The Glass Castle

by Jeannette Walls

Too much hard luck can create a permanent meanness of spirit in any creature.

She snuggled into bed with them, looking up from time to time, saying she was sorry, she knew she should be doing something more productive, but like Dad, she had her addictions, and one of them was reading.

I didn’t want to be transported to another world. My favorite books all involved people dealing with hardships.

Jack mackerel was not as good as tuna but was better than cat food, which we ate from time to time when things got really tight.

I had been counting on Mom and Dad to get us out, but I now knew I had to do it on my own.

“Dad,” I said, “as soon as I finish classes, I’m getting on the next bus out of here. If the buses stop running, I’ll hitchhike. I’ll walk if I have to. Go ahead and build the Glass Castle, but don’t do it for me.”

What I wanted to say was that I knew Eric would never try to steal my paycheck or throw me out the window, that I’d always been terrified I’d fall for a hard-drinking, hell-raising, charismatic scoundrel like you, Dad, but I’d wound up with a man who was exactly the opposite.

“No one expected you to amount to much,” she told me. “Lori was the smart one, Maureen the pretty one, and Brian the brave one. You never had much going for you except that you always worked hard.”

“You know, it’s really not that hard to put food on the table if that’s what you decide to do.”