The Glass Castle: A Memoir
Dec 2006 · Simon and Schuster
4.6star
928 reviewsreport
eBook
304
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn more
About this eBook
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.
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.
Ratings and reviews
4.6
928 reviews
Lauren Berry
- Flag inappropriate
30 July 2025
Well she put into words what I couldn't. Not the same but extremely similar. I read it as a kid in a mental hospital. Couldn't explain things to my husband so I am having him read the book. Also shes not a hero its circumstance. She made the best of what she could. Also at the time of writing her siblings were all alive and they have to sign off on the book. I don't think shes overshadowing that she likely hates her parents but her mother was still alive when this book was published. She had to get everyone in her family to sign off on it and she had to change it to avoid defamation suits. Its not unbelievable, most people never see this side of life and the people that do dont write about it. Maybe listen to real people more and not just best sellers. Have empathy not just for the writer and her written feelings.
Jenna
- Flag inappropriate
1 May 2023
This is a good read but it is an emotional one. This could help privileged people see past theirselves and develop empathy for those less fortunate. Nobody wants born into a family living in poverty with mental illness, insecurity, and hunger resulting in abuse and more so, neglect. The author is amazing for not having a more bitter take on her parents. Her parents needed mental health intervention when they were probably kids and thus the cycle usually repeats. But not with the author, and not with my father. A cycle breaker is a hero to me. Even with their children are grown, the parents in this book see no fault in their living conditions and choices. They truly do not know better and are living in survival mode. Be nice out there. Nobody knows what the other has been through.
Ellen W
- Flag inappropriate
22 January 2023
Not one to read bios. But this came so highly recommended by a daughter. Every word either entertains, is jaw-dropping, or sad. You think YOU had a rough/interesting life? See how this family survived! And joy! E
About the author
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.
Rate this eBook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Centre instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
