Walls Bares, Bears Much in The Glass Castle

Jeanette Walls' adventurous childhood, thanks to her rather dangerously degenerate parents, scarred her inside and out. She also came out of the experience with a wicked sense of humor and a delightful way with words.

The Glass Castle is a book that I am glad I could not write - I didn't move halfway across the country locked in the back of a U-haul, visit call girls, or build character fighting with sewer rats while growing up, for example - but I am glad Walls wrote of her experiences.

It is a work of nonfiction that is quite difficult to believe at times.

Even more surprising, in the acknowledgement, Walls thanks just about everyone in her family for their support. Memoirs like The Glass Castle, at least the ones I know, don't come out of families where everyone is still speaking to each other. It seems the Walls family could appear together on the Dr. Phil show and no one would need to be restrained.

The book opens in the present, in New York City, with the author in a limo rolling by a dumpster where her mother is foraging. That kind of opening is called a "good grip" and Walls doesn't let go as she drags you into the past with her. First stop: the kitchen, where as a toddler, Jeanette was badly burned. She was cooking her own dinner. Which isn't necessarily neglectful or bad - why, don't you think we coddle our kids a little too much, really?

See, while the Walls kids had little growing up - including food, safety, and the records they sometimes needed to be enrolled in school - they had smart parents who expected the kids to learn and reach their full intellectual and creative potentials. It could be argued that the parents were criminally negligent, or that they did as well or better than the "average" family, whatever that is.

It certainly could be argued, too, that Walls is overly driven and has been all her life in an effort to hide from or overcome her past. It's hard to suggest she's not at least a little scarred by her upbringing; and yet, we are all better off because she chose to share the stories behind those scars.

Which makes me think maybe the Walls parents weren't quite as bad as they sound, and makes me remember something my parents taught me: people who live in glass castles shouldn't throw stones.

~Diane Stresing

Don't it figure? Just as I was about to hit 'publish,' I find out the movie is going into production. Which prompts me to say two more things: 1, Read the book before you see the movie. The book's always better. And 2, How can a 23yo director "get" this story? Wishing you luck, Jennifer Lawrence... and lots of insight.