The Glass Castle - Book Review

A new feature here at This Good... a book review!

I have been wanting to read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls since a coworker told me about it. Well, I patiently waited (so difficult for me) to receive it from the library (hence, an effort to be more frugal) and then read it in just a few hours.

This is a true story told by Ms. Walls and it is captivating in my opinion. It spoke to me about the internal will to not only survive, but thrive, that truly exists in at least some people, despite a lack of parenting. Note, I said parenting, not even good parenting.

Jeannette and her 3 siblings all survived a total lack of parenting, with a lazy mom who had a seemingly hopeless ambition to be "free" and an artist and an intelligent father who was a total alcoholic. The children in this family were forced to care for themselves, find their own food, find ways to take care of their own personal hygiene, pay bills, you name it. When I consider how different the lives of my children are, I wonder how on earth Jeannette and her siblings ever made it. The sheer lack of safe living conditions was disturbing, let alone lack of food.

Jeannette survives though and is very resourceful and is such a hard worker, you can't help but wonder how she would be had it not been for the necessity for her to display these attributes, given that her parents did not. She makes it, moving to New York City before her senior year in high school, following her older sister. She thrives and ends up graduating from college from a prestigious school. Her parents, despite her offers, chose to live a homeless lifestyle, it suited their needs and wants.

Kudos to Jeannette for surviving what she did and coming out on the other end successful.

I would HIGHLY recommend this book.

CC