I finished reading a book called The Glass Castle yesterday. It was one that I had trouble putting down, and when I did have to stop reading, to settle arguments or cook dinner, I was constantly thinking about it.
I have mixed emotions about the book. It’s a memoir, and it’s amazing how well the author remembers the details of her life, beginning at age 3. But her childhood is one of pain and neglect, with spatterings of happy times throughout the years.
When I read the last page and set the book in my lap, I felt admiration for the author and her siblings, who from what I can tell, have chosen to break this cycle in their adult lives with their own families. I was relieved for them that they were able to break free from a life of poverty and abuse. But I couldn’t help but think of all the people who don’t get out of these situations. Who either accept their dysfunctional reality or give up trying. And how many people are living these types of lives right now, right here under my nose?
Although reading the book brought to light injustices most of us would rather turn away from, I still think this book is a good read. It’s incredibly well written and curiously enough, the author’s point of view, which could easily be that of the victim, is quite the opposite. She is quoted here as saying: “Since writing The Glass Castle, so many people have said to me, “Oh, you’re so strong and you’re so resilient, and I couldn’t do what you did.” That’s very flattering, but it’s nonsense. Of course they’re as strong as I am. I just had the great fortune of having been tested. If we look at our ancestry, we all come from tough roots. And one of the ways to discover our toughness and our resiliency is to look back at where we come from. I hope people who read The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses will come away with that. You know, “Gosh, I come from hearty stock. Maybe I’m tougher than I realize.”
What I would call a tragedy, she called a “great fortune”. It’s food for thought, folks. Pick up a copy and let me know how you liked it.
