He later forgave his father for ignoring the abuse, and wrote a letter to his mom saying he loved her as his mother, but would never see her again. Being in a foster home and having suffered abuse caused him to yearn for the family and love he couldn't have.

Throughout his teen years, he struggled to feel loved. Although the main abuse had stopped, he faced continued mental anguish. This caused Pelzer to act out growing up. By the time Pelzer was taken out of the home, he had already suffered a great deal mentally. In his books, he refers to his relatives by pseudonyms. His second book The Lost Boy covers the time frame when he was in foster care. He was sent to a foster family at age 12 in 1973. He mentioned that his father was not active in resolving or stopping the conflicts between Pelzer and his alcoholic mother. He describes how his mom starved him, forced him to drink ammonia, stabbed him in the stomach, burned his arm on a gas stove, and forced him to eat his own vomit. He writes how his mother was physically and emotionally abusive towards him from ages 4 to 12. Pelzer's book A Child Called 'It' describes from his viewpoint the severe abuse he suffered as a child. Pelzer and Patsy divorced, and many years later, he married his second wife, Marsha, who was his editor. In 1996, he carried a torch in the 1996 Summer Olympics torch relay. In the 1980s, Pelzer married his first wife, Patsy (a pseudonym), with whom he had a son. His teachers stepped in on March 5, 1973, when 12-year-old Pelzer was placed in foster care. Pelzer's books describe the abuse he suffered for several years of his childhood, including continual mistreatment and beatings by his mother, who he said thought of it as a game. He is the son of Catherine Roerva Christen Pelzer (1929-1992) and San Francisco fireman Stephen Joseph Pelzer (1923-1980). Pelzer was born in San Francisco, California on December 29, 1960, and was the second of five boys. This book brought Pelzer fame, and also been a source of controversy, with accusations of several events being fabricated coming from both family members and journalists. His 1995 memoir of childhood abuse, A Child Called 'It': One Child's Courage to Survive, was listed on The New York Times Bestseller List for several years, and in 5 years had sold at least 1.6 million copies. Pelzer speaking to Airmen while visiting troops in Southwest Asia.ĭavid James Pelzer (born December 29, 1960, in San Francisco, California) is an American author of several autobiographical and self-help books.

A Man Named Dave by Dave Pelzer