In “The Glass Castle,” Jeannette Wells tells the compelling story of her life growing up and into adulthood, as a child with no permanent home, with parents who preferred to live that way.
The stories she recounts horrified me, to be completely honest. Eating out of trash bins, living in houses that were falling apart with no heat, electricity, or running water, wearing clothes and shoes with holes in them…the list goes on and on.
What horrified me even more, however, was her parents’ insistence that this was all part of life–that life wasn’t supposed to be easy, especially for children, because it made them dependent.
Jeannette’s father was a brilliant man, but more often than not he was an alcoholic that hit her mother, stole their money, and didn’t come home for days on end. Jeanette’s mother was a dreamer who felt weighed down by her children, often staying in bed for days complaining that she couldn’t live the life she wanted because she had to take care of her children.
Throughout the whole novel, I was constantly on edge, waiting for the next bad thing to happen. I couldn’t imagine living like that, let alone making four children live like that.
As soon as her oldest sister turned 18 and graduated high school, she moved to New York City. Jeannette and her younger brother and sister would soon follow, successfully making lives for themselves that didn’t involve living on the streets or eating out of the trash.
What impresses me more than their resilience and determination for a better life is actually the vividness of Jeannette’s memories of her childhood and adolescence. To me, the detailed descriptions she is able to provide the reader says more about the disgusting circumstances she lived in than anything else. The fact that she can remember so much speaks to how absolutely appalling her life had been for the first 16 years.
What’s more unbelievable is that after all four siblings had moved to New York, their parents followed them and began living on the streets, with no intention of trying to better their lives. Jeannette’s father couldn’t hold down a job and her mother didn’t want to.
This amazing story, that thankfully has a happy ending, will make you grateful for all the struggles your parents went through to give you a happy, comfortable childhood. But it also speaks to a child’s resilience and determination, and how even without a comfortable childhood, a person can still be a successful adult if they give it all they’ve got.
Also, as if you need one more reason to read “The Glass Castle,” it is rumored that Jennifer Lawrence (“The Hunger Games’” Katniss Everdeen) will be cast as Jeannette in the film version of the book!