A Child Called "It" (Dave Pelzer, #1)

by Dave Pelzer

That day I vowed to myself that I would never, ever again give that bitch the satisfaction of hearing me beg her to stop beating me.

Sometimes at night I would wake up and try to imagine I was a real person, sleeping under a warm electric blanket, knowing I was safe and that somebody loved me. My imagination worked for awhile, but the cold nights always brought me back to my reality. I knew no one could help me. Not my teachers, my so-called brothers or even Father. I was on my own, and every night I prayed to God that I could be strong both in body and soul.

I felt lower than a dog.

I wanted to show The Bitch that she could beat me only if I died, and I was determined not to give in, even to death.

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.

Hate was all I had left.

Each year thousands of abused girls run away from home and sell their bodies in order to survive.