The book The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a memoir based on her life as a child, all the way up through adulthood. The book describes how challenging Jeannette’s childhood was, how she was able to accomplish her goals and create a new life for herself. Jeannette’s grueling and harrowing experiences as a child are inspiring and remarkable. Jeannette Walls is truly inspirational for overcoming the struggles she went through as a child and adolescent, and for eventually achieving her goals, despite the odds.

Jeannette’s story starts off at age three. Her dad, Rex, and mom, Rose Mary, had a different style of parenting than the rest of society. Her parents considered Jeannette beyond her years at three years old. Seeing Jeannette as a mature child, Rex and Rose Mary let her cook her own food. One day Jeannette was boiling hot dogs on top of the stove, which to a three year-old is as tall as the sky. Jeannette’s tiny little arms couldn’t quite reach into the pot, so she climbed up the stove just enough to reach in, but as she was leaning over, the zipper on her dress found the edge of the flame under the pot. The fire raced up her small torso, leaving horrid burns that would leave Jeannette’s childhood forever haunting.

As a young child, Jeanette was raised under the control of parents who lived life erratic, irresponsible and selfish. She never had a stable home due to inconsistent jobs her father obtained. At age four, Jeanette’s family was driving to a new city to find a temporary home, when she found herself tumbling out of the car after a sharp turn. Scared and alone, four year-old Jeannette sat on the side of the road, deserted by her family for hours. As she desperately waited for her family to come retrieve her, she began to dig out hundreds of tiny rocks that had become embedded in her skin. From head to toe, she had bruises covering every inch of her body, and was profusely bleeding out of many cuts she gathered from falling out of the car. Catching on fire at age three and falling out of a moving car at age four are only the beginning of the struggles Jeannette experienced as a child. Jeannette moved from home to home every few weeks. She would open the fridge and see nothing but the bright white light reflecting back into her eyes. Most nights she went hungry, eating whatever her parents scrounged out of the garbage down the street.

As Jeannette transitioned into high school  she wasn’t welcomed very positively. Being a scrawny, red-headed girl with teeth pointing every which way, she was bullied. Since her parents were so broke she couldn’t afford clothes, she basically wore the same two home made, grandmother patterned dresses every other day.  Even though she was bullied, she didn’t let that stop her. In high school she found her passion for journalism. She joined the school newspaper and after a short time became the editor. After years of working to help her parents and not receiving anything in return, Jeannette decided to move to NYC to pursue her career in journalism. Little did she know this would be one of the best decisions she’d ever make.

By the age of 18 Jeannette became a Journalist for The Phoenix, and later became the author of many other works. Despite the odds she had growing up, she became very successful later on in life, and was able to make a better life for herself. Even though her parents were not role models by any means, Jeannette still respected them and was able to give back to them when she became successful. Growing up Jeannette barely had a roof over her head or food to eat. Rats scurried their way into her bed at night, and she would have to search the streets for food to eat. Jeannette was able to make the best out of what she had when she was a child, and now uses her platform to tell about her experiences. She overcame all the struggles she went through and became prosperous, and that is one of the many reasons why I find her interesting. Today, Jeannette is strong, independent, and flourishing in her field of journalism.  Jeannette was able to make the dim light of her childhood into a bright successful adulthood. She is now successful and an inspiration to millions of individuals.