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The Glass Castle: A Memoir
The Glass Castle: A Memoir
The Glass Castle: A Memoir
Audiobook10 hours

The Glass Castle: A Memoir

Written by Jeannette Walls

Narrated by Jeannette Walls

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

THE BELOVED #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER—FROM THE AUTHOR OF HANG THE MOON

The extraordinary, one-of-a-kind, “nothing short of spectacular” (Entertainment Weekly) memoir from one of the world’s most gifted storytellers.


The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette’s brilliant and charismatic father captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn’t want the responsibility of raising a family.

The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.

The Glass Castle is truly astonishing—a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar but loyal family.

The memoir was also made into a major motion picture from Lionsgate in 2017 starring Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, and Naomi Watts.

Editor's Note

A triumphant exposé…

With millions of copies sold and a film adaptation starring Brie Larson, reporter Walls’ memoir is a triumphant exposé on the one subject she knows best: her dysfunctional family.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 15, 2010
ISBN9781442339712
Author

Jeannette Walls

Jeannette Walls graduated from Barnard College and was a journalist in New York. Her memoir, The Glass Castle, has been a New York Times bestseller for more than eight years. She is also the author of the instant New York Times bestsellers The Silver Star and Half Broke Horses, which was named one of the ten best books of 2009 by the editors of The New York Times Book Review. Walls lives in rural Virginia with her husband, the writer John Taylor.

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Reviews for The Glass Castle

Rating: 4.4930693069306935 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

1,515 ratings468 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book reminds me of my childhood, not because I experienced these things, but because many of the kids where I lived were very poor and probably suffered similarly. This book reminded me of how strong women are. Even when we suffer and are held back, we still stand up to fight another day, and we still can hold onto our self confidence.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book stayed with me long after I finished reading it. Through this memoir, I was able to relive an upbringing totally alien to me. I was both appalled and fascinated.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A memoir about a girl and her siblings raised by their acoholic father and nontraditional mother. Basically the kids raised themselves while parenting their parents . The kids make success for themselves and learn to accept and love their parents for who they are.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Loved this book! It was one of those stories that you start reading and don't want to stop. It's non-fiction but if I didnt know that when reading it, I probably never would have believed it.

    The story of how these children were raised is amazing. The parents are like none I have ever known and the kids become the people they are due to the crazy decisions and theories of life that their parents live by.
    Definitely would recommend!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A beautiful story of Incredible survival and beautiful perspectives.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Hard to listen to. But worth it. What these kids went through is insane
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Just about everything you want from a memoir: funny, insightful, honest, and well written. Excellent work!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    My first audio book and I am sold. I cannot wait to listen to the next one. Such enthusiasm in her voice as she reads the story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Absolutely FABULOUS! The honesty in this story is so rare. My husband had a similar upbringing and he said it was nice to know someone else grew up like him too. I think this life story happens more than most people realize. Alot of children are raised by wolves or worse.I love that even though the circumstances they still made it. I don't know how or why. They just did.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Unique book that really keeps your attention. An amazing true story of how a small girl and her siblings managed to survive and eventually thrive despite an extremely poor and difficult childhood in a dysfunctional family.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Adult Book YALSA Alex Award listWalls, J. (2005). The glass castle. New York: Scribner.In a memoir about her life and family, Jeanette Walls first introduces the reader to her mother when she see her mother digging food out of a trash can on her way to a dinner party in New York City. It chronicles her life and growing up extremely poor with two dysfunctional parents. Her father is intelligent and is a dreamer, but he?s also an alcoholic. Her mother is an artist and does not make rational decisions, especially when it comes to her children. There family moves around a lot, small towns in the middle of the dessert, in Phoenix with her mother, or back East with his family. As a teenager, Jeanette gets a job and begins to save money to get herself out of the life she has been living. Walls shares her hardships in this inspiring memoir. The many events that she and her siblings live through, such as living in a shack with a leaking roof and no electricity to eating ham with maggots, are shocking. Her success proves that anyone can move beyond poverty and the destruction of parents. Although it is marketed to adults, The Glass Castle will appeal to many young adult readers. Grades 9-12.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Though many see her parents as criminally negligent, they gave her a great adventure which taught her self sufficiency. I enjoyed the sense of adventure she conveyed. Material possessions are not what make us happy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The first thing Walls tells us about at the opening of her memoir is how she was all dressed up one night being driven to some swanky event or another in Manhattan when she looked out the window and saw a homeless woman digging through trash... and recognized her as her mother. She was so bummed out by this that she felt she couldn't face a crowd of swells and keep pretending she was just like one of them, so she opted to skip the soir?e and go back home. Eventually she decided she didn't want to continue being ashamed of her past, which was the motivation for her to write this account of her formative years. The story she proceeds to tell us is a harrowing one and tells of unspeakable neglect, to the point of complete insanity, and indeed, it becomes very clear that severe mental instability was probably what drove her parents to so obsessively dedicate themselves to living a non-conformist lifestyle. As an example, the second episode she tells us about is how, as a three year old, she was cooking hotdogs over the stove when her dress caught on fire and she suffered 3rd degree burns which required her to get skin grafts. Her mother had been fully cognizant of what little Jeannette had been doing and often let the little girl cook by herself as she was occupied in her studio, working on her paintings. The hospital staff where she was being treated were highly suspicious that little Jeannette was probably a victim of parental abuse, which she emphatically denied. Then he father, convinced that hospitals and doctors did more harm than good, took her away from there before she had been fully recovered and brought her to a witch doctor instead. From then on, the story unfolds, recounting the travails of a family which went from one disastrous situation to another, with an alcoholic father who couldn't keep a job and a mother who refused to take her responsibilities, and put her aspirations to be an artist before her children.It's a distressing tale, and I've seen reviewers comment that Walls had probably put a creative spin on the facts to tell a more dramatic story, but I'm not so sure that her story owes more to fiction than reality. From a personal point of view, the level of dysfunction in her family made my strange upbringing seem completely normal and conventional in comparison, but then, hopefully that would be the case for most readers as well. However, having been a witness to very strange and unconventional situations and known people who were most definitely living on the fringe of society, I know that her story is unfortunately all too possible. Walls has a dispassionate way of recounting her past and gives us just enough detail so we can imagine ourselves right there with them all too well, but I found it was impossible to look away; it was an absolutely fascinating observation of a catastrophe extending over several decades, yet it also told of incredible resilience and love, and of siblings who truly looked out for one another and not only survived, but managed to become well-adjusted adults. Walls was able to surmount all the difficulties she faced and get an excellent education, and went on to become a successful journalist, so that while she tells us of her "white trash" background, she's able to describe it to us with intelligence and detachment and deliver a book that I'm almost ashamed to say was a pleasure to read (or in this case, listen to).
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is my favourite book and it is what sparked my reading interest!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Glass Castle gave me a different way to like at things... at life. How she wasnt a very lucky girl. Her family wasnt very wealthy and her dad was a bum. Her and her siblings raised themselves and each other. They didnt get much of a childhoood they had no choice but to grow up and now days some kids dont have to grow up that fast. It showed me that we should all be lucky for what we have because she didnt have much.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The first thing Jeannette Walls remembers from her childhood was being on fire. The three-year old was standing on a chair boiling hot dogs when her dress caught on fire At the hospital the nurses wanted to know what a three-year-old was doing cooking hot dogs. ??Mom says I?m mature for my age,? I told them, ?and she lets me cook for myself a lot.? Two nurses looked at each other, and one of them wrote something down on a clipboard. I asked what was wrong. Nothing, they said, nothing.? Pulling up stakes and doing the skedaddle in the early hours of the morning was a regular part of her family?s nomadic existence going from small desert town in Arizona, Nevada and California, until her father?s inability and her mother?s unwillingness to keep a job landed them in Phoenix living off the inheritance of Jeannette?s maternal grandmother, and when that ran out to the home of her paternal grandmother in Welch, West Virginia. From there one by one, her older sister, Jeannette, her younger brother, and youngest sister set out for New York to find work, education and their own lives.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Amazing that an MSNBC correspondent grew up as she did, with an alcoholic father and seemingly bipolar mother; shifting from place to place, so poor that they had a bucket for a bathroom and foraged in trashcans for other kids' lunches; and that rather than embittering her this life energized her to lead a productive seemingly happy life and become a wonderful writer.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I absolutely loved this book! I had to keep reminding myself what time period this book was written in.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A phenomenal piece of non-fiction that reads like fiction!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I think it's a 3.5 stars. I enjoyed reading it, but I wasn't enthralled or totally captivated.

    I felt the emotions most people probably did reading it -- loved the kids' sense of adventure, acceptance, and family in the first half of the book. Hated the Dad and Mom in the later part for their lack of responsibility and for the cycles they fell in.

    What I find really interesting is how factual most of the story is relayed. This is what happened. This is the way it was. The author conveys her emotions from that time, but does not seem to have any current emotions in her memories. She has removed herself. Therapy?

    A few additional thoughts: the Walls kids were adept at overcoming their circumstances and doing their best to appear normal despite the poverty at home -- a reminder that we don't always know the backgrounds of those around us, and we should not be quick to judge poverty, either.
    Second, I find it interesting how stereotypical the parents come across, particularly when they are street people in New York. The mother especially. Finally, the summer when the author is in charge of the money but can't say no to her father is very successful in stopping any judgements from the reader along the vein of "I would have said no". It does not say "don't judge" but it removes the opportunity. Neat.

    Oh, and I'm very grateful for my own cushy upbringing, though I'm probably not as tenacious as those kids. Which reminds me -- they seemed to get on very easily in NewYork City. I wonder if that's true, or if, for them, after their past it just felt much easier.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This has to be one of the best books that I have ever read. It brings out all of your emotions. I wanted to kill (or at least hurt) Jeannette's parents for allowing their kids to live like they did. I felt so sorry for these kids, but they survived. I was surprised at what became of the youngest child when she became an adult, but she should have stabbed her father and not her mother. I would recommend this book to everyone. It really makes you appreciate what you have.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It's amazing to me that people willfully live like this.The Glass Castle is a poignant memoir describing the author's childhood living in extreme poverty. Although her parents have the means to provide for her family, they rarely do so. Therefore, the children have to grow up quickly and find ways to avoid starvation on their own.Although the story itself could be heart-wrenching or terribly depressing, Walls' sense of self-worth and self-sufficiency keeps the storyline buoyant, even humorous at times. The family, although highly dysfunctional, is also quirky, which adds a redeeming quality to Walls' parents' fiascoes. Walls' writing is light when dealing with heavy topics. I found that it was difficult to pull myself away from the book, and I was rooting for the Walls children throughout. I give this book 5 stars for style, content, and a powerful sense of optimistic willpower throughout challenging circumstances.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed the latter part of the book when the children were able to go to New York and become independent. It was good to see them make their way through some of the dysfunction of the family. Also liked the author reading the story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Jeannette’s story is truly inspiring. It is incomprehensible how her and her siblings survived into adulthood with the chaos and danger they endured during childhood. Nevertheless, it shows the true tenacity of the human spirit and the ability of someone to change their life if only they take the chance.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    completely enjoyed this novel can't wait to read the next one
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    It didn’t keep my attention. I felt like I finished it just to finish it but I didn’t like it at all
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was a very good book. I really enjoyed reading it. But, I have never sworn so much while reading before. What those parents put their children through was inexcusable. I was on my own with 3 kids and worked 3 jobs to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads! My admiration to the author and her siblings for all that they have accomplished on their own ❤️
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Perfect road trip book. Me and my wife finished it 10 minutes before we arrived home.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A brave true tale of how utter self-destruction, a good measure of intelligence and talent, and the best of intentions can coexist in a couple trying to raise 4 children while holding onto their dreams; and what incredible acceptance and coping skills these children possess in the face of misery, until finally (in 3 cases out of 4) growing into self-sufficient strong individuals.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The story had its ups and downs kind of like my life when I was younger; kind of brought tears to my eyes because it hit so close to home for me !!