Great, great book! My mom brought The Glass Castle: A Memoir to Hawaii on our family trip this year. I spoiled myself one day when everyone decided to leave the house and go zip lining. Instead of using my "vacation money" for the zip lining, I hired a local babysitting service for a few hours. BEST part of the trip! No one was in the house, kids were being watched, I sat by the pool and DEVOURED this book in one sitting! Jeanette Walls chronicles her life growing up and it's insane! That a child lived the life she did and wound up where she is, is amazing! The story begins with Jeanette as a 3 year old cooking a snack for herself, winding up the hospital, thrilled to be eating jello, before her father "breaks her out" for whacked out "establishment" reasons. Seriously, the stories are beyond INCREDIBLE! Great, great read!