). Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment. (4th ed.) Chicago: Nelson-Hall Publishers, Inc.