My Last Responses

I loved the way this book ended. It wasn't one of those books that leaves you hanging, it left you thinking. Although the whole family wasn't all together, they still were very happy with where they all were in their lives.

I ended up really liking this book. At first I didn't like it because I felt like I was just reading about someones life. But by the end I could not put it down. I still can't believe that this is a true story. Jeannette became so successful from pretty much nothing. I was surprised because most people in poverty continue to live in poverty, but three out of the four kids made it out with great accomplishments. I still don't know why their mom chose to live in poverty when she very well could have gotten her self out because she was a good teacher. Even though their dad wasn't always able to provide for him, he was an amazing dad. He always wanted the best for his kids, and taught them things that were very valuable. If it wasn't for him I don't think that his kids would have come this far.



This is an interview of Jeannette Walls. It answered some of my questions that i had throughout the book and tells you a little bit more about her.
http://gothamist.com/2005/05/27/jeannette_walls_author_the_glass_castle_gossip_columnist_msnbccom.php

Thanksgiving

It was five years after their Dad had died now, Jeannette was remarried to a man named John, and she rarely saw her mom. She and her husband wanted to invite her mom, Lori and Brian to their farm house that they had just gotten for Thanksgiving. They had a great time together. There mom wanted to make a toast to their father, she said, "Life with your father was never boring."

page 258-288

Dad's Death

Four years after Jeannette moved into the apartment with Eric they got married. Lori was an artist and working on illustrating calendars, game boards and books. Brian joined the police force. Maureen graduated from high school and enrolled into one of the city collages. She ended up living with their parents. She hung out with the wrong people, drank and smoke. She would fight with her parents and she told Jeannette that she wanted to kidnap people. Jeanette tried to get her help, but she refused. Six months later Maureen had stabbed their mom. Their mom wasn't mad at her, but Maureen had gotten arrested. The judge sent Maureen to an upstate hospital. After a year she was released and she moved to California.

After that all the kids had become distant with their parents. They rarely talked, but one day Jeannette got a call from her dad to come see him. She did and when she got there she found that her dad looked very sick.  He said that he had contracted a rare tropical disease from getting in a fight with a Nigerian drug dealer. The doctors said the disease was incurable. After that they talked about to Glass Castle, and how they had fun planning it.

Two weeks later he had a heart attack. When Jeannette got to the hospital she found out that only machines were keeping him alive. An hour later Jeannette took his hand and they shut the machines off.

Jeannette felt like she always wanted to be somewhere else other than where she was. A year after her dads death she left Eric. She moved to the West Side and got a small apartment. She would look up at the sky at night and see the star that her dad gave her, Venus.

page 272-281

A house

Finally their parents had found a home. It was an abandoned building with some other squatters living there. They were so excited to move in. They managed to high jack the electricity. They were so proud to be off the streets and living in a house.

Jeannette graduated from Bernard that spring. The magazine that she had been working for had offered her a full time job. She agreed to move in with her boy friend, Eric, who she had been seeing for a few years. He was very wealthy and had a very nice apartment. She felt like everything was clicking in. Her parents had found a place to live, and she was very happy as well. Her parents supported her in any way they could. Her dad always read her articles and her mom was always there to talk with her.

Jeannette never told anyone about her parents. She was scarred she was going to loose her job. She told lies that her parents still live in West Virginia. That her mom is an artist and her dad in an entrepreneur.

page 266-272

Dad

The Dad got Tuberculosis. He was in the hospital and the family would come and visit him regularly. He was in the hospital for six weeks. He had got over the TB, but this also meant that he had been sober for six weeks. One of the hospital workers got him a job as a maintenance man at an upstate resort, room and board included. He worked for a while, but he soon quit it so he could be with his wife.

By summer their parents had lived on the streets for three years. Jeanette talked to her dad and she told him that she was considering dropping out of school because she couldn't afford to pay the two thousand dollars they need, she only had one thousand. The dad came over with a paper bag and dumped out hundreds of dollar bills. He had $950 dollars. She told him that she will not accept it. But he insisted. he had gotten it from gambling and he really wanted her to have it. With that she enrolled in her final year at Bernard.

page 258-266

Homeless

Three years after Jeanette had moved to New York she got a phone call, it was her mom. She told them that her and her dad have moved to New York. The next day they all went to Lori's to see them. Lori moved into an apartment in the same building as her brother, and she let her parents come stay with her and Maureen. They said that they were only going to stay for one month but four months later and they were still there. The Dad had not found a job and he still would go out late and drink. Jeannette and Lori finally had to tell them that they couldn't live in the apartment any more. They moved into their van. But it got towed. That night they slept on a park bench. They were homeless.

Once a month they would call them. They were still homeless but they were able to find the soup kitchens and shelters. Once Jeannette saw her mom and said, "You can't just live like this." The Mom replied, "Why not? Being homeless in an adventure." This made me sad, and i couldn't imagine seeing my parents homeless. But at the same time, I don't think I could deal with them living in my apartment and having to feed them and pay for them when they don't put effort into finding a job.

page 253-257 

Success

Life for the walls was still going down hill back in Welch. Lori and Jeannette asked Brian if he would like to come live in New York with them. He replied, "When's the soonest I can come?" After his Junior year he came to live with them. He found a job at an ice cream shop.

Jeannette didn't see any point into going to collage but people were telling her that she should. She applied to Barnard, and she was accepted. She went to school and lived in an apartment by her school in exchange for watching a lady's kids. She was soon hired as the editorial assistant for one of the biggest magazines in the whole city.

The stories of home back at Welch made Jeanette sad and she wanted Maureen to come live with them. But she was only twelve. She was so excited when she herd about the idea. Lori said that she can live with her. She arrived in early winter. She was enrolled into a public school in Manhattan. On weekends of four of them would meet at Lori's place and made dinners and laughed until they cried.

I am shocked that all the kids are now living in New York. They care so much for each other and they support one another in everything they do. They encourage each other and they are all very successful. In a way I feel bad that the parents are still back in Welch, but it is their decision to not work and take care of their kids properly. I just can't believe that they stuck with their plan, and now are so happy.

page 249-252