The Glass Castle

Bibliography
Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle: a Memoir. New York: Scribner, 2005.

Plot Summary
This is a memoir that follows Jeannette Walls unconventional life.

My Thoughts

I've just been on an adventure journey.

Oh my! I can hardly believe that this writer endured her life and was able to write about it as she did. It is amazing to me that her parents could keep the children without losing them to Child Protective Services.

The kids were just left....left to do whatever--left to fend for themselves--left to be unprotected from the world.

The content of this book is both disturbing (I know there are other parents out there who act just like the Walls) and enlightening (I can't imagine making the same decisions and justifications of the parents). I am mad at Rex and Rose Mary! How could they allow the children such experiences (i.e., riding in the back of a moving van, setting up a rich man for money, teaching them the Skedaddle)?

I read Half-Broke Horses and loved it. I liked this book, too, but for different reasons. The family is absolutely memorable. I have a different picture of survival. These kids are both emotional and physically starved. Thanks, Jeannette for opening my eyes to the dysfunction that served as your childhood.