:BOOKSHELF: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

I read Half Broke Horses last year and new immediately that I wanted to read more from Jeannette Walls.

While the first book focuses on the mostly-true (based on fact, but Walls did need to fill in some gaps in family history, so to speak) of her maternal grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, The Glass Castle: A Memoir is the memoir of Jeannette's own childhood and young-adult life.

To say that Walls was raised by parents with an eccentric style of child rearing would be an understatement to be sure! To be honest, there were times when I had to wonder if it could really all be true. The juxtaposition of the very obvious love between the members of this struggling and often destitute family and the neglect and lack of parental responsibly was often staggering.

I loved Wall's straight forward  and candid writing style. Considering the contents, there really was no flowering-it-up, to be sure.

Surprisingly though, as easy as it would have been for Walls to take a woe-is-me approach, she maintained a clear sense of hope and direction throughout her young life despite the lack of support from her parents who eventually, after all of their four children had escaped for better lives on their own in New York, became homeless.

Jeannette is now a very well-known writer and journalist. Her success is a testament to her courage and strength.

I didn't see the video below until AFTER reading both of her books. It was interesting for me to see the women that I had imagined in my mind - both Jeannette and her mother.

It will give you a taste of what you will find in The Glass Castle, but it's just the tip of the iceberg.

I would highly recommend both of Walls' books!

NEXT ON THE BOOKSHELF:
The Girl in the Green Sweater: A Life in Holocaust's Shadow by Krystyna Chiger