The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

From the Jacket

"Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.

Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.

What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.

For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story."

This autobiographical novel had some eerily similar parallels to my own life. The moodiness of the artistic/teacher mother and the jack-of-all-trades father with the gambling weakness. Even the background of the parents were a bit similar- the mother who was raised by wealthy parents and had just one brother, and the father who had a harsher upbringing. Of course, the parents in this story are way more extreme than my own and where they failed to put their children's needs ahead of their own my own parents always excelled at putting us first and making sure there was food on the table even if they had to beg for it. When I was young our family seemed pretty nomadic, we counted recently and figured that I had lived in 6 different states by the time I was in third grade and 6 different schools. My parents finally decided to stay in Tucson when I was in fourth grade but we moved around a number of times until finding the house that my parents live in today when I was in seventh grade. My parents were never neglectful the way Jeannette's were and we always felt loved but we were definitely dirt poor for a number of years and we had some similarly crazy adventures in old jalopies and even know what it's like to be parked or broken down by the side of the road and sleep under the stars.
I enjoyed the way the author told her stories, they flowed well and were entertaining and moving at times. It's hard to believe that she really had such detailed memories of things that happened when she was three, I'm sure she took some artistic license here and there. It almost seemed a little bit disloyal to her parents, especially to her mother who was still alive, but hopefully it was therapeutic for her. It was a very interesting study of the mentality of some of the homeless population. I give it four and a half stars for being very good and highly recommendable but not my absolute favorite of all time.