The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever....

This was definitely a page turner.

Jeannette Walls grew up with unconventional parents. They pushed their kids to live outside the "norm" and experience life in a different way. While this sounds great, when you add in alcohol, selfishness and, what most likely was, mental illness, it turns out horribly wrong in most cases.

Jeannette, along with her two sisters and brother, are left to their own devices at a very young age, searching through trash to find things to eat, struggling to keep warm in the dead of winter in a house with no heat or electricity and finding a place to just wash up on occasion. Not to mention the countless times their parents made them pack up with a seconds notice and move on to the next city.

At times it can be very difficult to read this book. I cannot fathom some of the things these children had to go through. There are times where I love their mothers thoughts on life and society, she was incredibly open-minded. Most of the time, though, I hated her guts. As a mother myself, it made me sick to my stomach to read how much she neglected her children, how selfish she was. To hoard a candy bar while your children haven't eaten in days or refusing to sell a ring to pay your bills for a few days, it is sickening. I would give up everything for my children.

Jeannette is very good writer. She takes you on the journey through her life without self pity and whining. My problem with this book was, while trying to be matter of fact with her writing, I felt she closed herself out, emotionally. There was no emotion in her story telling. Often times a subject would drop and you are left wanting to know how she felt, how she got through it. I wish there would have been a little more personal emotions put in.

The Glass Castle is a great book. It proves that, no matter how your childhood was, how bad your parents were, you can overcome and make a good life for yourself, if you choose to.

It is worth the read.

4 out of 5 stars

BUY IT HERE:The Glass Castle: A Memoir