Old Millennial born in 1984, read three of the Pelzer books when I was about 14. Naturally I found them harrowing and foul but I was also *deep* into my obsessional reading of serial killers and criminal profiling (a wild time).
My aunt was at the time a senior psychotherapist working in one of the largest maximum security psychiatric hospitals in the country so I asked her professional opinion about how a parent could do this to a child. Her opinion was much more about why the child would feel the motivation to explore this trauma over and over via the writing, release and promotion of the books, essentially calling the books into question. Then it started to come out that he had potentially fabricated the stories…
Massive respect btw for sticking to posts on Substack, rather than the notes / twitter-esque bits. Frustrating that they’ve introduced all that: I’m sure many people - like me - migrated here to get away from the doom scroll 😡
I adore your sub stack it’s the only one I really read. Also miss the high low!
I read a child called it when I was probably about 15 I think there were questions at the time about whether it was true. This is really interesting to read. Constantly falling down google holes!
I was Pelzer’s book publicist. He was VERY difficult to deal with. I don’t know what’s true/untrue, but he used to do impersonations all the time. You never knew which version of him you’d get. It was unpleasant to say the least…
One flying tip from an equally terrified passenger (I often have to hold the hand of an air hostess for reassurance much to the mortification of my husband + kids), I have found the Dare app really really useful when flying - they've got guided sort of meditations that talk you down from the beginnings of a panic attack / nerves throughout each stage of the flight and it is brilliant and hugely calming.
Richard Osman did a really interesting explanation of channel 5 and how/why it’s so successful on The Rest is Entertainment last week, very worth a listen!
Do you think true crime podcasts are the new misery memoir? As someone who never got the latter and feels like the only woman in her thirties not obsessed with the former, I have wondered about this.
According to my Goodreads profile, I read A Child Called It in 2003 when I was 17 and I rated it one star. I feel like, even at that tender age, my bullshit radar must have been going off. I wasn't aware of any of the context at the time, or subsequently so thanks for this eye opener (!!), but it does not surprise me that they were super controversial, or potentially untrue. There's a way to express your trauma through writing and Pelzer's is not it.
I haven’t read Dave Pelzer’s “trauma porn” books or any of that genre (you’re spot-on about the “porcelain doll” faces on the front cover though). I remember Dara O’Brian mocking them on ‘Mock the Week’ saying they were all titled “Daddy…no!!”. I did love murder and horror books as a kid though; I think my parents are still relieved I didn’t end up as a serial killer! As for “post hoc ergo propter hoc” - you missed the second “hoc” - I’ve known the phrase and meaning for years, despite never learning Latin. This is due to the all-powerful medium of TV; it is the title of the second ever episode of “The West Wing”, in which President Bartlet is shocked that none of his legally-trained staff know what it means. Worth a watch.
Yep I was right there with you as a pre-teen: Child Called It, Angela's Ashes, Jon-Benet Ramsay. Coupled with the horrific stories around the Soham murders and Milly Dowler at roughly the same time, I wonder if as children, we were trying to understand the world around us a bit more? As a parent now, I feel way too raw to read anything about children - I had to put down Demon Copperfield and Wandering Souls recently as I couldn't bear the pain.
There must also be a cultural through-line from misery lit into sob-story driven reality TV... Like a cultural priming for tragedy.
OMG A Child Called It absolutely destroyed me when I read it (so long ago I can’t remember his writing style tbh) When I think back to the traumatic books I got away with reading in South Africa in those days I shudder - my parents didn’t care
That he may have conjured it all up and it’s lies makez me feel sick - URGH.
Old Millennial born in 1984, read three of the Pelzer books when I was about 14. Naturally I found them harrowing and foul but I was also *deep* into my obsessional reading of serial killers and criminal profiling (a wild time).
My aunt was at the time a senior psychotherapist working in one of the largest maximum security psychiatric hospitals in the country so I asked her professional opinion about how a parent could do this to a child. Her opinion was much more about why the child would feel the motivation to explore this trauma over and over via the writing, release and promotion of the books, essentially calling the books into question. Then it started to come out that he had potentially fabricated the stories…
Auntie knew 🤷♀️
Massive respect btw for sticking to posts on Substack, rather than the notes / twitter-esque bits. Frustrating that they’ve introduced all that: I’m sure many people - like me - migrated here to get away from the doom scroll 😡
I adore your sub stack it’s the only one I really read. Also miss the high low!
I read a child called it when I was probably about 15 I think there were questions at the time about whether it was true. This is really interesting to read. Constantly falling down google holes!
I was Pelzer’s book publicist. He was VERY difficult to deal with. I don’t know what’s true/untrue, but he used to do impersonations all the time. You never knew which version of him you’d get. It was unpleasant to say the least…
One flying tip from an equally terrified passenger (I often have to hold the hand of an air hostess for reassurance much to the mortification of my husband + kids), I have found the Dare app really really useful when flying - they've got guided sort of meditations that talk you down from the beginnings of a panic attack / nerves throughout each stage of the flight and it is brilliant and hugely calming.
Richard Osman did a really interesting explanation of channel 5 and how/why it’s so successful on The Rest is Entertainment last week, very worth a listen!
My favourite brand signifier - The Adidas three stripes. Iconic.
Your newsletter brings me SO much joy!
Oh my good Lord the worm in the brain story 😲🤢 And the kicker? The final paragraph about the larvae cysts 🤮
I love a Google hole! My partner always says he can tell when I’m researching by the intense look of concentration on my face.
Do you think true crime podcasts are the new misery memoir? As someone who never got the latter and feels like the only woman in her thirties not obsessed with the former, I have wondered about this.
According to my Goodreads profile, I read A Child Called It in 2003 when I was 17 and I rated it one star. I feel like, even at that tender age, my bullshit radar must have been going off. I wasn't aware of any of the context at the time, or subsequently so thanks for this eye opener (!!), but it does not surprise me that they were super controversial, or potentially untrue. There's a way to express your trauma through writing and Pelzer's is not it.
I haven’t read Dave Pelzer’s “trauma porn” books or any of that genre (you’re spot-on about the “porcelain doll” faces on the front cover though). I remember Dara O’Brian mocking them on ‘Mock the Week’ saying they were all titled “Daddy…no!!”. I did love murder and horror books as a kid though; I think my parents are still relieved I didn’t end up as a serial killer! As for “post hoc ergo propter hoc” - you missed the second “hoc” - I’ve known the phrase and meaning for years, despite never learning Latin. This is due to the all-powerful medium of TV; it is the title of the second ever episode of “The West Wing”, in which President Bartlet is shocked that none of his legally-trained staff know what it means. Worth a watch.
I don’t know the misery lit genre at all but it did make me think of Gwen’s reading choices in Gavin & Stacey: ‘He’s had a terrible time of it!’
Yep I was right there with you as a pre-teen: Child Called It, Angela's Ashes, Jon-Benet Ramsay. Coupled with the horrific stories around the Soham murders and Milly Dowler at roughly the same time, I wonder if as children, we were trying to understand the world around us a bit more? As a parent now, I feel way too raw to read anything about children - I had to put down Demon Copperfield and Wandering Souls recently as I couldn't bear the pain.
There must also be a cultural through-line from misery lit into sob-story driven reality TV... Like a cultural priming for tragedy.
OMG A Child Called It absolutely destroyed me when I read it (so long ago I can’t remember his writing style tbh) When I think back to the traumatic books I got away with reading in South Africa in those days I shudder - my parents didn’t care
That he may have conjured it all up and it’s lies makez me feel sick - URGH.