The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a memoir of the author’s relationship with her parents and siblings. It’s not always easy to read – mostly because of how much Walls and her siblings struggled for basic necessities. The book is beautifully written but it is still heartbreaking to read about kids being neglected.
When Walls was 3 years old, she was trying to make hot dogs on the stove by herself and her clothes caught on fire. She was hospitalized until her father took her out of the hospital. He didn’t tell anyone that she was leaving. The girl has had skin grafts done but he thought it was alright to remove her from medical observation. How crazy is that?
The family was always running from debt collectors and people who could possibly take the children out of the home. There’s that saying that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Walls and her siblings must be some of the strongest people. They had do deal with extreme neglect, poverty and an alcoholic parent. The kids raised each other for the most part.
The only person that could have taken care of these children passed away. They went from one bad situation to another. I kept reading to find out how they managed to survive and how her parents were never arrested. Her parents never seem to be apologetic at all – like they were doing the kids a favor by subjecting them to those living conditions.
There’s a movie of the same name based on this memoir. I’m curious to see how close it is to the real story.
- I didn’t receive this book from anyone. I bought it at a thrift store.
Ohhh this has been on my TBR for a while too. I didn’t know about the movie!
I didn’t either until recently. 🙂
I was going to say it was probably easier to stay off the radar in the past, but she’s not even that old. So she had some wily parents, didn’t she? Incredible.
She sure did. I think she’s about 58 so not that old.