The Glass Castle: A Memoir

I bought The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls on clearance at Half Price Books a couple of months ago. I was excited to find it for $2 but I was also concerned that the cheap price might mean it wasn't that good of a book. Going with my instinct, which relies on the fact that I don't always like what the masses like, I bought it. It's fairly difficult for me to read while sitting in airports or traveling; I'm usually caught up in people watching or just preoccupied with listening to the travel announcements. I not only was able to read this book while traveling, I nearly finished it. It's the true account of writer, Jeannette Walls' life and childhood upbringing. Walls' parents were "free spirits" who didn't think that they had to conform to society's basic expectations -- to provide food, adequate shelter, and safety to their children. Walls' story moves quickly and unspeakable acts are far too common -- child abuse, neglect, and exploitation. The Walls children are resilient, though, and quite driven, especially Jeannette. It's often easy to make assumptions as to how people arrived at their current state, but Walls throws the common misconceptions out the window. Walls' not only builds something out of literally nothing, she helps her brother and sisters too. I found the story quite inspiring and immediately wanted to write following the conclusion. I give the memoir an A- and definitely recommend it.