"A Child Called It' author virtually addresses Ansonia Middle School students

Author Dave Pelzer

By Patricia Villers

ANSONIA - Be good; you will succeed in life. That’s one of the pieces of advice bestselling author David Pelzer recently gave seventh graders at Ansonia Middle School.

Pelzer’s live appearance on a big screen set up in the auditorium was coordinated by health teacher Lisa Nicolari. 

Pelzer, who is also an inspirational speaker, lives in California. He was able to see the students and they were able to pose their questions for him through Nicolari. 

Her students have been reading Pelzer’s 1995 memoir, A Child Called It, that details the years of beatings and starvation he endured from his alcoholic mother. 

Pelzer, 61, said suffering psychological pain “is worse than physical pain.”

He was one of five brothers yet he was the one their mother targeted for her horrific abuse from about age 3 until he was 12.  

At that age several of his teachers helped him get out of the house. “I owe my teachers my life,” Pelzer said.

He subsequently lived in foster homes, where he also suffered abuse until he was 18 when he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.

Pelzer’s mother had been abused by her mother, he said, referring to the abuse as a psychological cancer. “I broke the cycle with my son,” he said.

One of the questions posed by students was why he was the only sibling who was abused. 

Pelzer replied he was “selected at random” by their mother. 

Another student asked where his brothers went when he was taken out of the house. Pelzer said they stayed with their mother.

He urged students to ask for help if they need it and to work on taking care of themselves.

"I challenge you for greatness," Pelzer said.

Pelzer is the author of eight books, two of which are part of a trilogy that starts with A Child Called It. They are The Lost Boy, and A Man Named Dave.