Read this when
The Glass Castle
Ever hidden in a taxi so nobody would know that was your mom? ✨ You can love where you came from and still admit it hurt.
Who it's for
The memoir opens with Walls, by then a successful New York writer, seeing her mother rooting through a dumpster from a taxi and hiding from her, a scene of shame that many readers with chaotic or poor childhoods will know from the inside.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Jeannette Walls's 2005 memoir describes growing up with her siblings and their parents, Rex and Rose Mary Walls, in a family that kept moving through desert towns in Arizona, Nevada and California before settling in poverty in Welch, West Virginia. Her father's charm and big dreams, including his plan to build the family a glass house, sit alongside his drinking and the children's hunger and neglect.
Where to find it
In print; widely available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook. Not public domain. A 2017 film adaptation exists.
Before you start
Heads up: Child sexual abuse and severe neglect.
Age: Ages 16+
The roots below the earth claim no rewards for making the branches fruitful.Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds, no. 134
