By: Élise Paulin | May 20, 2025
“From the time the Joshua tree was a tiny sapling, it had been so beaten down by the whipping wind that, rather than trying to grow skyward, it had grown in the direction that the wind pushed it. It existed now in a permanent state of windblownness, leaning over so far that it seemed ready to topple, although, in fact, its roots held it firmly in place. […] One time I saw a tiny Joshua tree sapling growing not too far from the old tree. I wanted to dig it up and replant it near our house. I told Mom that I would protect it from the wind and water it every day so that it could grow nice and tall and straight. Mom frowned at me. ‘You’d be destroying what makes it special,’ she said. ‘It’s the Joshua tree’s struggle that gives it its beauty.’”
In her poignant memoir, The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls recounts her unconventional, nomadic childhood spent drifting across various parts of western United States.
She was raised by her charismatic, intelligent father, Rex Walls, who when sober, was a loving, and supportive father. Unfortunately, Rex’s bouts of sobriety were always short-lived, and when drunk, he became belligerent and manipulative, frequently neglecting his children’s basic needs. Rose Walls, Jeannette’s mother, was equally as indifferent to her children’s presence. Repulsed by the conventional ideal of motherhood and domestic duties, Rose preferred tending to her artwork or latest craft rather than to her children.
The free-spirited yet dysfunctional couple left their children to fend for themselves. They ate out of trash cans or shared leftover butter to soothe their hunger, all while their father fueled his gambling and drinking addiction with what little money they did have. They protected each other from their father’s violent outbursts and longed for the day they could move out. After coming of age, they escaped one by one to New York, in search of a new life.
The first time I read Walls’s memoir, I felt conflicted. She provides a raw account of her childhood, one marked by poverty, neglect and alcoholism. Yet, at its core, her book addresses the complex relationship between maintaining familial loyalty and making sense of unspeakable tragedy.
A remarkable aspect of The Glass Castle is the author’s ability to portray her parents as flawed yet, paradoxically, deserving of love, compassion, and loyalty. Despite her parents’ actions, her loyalty to her family never fully dissipates, even after her move to New York. She is forced to put aside her desire for a stable family, accepting that her parents were incapable of providing it.
She tends to focus a fair portion of her writing highlighting the joys of her childhood. She looks back with a sense of wonder, particularly in moments spent with her father. She reflects on the times when her father was sober and recalls his love for adventure, family and science. He imparted his extensive knowledge of engineering, physics, and nature to them with great pride and boasted of his plans to eventually build them their very own glass castle (hence the title). Walls’s memories are infused with nostalgia, showing that even amidst a life of dysfunction, moments of connection and love are not lost.
Her ability to recognize and appreciate those memories speak to her resilience as a human being. She is not defined by what she has endured but rather presents her life to her readers in hopes that it may help others make sense of love in the midst of great tragedy. Her memoir is not just a recounting of suffering but a testament to the strength of the human spirit—truly remarkable in its honesty, vulnerability, and capacity for forgiveness.
Although many critics outright chastise her for her insensitivity to her own suffering, I admire Walls’s ability to confront her traumatic past with resilience and forgiveness. At no point does she justify the neglect she has endured, but she refuses to view herself as a victim, instead describing herself as someone who overcame adversity with hard work and perseverance.
Walls became a recognized journalist, writing for several publications such as the New York magazine and USA Today. She published her memoir which maintained its place on the New York Times paperback nonfiction bestseller list for 440 weeks. She has published several other books including Half Broke Horses and The Silver Star, which have both been well received. She credits the telling of her story to her family, who encouraged her to tell the truth.
In the end, Jeannette Walls is like the Joshua tree—beaten down by the wind, but firmly rooted despite her circumstances. Walls found sincere forgiveness and resilience through her experiences, something many of us could not fathom after such a childhood. The Glass Castle is not simply a story of trauma, but one of hope and healing; for Jeannette Walls, beauty can be found within and after the most difficult circumstances.