The child called it that.

This book tells the unforgettable story of one of the most severe cases of child abuse in California history. It's the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally disturbed, alcoholic mother: a mother who played complex and unpredictable games—games that nearly took his life. He had to learn how to play his mother's games to survive, because she no longer saw him as a son, but a slave; no longer a boy, but a "thing." Dave's bed was an old army cot in the basement, and his clothes were ragged and crude. When his mother allowed him the luxury of food, it was only rotten scraps that even dogs refused to eat. The outside world knew nothing of his living nightmare. He had nothing and no one to turn to, but his dreams kept him alive—dreams of someone to care for him, to love him, and to call him a son.