Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

7 reviews

microbemom's review

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This book was equal part frustrating and fascinating!  Look at the content warnings before reading! Amazing memoir.

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erica_reads_things's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

"...dancing along the boarder between turbulence and order."

The parental subject matters of this memoir are unlike anything I have ever read. The only way I can possibly describe Rose Mary and Rex are a cross between granola hippies and conservative hillbillies. This book had my emotions constantly at war - one second this family would be resilient and heartfelt, the next selfish and damaging. What a true, raw look at the complexities of humans, love, family, and growth. I highly recommend listening to Jeannette read this book as well. 

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ginnygaleclaire's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.0


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nebraskanwriter's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring fast-paced

5.0

What a powerful audiobook, read by the writer herself. Be prepared for basically every trigger warning in the book to happen in this one as these children lived a very hard life because of their parents. I cannot even fathom, after listening to this book, what that must have been like to grow up in. 

As other reviewers have said, Walls does look at her past with rose-tinted glasses and does not tear down her parents. She tells us what they did, said, didn’t do that they should have done and let’s us the reader feel the anger for her. Which I thought was very tasteful of her, given what all her parents have put her family through.

Definitely one of the most powerful memoirs I’ve ever read. How they were able to save up money, budget at such a young age and be more of a responsible adult then both their parents to make it in New York. The strength of her and her siblings is truly incredible. 

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mandi4886's review

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0


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charitylee92's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0


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wardenred's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

"Don't be sad, Mom. I'll write."
"I'm not upset because I'll miss you," Mom said. "I'm upset because you get to go to New York and I'm stuck here. It's not fair." 

This memoir was completely engrossing and unputdownable—more than once, I felt compelled to put aside everything else in favor of reading it. It left me with a lot of emotion and a lot of puzzlement and honestly, the author's parents are just bizarre. 

This is very firmly a family story. It can even be said that it's a story of endless optimism and unconditional love and free-spirited parents teaching their kids to see every problem or trouble life throws at them as an adventure. Except it's not the abstract, esoteric life that subjects these kids to problems and troubles. Pretty much every bit of pain they face—from a beloved pet thrown out of the car window, to being stuck for 14+ hours in the darkness forbidden to talk, to sinking repeatedly during impromptu swimming lessons, to being put on the verge of getting sexually assaulted, to all the problems that come with living in extreme poverty—all of it is of their parents' making.

Reading about this dysfunctional dynamic was fascinating, the same way particularly inventive horror movies can be fascinating. I guess I... have a lot of inspiration for creating lovable villains now?

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