

Good to know
Family drama
Rural
Now a movie
Drug & alcohol use
Synopsis
The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette’s brilliant and charismatic father captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn’t want the responsibility of raising a family.
The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.
The Glass Castle is truly astonishing'”a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar but loyal family.
Why I love it

Book of the Month
Jeannette's family is unlike other families. Her parents, allergic to "normal" society, lead their children like nomads across the dusty crannies of 1970s rural America, finally settling in a dismal Appalachian mining town. While her whimsical father's zest for life is immeasurable, he is by turns dishonest, unreliable, and an alcoholic. Her mother, an artist, is scornful of her maternal obligations to the point of neglect. As a result, the Walls children learn to feed, clothe, and protect themselves. Somehow, Jeannette's memory of her damaging upbringing is admirably unjudging. Her story is not so much about score-settling as it is an honest, warts-and-all portrait of a family striving to survive on their own terms -- building glass castles, and reaching for shimmering, unattainable dreams. In the end The Glass Castle is a boldly-recounted, deeply personal memoir about the peculiar, unyielding nature of unconditional love.
Member ratings (676)
Jessica F.
Decherd, TN
I absolutely love this book!!! I read it a few years ago but wanted to reread it. I'm so glad I ordered it. This book makes you feel every emotion....anger, sympathy, sad, happy, etc. Great uplifting book
Ally K.
Erie, PA
Really makes you think about family and it’s role in each of our lives, how someone we hold in such high esteem may be less than we wanted them to be. Thought provoking and even tear jerking at times.
Jill G.
Sacramento , CA
What a quick read! The story of the Wall family is unbelievable at times. My heart hurt for what they had to survive. However, they were able to overcome and memorialize their story in a beautiful way
Courtney B.
Owosso , MI
This will be one of my favorite books and I hate memoirs! Wonderfully written story that has something constantly happening. It made me laugh and cry and at times filled me with rage! Tell Everyone!!!
Margaret B.
Georgetown, TX
This real life story will change you. You travel with her through every struggle, and can feel her strength claw her way out of a difficult childhood into an amazing ending - still treasuring family.