<P> Pelzer was born in San Francisco, California the second of five boys . He grew up in Daly City, California . He is the son of Catherine Roerva Christen Pelzer (1929 - 1992) and San Francisco fireman Stephen Joseph Pelzer (1923 - 1980). Pelzer's books describe the abuse he suffered for several years of childhood, including continual mistreatment and beatings by his mother, who he said thought of it as a game . His teachers stepped in on March 5, 1973, when 12 - year - old Pelzer was placed in foster care . At age 18 he joined the U.S. Air Force in 1979 and served in the Gulf War . In the 1980s Pelzer married his first wife Patsy (a pseudonym), with whom he had a son . In 1996 he carried a torch in the 1996 Summer Olympics torch relay . Pelzer and Patsy divorced and many years later he married his second wife, Marsha, who was his editor . </P> <P> His book A Child called "It" describes from his viewpoint the severe abuse he suffered as a child . He writes how his mother was physically and emotionally abusive towards him from ages 4 to 12 . 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 mentioned that his father was not active in resolving or stopping the conflicts between Pelzer and his alcoholic mother . He was sent to a foster family at age 12 in 1973 . In the book he refers to his relatives by pseudonyms . </P> <P> One of Dave's brothers, Richard B. Pelzer, published his own autobiography, A Brother's Journey, that detailed his experiences . A Brother's Journey . Paraphrased, Pelzer said in the afterword of his book that his objectives for his story was to show how a parent can become abusive and how the human spirit can triumph and survive . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section needs expansion . You can help by adding to it . (January 2014) </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Does the child called it have a movie