The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Walls' memoir about growing up in a family with four normal kids and two dysfunctional parents has been a bestseller for the past few years and after a friend talked about reading it a second time, I figured it was time for me to give it a first try. Her childhood was interesting, to say the least, with an alcoholic father with big ideas and an artistic mother who suffered frequent spells of depression which left her holed up and unavailable to her children. How Jeannette and her siblings get by with litte food and little else is an amazing story, and it's good to see how Jeannette especially awakens to the realization that her parents are failing her and ultimately rises above and makes the life she wants in New York City. I don't think it's worth a second read, but a first read--sure, why not?