Wordie Wednesday | The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls

Memoirs don’t typically grab my attention right away.  I do read memoirs from time to time– David Sedaris has several that I’ve really enjoyed– but I always figure that they’re going to be dull.  To be honest, I began to read The Glass Castle believing that it was a novel, but even after I figured it out on the first page it was already so captivating that I was totally on board.

Jeannette Walls’ story of her childhood has many elements that call forth a more modern version of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  Although Jeannette’s parents are both clearly intelligent and talented in their prospective fields, their thirst for adventure, her father’s addiction to alcohol, and her mother’s refusal to live like a charity case lead to a difficult childhood for Jeannette and her siblings.  The Walls family was so poor for most of her childhood that they did not have the luxury of running water, heat, or food.  Despite this adversity, Jeannette and her siblings thrived.

The memoir is both terrifying and affirmative in the way Walls lays out the trials and tribulations her and her siblings have faced and conquered.  Even though their lives were certainly difficult, the fact that they created their own lives on their own terms in their later teen years really nails home the fact that children can overcome upbringings that aren’t exactly most positive or gratifying.  Thank goodness, right?

You totally want to pick it up, right??  I promise you wont be able to put it down!