As a parent, there is no greater nightmare than thinking that your child has been mistreated or abused. But to think of a mother, the person every child should be able to trust and be loved by above all others, hurting and neglecting her own child is so horrific it's hard to even wrap my head around.

Among the many memoirs I've read over the years, none stand out with the same glaring, in-your-face horror that the real-life account of David Pelzer's A Child Called “It.” Within it's pages are the memories of a his boyhood in a home where he wasn't just deprived of the bare necessities in life, but purposefully so by his own biological mother.

As he sat on his lonely cot in the basement, he'd hear the happy musings of his siblings, who were all living normal, healthy lives just a floor above him. Singled out by his mother, he withstood unimaginable, savage beatings and was treated as the household servant, referred to as only “It.”

This book is an amazing, shocking roller coaster of a read. Starting with the stories of his mind-bending abuse to the realization that despite his cold, cruel upbringing, his dreams were still important, A Child Called “It” is truly a memoir like no other.

I literally couldn't put this book down. It's a powerful read that took me from tears to a compassionate feeling of hope and appreciation for my upbringing as well as the parent that I am today.