Money would be in short supply and food would become scarce. Or perhaps he would just concoct some other wild story for the family. Jeannette's father would have to quit his job because of some trouble with the local unions. Despite the fact the children did not have that many toys, they entertained themselves regularly by tobogganing down the stairs or jumping off the roof with an old blanket as their parachute. Jeannette loved living in Battle Mountain because there was always something to do. There was the desert of California, the small towns along the Arizona border and Battle Mountain, where they lived in an old train depot. Jeannette, her sister and brother saw this as an adventure when they were young, finding something exciting about each place where they lived. The family would often move in the middle of the night, leaving behind many of their possessions. Jeannette's father, Rex Walls, did not like to stay in one place too long because of the government officials he always claimed were looking for him. He simply picked up and moved on when he did not like the situation. One night simply picked her up and stole her away against medical advice. However, her father no longer thought she belonged there. There was television and all the nurses were very nice to her.

Jeannette enjoyed the hospital because it was so clean. Jeannette's mother took her to the hospital for treatment despite her father's protests. Jeannette was three when she burned herself boiling hotdogs for her lunch. The Glass Castle is an astonishing memoir that will leave the reader both stunned by the tragic circumstances of Jeannette's childhood and awed by her strength. Jeannette tells her story in a straightforward fashion that is not touched with anger or self-pity, belying events that often shock her readers with her almost innocent presentation of the facts. She tells how they refused to conform to society's ideas of responsibility, leaving their children to fend for themselves for even the most basic of needs, such as food and shelter. Jeannette writes about her unique childhood, sharing her fond memories of her father and mother. The Glass Castle is a memoir written by journalist, Jeannette Walls.

The glass castle study guide