The Glass Castle ***

A good friend and colleague of mine recommended and allowed me to borrow The Glass Castle: A Memoir by MSNBC journalist Jeannette Walls. This is, in fact, the first memoir I've read. I've always been more of the fiction type of girl. Not necessarily "chick lit" as my favorite novelist is Milan Kundera and he's a bit heady, but I do like a good, thinking novel. So, I was a bit surprised that I was so instantly sucked into this book. First, it's an easy read. But the content is so unbelievable and jarring that you would think - or perhaps hope - that it was fiction and not based on someones life.

In essence, and perhaps a bit overly simplistic, the author and her siblings grew up homeless. While it's true that from time to time they had "shelter", a place to lay their heads, the picture that is painted is not of Norman Rockwell's fame. What Walls reveals to us about her family would make many of us say to ourselves, "Huh. I guess I didn't have it so bad after all." Her parents were fanciful drifters leaving their children to rely solely on themselves and one another for the basics - food, shelter and protection. And yet, there is an underscore of love and even gratitude throughout the book. There are, in fact, lessons that only a parent can successfully teach - no matter how cruel the practice be.

This is a great read. It makes you think. It is not so much life-changing, but eye-opening. For that, I give it three out of four stars.