Book Stirs Emotions, Brings Awareness to Abuse
Do we know the signs of abuse? Would we take action?
Having recently read the disturbing book, A Child Called “It,” I'm left wondering, how could a mother do such horrific things to her own child? Beyond that, would I see the signs if a child I knew was being abused? The book is written by Dave Pelzer, who writes that his mother psychologically and physically abused him from the time he was 5 until age 12, when school staff finally picked up on his situation. What mother could force their child to drink straight ammonia and Clorox, lay in a cold bath for hours on end, and starve for days at a time? These are minor examples of the tortures she put him through, according to his testament. He often came to school with bruises, cuts, and burns, but had a prepared excuse, provided by "Mother." …
