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

by Dave Pelzer

With Mom, everything she touched turned to gold. She didn’t believe in doing anything halfway. Mom often told us that we must always do the best we could, in whatever we did.

That year, standing in the yard, I remember seeing Mom cry. I asked her why she was sad. Mom told me she was crying because she was so happy to have a real family.

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.

In the past, I had seen her treat animals with more compassion than she did me.

Hate was all I had left. At the core of my soul, I hated myself more than anybody or anything.

My mind was numb with questions. Where’s my Hero? What happened to him?

I knew that if God had wanted Mother and Father to be happy, then I would have to be dead.

I hated him so much for running out on his family. But perhaps even more, I was jealous of him, for he had escaped and I had not.

I felt that my time had come. Before I opened the car door, I bowed my head and with peace in my heart, I whispered, “… and deliver me from evil.” “Amen.”

The magic is about to begin. The skies are ready to burn with brilliance, as it turns from a soft blue to a bright orange.

I made a promise to myself that if I came out of my situation alive, I had to make something of myself. I would be the best person that I could be. Today I am. I made sure I let go of my past, accepting the fact that that part of my life was only a small fraction of my life.