1. Book Summary Jeannette Walls is riding in a taxi in contemporary New York City, on her way to an event, when she looks out the window and sees her mother digging through trash.
2. The Glass Castle The Glass Castle, a memoir written by Jeannette Walls is a story about the chaotic life of the author Jeannette and the life she endured growing up with her bizarre parents and three siblings. Jeannette’s life was anything but ordinary, she lived a tough life compared to most people.

Back in 2005, Jeannette Walls' best-selling memoir The Glass Castle wowed critics and readers with its unbelievable rags-to-riches story. It's no surprise Hollywood wanted to adapt it, as writing about her difficult, nomadic childhood, Walls simultaneously conveyed her younger self's point of view that it was all a grand adventure with her adult ability to see it for the insane bedlam it was. The film adaptation, starring Brie Larson as Walls, hits the big screen on Aug. 11, and the fact that The Glass Castle is a true story still feels baffling.

Many films, of course, take certain creative liberties with the truth; no one watching Argo would know Canadians were responsible for the audacious escape plan, or that American Sniper's Biggles died long after the film implied. And supposedly non-fiction books, too, can take liberties, as shown when the popular 'memoir' A Million Little Pieces was revealed to be more fiction than fact. But as it turns out, Walls' story in The Glass Castle, both the book and movie, really is true to life.

It's difficult to believe, but everything, from acting as sexual bait to helping her dad hustle pool to jumping out of a cab after spotting her mom rummaging in a dumpster on the street, is completely true. The Glass Castle covers Walls' life through 2005 when the book was published. It opens with her earliest memory: catching fire cooking hot dogs for herself at age three. She still has the burns.

The Glass Castle Book Cover

No one is more aware of the story's amazing nature than Walls herself. In an article penned for Publisher's Weekly around the book's release, the author said she knew what she was in for when writing her life story, as even generally straightforward memoirs are challenged for veracity. And the Rashomon Effect, where the same event is interpreted differently by people experiencing it, is very real. But Walls' siblings have corroborated her story, arguing not about whether they went hungry and cold during bitter winters like she wrote, but over differing opinions about ways they could've changed their family's lives.

Despite her difficult childhood, Walls grew up to become a successful gossip columnist and author. Yet not everything turned out rosy;The Glass Castle leaves off with the family reunited at Thanksgiving several years after Walls' father's fatal heart attack. And ABC News reports that in a 2005 Q&A promoting the book, Walls mentioned that while two of her siblings are also living their dreams (her sister is an illustrator, and her brother is a police officer), her youngest sibling 'hit a rough patch'.

And then, there's Walls' mother, Rose Mary. Walls now lives in Virginia, and her mother, formerly squatting in derelict NYC buildings, lives in a cottage out back. Rose Mary has not denied her daughter's statements about her childhood, including Walls saying that her mother hid chocolate bars to eat herself while her children went hungry. But in several interviews, Rose Mary has taken issue with some perceived slights. In an interview withVanity Fair,Walls pointed out her mother could have gotten a job to help feed them. Not denying their hunger, Rose said, 'I didget a job,' to which Walls responded, 'For a year.' To this, Rose said, 'Well, nobody's perfect.’

The Glass Castle is a non-fiction memoir written by Jeannette Walls about her childhood. It’s about how she and her siblings grew up with their parents who were severely maladjusted, which made for an extremely difficult childhood. Despite that, the book was a huge success because it was very well-written.

The movie version of The Glass Castle aims to tell Walls' story in all its complexity, without ignoring any characters' flaws or reduce them to cliches. In an article Walls penned for the L.A. Times, she talked about the process of re-telling her history, trusting that director Destin Daniel Cretton's passion for the truth, however outlandish, was as strong as her own. And considering that she toldVanityFair that she was ecstatic after seeing the final film, it seems her trust was well-placed.

Jeannette Walls begins her memoir with a scene from adulthood. While in a cab in New York City, Jeannette looks out the window and sees her mother dumpster diving. She ducks down in her seat to avoid being recognized, but later invites her mother to lunch to talk about how she can help. Mom insists that she and Dad like being homeless and admonishes Jeannette for being ashamed of her own family. From here, Jeannette’s narration goes back in time to her very first memory. At three years old, Jeannette lives in a trailer park with Mom, Dad, her older sister Lori, and her little brother Brian. Jeannette’s tutu catches fire while she cooks hot dogs over a stove, and her mother rushes her to the hospital for an emergency skin graft. After six weeks in the hospital, Dad smuggles her out without paying the bill. Back at home, Jeannette goes back to cooking unsupervised and starts playing with matches.

One night, Dad makes the family pack all their belongings into the family car and move towns in the middle of the night, a routine he calls “doing the skedaddle.” Over the next several years, the Wallses do the skedaddle dozens of times, moving all over to stay ahead of debt collectors and law enforcement. They spend a month or two in larger cities like Las Vegas and San Francisco, where Dad can make quick money by gambling. Most of the time, however, the Wallses live in isolated desert mining towns, where Mom and Dad teach their children reading and math, as well as specialized survival skills. Dad drinks often and struggles to keep a job for long, but he promises his family that their nomadic lifestyle is temporary. He promises to find gold and build his family the Glass Castle, a large, self-sustaining home made out of glass.

When Jeannette is in first grade, Mom gives birth to another baby, Maureen. Dad moves the family to Battle Mountain, Nevada, where he works as an electrician. The family enjoys six months of relative stability until Dad loses his job. After an explosive argument, Mom gets a teaching job. Dad confiscates most of her paycheck, and the family continues to go hungry. Their time in Nevada comes to an end when Billy Deel, a delinquent neighbor boy whose advances Jeannette rejected, comes to the Walls residence and opens fire with his BB gun. Jeannette returns fire with Dad’s pistol. She misses him on purpose, but the police get involved. The family flees to Phoenix. On the way to Phoenix, Jeannette learns that Grandma Smith has passed, leaving Mom a large sum of money and a house. They move into the massive house, and Dad gets a job as an electrician. For about a year, the kids enjoy regular meals, their own bicycles, and public schooling. Unfortunately, Dad loses his job, and his alcoholism reaches crushing lows. The family is once again destitute. Mom decides it’s time to move to Dad’s hometown of Welch, West Virginia.

The Glass Castle Book By Jeannette Walls Book

When the Wallses arrive in Welch, they stay with Jeannette’s paternal grandmother, Erma. Erma is a bitter, unwelcoming host, and most people in Welch regard the Wallses as self-important outsiders. When Mom and Dad leave for an extended road trip to Phoenix, Erma molests Brian. Jeannette and Lori confront her, but Erma retaliates violently. Dad takes Erma’s side when he returns, but Erma evicts the family. The Wallses buy a small, rotting house with no running water or indoor plumbing. Dad admits that the conditions are not ideal, but promises to use the land to begin construction on the Glass Castle. To help Dad get started on the Glass Castle, Brian and Jeannette dig a large hole for the foundation, but the family soon fills it with garbage. To survive, the kids start dumpster diving and stealing food from their classmates and neighbors. Desperate, Jeannette begs Mom to divorce Dad so they can go on welfare, but Mom refuses.

The Glass Castle Book By Jeannette Walls -

When the Wallses get a visit from child protective services, Mom finds a teaching job. The money could solve their problems, but Dad’s extensive drinking once again drains their funds, and the family continues to go hungry. The following summer, Mom goes to Charleston for several weeks to renew her teaching license. Left in control of the family finances, Jeannette finds that she, too, gives into Dad’s demands for more money. When Mom returns from Charleston, she announces that she will quit her job and devote all her time to art. Jeannette finally confronts Mom and Dad about their selfishness, but Dad whips her in retaliation. Appalled, Jeannette and Lori plan to move to New York City as soon as possible. Jeannette, Lori, and Brian find jobs around Welch and save all their money for almost a year, but Dad steals the money just months before Lori’s planned departure. In the end, Jeannette secures Lori a summer babysitting job that includes a bus ticket to New York City as payment.

The Glass Castle Book By Jeannette Walls Free

Lori loves life in New York City, where she works in a restaurant and lives in a women’s hostel. Jeannette moves to the city a year later and finishes high school there, interning at a Brooklyn newspaper for credit. Brian follows a year later. Jeannette starts college at Barnard, putting herself through with grants, loans, and savings from odd jobs. Maureen moves in with Lori at age twelve. Dad accuses Lori of stealing his children, and he and Mom move to New York City three years later. After being kicked out of several apartments, Mom and Dad first live on the streets, and then become squatters. At this point, Jeannette has married and works at a prestigious magazine. Lori is an artist, and Brian is a police officer. Maureen drops out of college and moves in with Mom and Dad. Maureen tries to stab Mom, and must spend a year in a psychiatric hospital. The family drifts apart, and a year later Dad dies of a heart attack. Five years after Dad’s death, Jeannette and her second husband, John, host the family for Thanksgiving, though without Maureen. They toast to Dad’s life.