This was a very touching and inspirational story told by Dave Pelzer. It is about the awful maltreatment that David endured as a child and also how he survived to become a strong man today. The story begins when David was 12 years old, on the day that he was finally rescued from his mother's abuse. He tells the story from that day first so that the readers know that he does indeed survive. This makes the story all that much more unbelievable. This is a story of survival not one of demise or hate. It introduces the major theme of the power of the human spirit to overcome remarkable odds.
The story begins on the day that David was finally rescued. David's teachers had noticed bruises and scars on him for years. The school Principal had even made an attempt to call David's mother one day but quickly learned that that caused beatings as well. As David sits in the office on this final day he anxiously awaits what he thinks will lead to another beating. He briefly recalls what had happened that morning before he got to school. His mother had forced him to wash dishes in scalding hot water and he had another "usual" beating when he took his hands out of the sink. Afterwards, David was "rewarded" for doing his chores by getting to eat his brother's left over cereal. David also explains how the other children at school treat him. Nobody likes him and many of the popular kids bully him. The children make fun of David because of the stench from the battered clothes that he has been forced to wear to school everyday for two years. They don't trust David either because of him needing to steal their lunch money for food.
David was beaten and abused on a regular basis for eight years. His life wasn't always one of torment though. For many years he and his mother had a wonderful, loving relationship. Then suddenly, after years of drinking, David became a slave for his mother, an "it", no longer a boy with a name or worthy enough for a family.