Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Glass Castle FTI by Jeannette Walls

58 reviews

jamie_o's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

"I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw mom, rooting through a dumpster" - this is the opening line to Jeannette Walls memoir. The story that follows is infuriating, inspiring, horrific, funny, and craaaaazy.

Jeannette's family was dysfunctional to the extreme. Her parents had a toxic relationship and were rebels who refused to play by the rules of society. Their parenting was neglectful and dangerous. Her father was a highly intelligent man, but he was bent on self-destruction with his alcoholism, lack of self-control, inability to hold down a job, and paranoia. But he also had some redeeming qualities (her mom, not so much) in his love for his children, especially Jeannette, and promotion of reading and learning.

Having recently read Theodore Dalrymple's book Life at the Bottom, I could not help comparing the two books. Jeannette's memoir is a testament to the truthfulness of his book. The Walls family had much in common with the British underclass he describes, but they're from a different era where parents still cared about their children's education. Jeannette's mother proved what Dalrymple claimed is true of many homeless when she blamed NYC for their homelessness, stating, "They make it too easy. If it was unbearable, we'd do something else."

One of the things I appreciate most about Jeannette is that she worked hard and succeeded despite her tough childhood, she didn't have a victim mentality and never blamed her parents for her failures.

*There are profanities, mostly from Jeannette's father. There is also some inappropriate sexual touching of minors (the accounts are brief and not too detailed).

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Alcoholism

kbroshous's review against another edition

inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Minor: Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

sabrinalexis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Moderate: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Classism, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Mental illness, Violence, Death of parent, and Sexual assault

itsjadenbaby's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

Absolutely devastating. The amount of times my mouth hung open from shock or I gestured choking someone out because of frustration was too high to count. I read this at an interesting time since I’m currently taking juvenile law and have learned a lot about the rights of children. I wouldn’t suggest this book to everyone, but I will be keeping it in my collection for those who think they can handle the subject matter.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Violence, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Rape, and Pedophilia

Minor: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

toxicpick's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Sexual harassment

mikayla_h's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Violence, Alcoholism, and Sexual harassment

majestictrilobite's review against another edition

While the story had the potential to be really interesting, the narrative style was dry and deadpan and ultimately failed to keep me engaged.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Classism, Child abuse, Cursing, Alcoholism, Addiction, Bullying, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

nithyuh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring lighthearted tense slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Alcoholism

noareads415's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Addiction, Animal death, Violence, Rape, and Domestic abuse

avasbookmark's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Addiction, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, and Physical abuse