Undated Handout Photo of Dave Pelzer. See PA Feature BOOK Pelzer. PA Photo/Shannon Wilsey Photography.

Dave Pelzer is the undisputed king of the misery memoir after his book, A Child Called It , remained at the top of

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AMERICAN Dave Pelzer is the undisputed king of the misery memoir after his book, A Child Called 'It', remained at the top of the New York Times bestseller list for a staggering six years.

It charted the horrific abuse he suffered at the hands of his alcoholic mother and was followed by three sequels, The Lost Boy, A Man Named Dave and The Privilege Of Youth - in total they remained on the bestseller list for 11 years - and several self-help books also sold in their millions.

Pelzer, 47, has written and talked at length about the horror of his childhood as he was shoved in a basement, beaten, burned, starved and stabbed, made to eat his baby brother's faeces from a soiled nappy and forced to drink ammonia by his mother, who called him 'It'.

At the age of 12 he was removed by social services and police when the school nurse reported a succession of suspicious cuts and bruises, and he remained in and out of a variety of foster homes until he was 18.

Pelzer has long made it his life's mission to show victims of abuse that it need not dominate their lives.

He spends most of his time on the road on a circuit of lectures, workshops and book tours to spread his positive messages.

But he admits this zealous attitude to his work has contributed to the failure of both his marriages.

This year he'll be away from home for more than 300 days, more than most wives could tolerate.

We meet on a whistlestop visit to London where he is promoting his latest book, Moving Forward, a guide to turning your life around despite negative experiences.

He is sharp-suited and hugely courteous, but there is an intensity and unease about him, which is exacerbated when I mention previous allegations that he embellished his story of abuse and even made up some of the incidents.

"That accusation only came once and that gentleman interviewed my teachers, but didn't put it in his report. They had been on every American talk show and endorsed every book. But that's never mentioned in the tabloid press, or the fact that my book came out years after I was doing work in the field (of abuse)."

"When someone deliberately tries to twist my words around I take offence. But, for the record, I know in my heart what is true. I know I'm a pretty good man."

Indeed, Pelzer's record as a do-gooder is pretty impressive. In 1994, a year after his book was published in the US, he was selected as one of The Outstanding Young Persons of the World for his efforts involving child abuse awareness and prevention.

He served in the US Air Force for 12 years, was a torch-bearer at the Atlanta Olympics and his accomplishments have garnered personal commendations from Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton.

He was also involved in the Red Cross Hurricane Katrina relief effort and plans another trip to support the troops in the Middle East.

One of five sons, Pelzer grew up in a suburb just outside San Francisco. From his early years he was banished to a cot in the garage and ignored by most of his brothers. His father, an alcoholic firefighter, was a passive observer to the torture inflicted on the young boy. Both his parents have since died.

Over the years he's appeared on every talk show, from Oprah to Larry King, publicising his books and spreading his positive message to victims of abuse.

"I have a little bit of survivor's guilt. I'd worked in the field (helping victims of abuse) years before the first book was printed. I always felt guilty that I was doing okay and others who had had been through worse were not doing so well."

He hasn't ruled out marrying again, despite his two divorces. "At the end of the day you want to come home to someone and you don't want to wake up alone. Maybe the next mission will be finding Mrs Pelzer.