Book Beginnings: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Book Beginnings
is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader.

Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

You can find more information and how to participate on your blog HERE! 

I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster.

Title:  The Glass Castle
Author:  Jeannette Walls
 Genre: Non-Fiction/Autobiography/Memior

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.

My Thoughts

I've been on a bit of a non-fiction kick lately.  I picked this one up at the library, not really sure what to expect.  Quite simply, it was amazing.  The author describes the way she grew up simply and honestly, and the story she tells is so disturbing it's at times difficult to believe. 

I would recommend this book to everyone!