The Glass Castle

I just finished "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls. It was sad in a was I'm not used to---no self-flagellation, no "woe-is-me" bullcrap. She just tells her life story like people tell you about a class they had a vague interest in.

It's all very cut-and-dried. How their life was bad, but never seemed too bad. How she finally realized that it really was that bad. Changing her life, becoming better.

It was really good. I have to say that. She tells the story without too much emotion, but you can feel the hope and adventure in the parents, the desperation in the kids.

But man, I don't know if I could go through all that. I've never appreciated my stable upbringing as much as I did as I read her book. I never caught myself on fire trying to make my own dinner. There was always enough food. My dad never came home and beat my mom. We never moved in the middle of the night because my dad screwed up again.

But she not only survived, but thrived. It's pretty great. You should read it.