Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Melody

After years of hiding her life story, Jeannette Walls finally came out with this memoir, describing her dysfunctional family, and how she ended up in New York. The story begins with Jeannette on her way to a party in New York City. Sitting in her car behind a red light, she turns to see her mother fishing around in a pile of waste, looking for anything valuable.
The story then skips back to her early childhood, and her life with her mother, father, and to siblings. Her mother is a writer, artist, and an excitement addict. She believed that kids should learn things on their own, and never worried for her children. Rex Walls, her father, is a jack of all trades, who later becomes an alcoholic. When he wasnt drunk, he inspired his children with his knowledge and great love for geology and physics. The family lives their life like nomads, wandering from one rural town to another.
Eventually the family settles in a small mining town. Slowly, the Walls family falls apart, as both parents refuse to provide for their children. Rex spends days away from home, spending up all the money at local bars. Her mother refuses to work, even though she has a teaching degree. The Walls children take care of one another, and as they grow, they get the courage to leave their parents and live on their own.
Not only is this a memoir of the hardships of growing up with such a bizarre family, but also a story of the unconditional love a family has, even though it is far from perfect. This memoir is nothing exceptional, but it is a great read on the love of a family, and how it survives through lifes obstacles.