All 253 seats of the Malibu City Hall Council Chambers appeared to be filled for the Malibu Library Speaker Series program with “The Glass Castle” author Jeannette Walls last week. The emcee of the program, City Council Member Laura Rosenthal, asked for a show of hands on how many were coming to a speaker series program for the first time. There were dozens. She then asked for a show of hands on how many had read the book—and it looked like 90 percent of the audience.
“The Glass Castle” has a big following in Malibu. The book has become not only a favorite selection for local book clubs, but a common reading assignment for high school English classes.
First published in 2005, “The Glass Castle” became a perennial best seller, staying on The New York Times Best Seller list for more than seven years. It’s now considered to be a modern-day classic, selling over 4.2 million copies in 31 languages.
The book is a personal memoir by Walls, chronicling what it was like to grow up in a dysfunctional family with two parents and four children, detailing how the children eventually got out and were able to make their own way in the world.
During Walls’ childhood, the family moved from town to town and from state to state, with neither parent able to hold a job for very long. Her parents had 27 addresses in the first five years of marriage, and found it easier to just skip town when the rent came due. We were always “doin’ the skedaddle—always running away,” Walls said.
The alcoholic father was probably bipolar, and the irresponsible, adventure-loving mother likely was, as well. Walls recalled having to cook her own hotdog at the age of three, because her mother was too busy with her art to be bothered. But the parents weren’t all bad, and, in fact, the father was especially brilliant and charismatic. Walls said the children were all raised to have “hopes and dreams and belief in ourselves.”
“Dad was always saying that one of these days, he was going to build us this great big house he called the glass castle,” Walls recollected; that’s where the book’s title came from.
In financial desperation, the family eventually landed in the father’s West Virginia hometown, in a three-room house without plumbing or heat, infested with snakes and rats.
“If we had just had heat and food, I would’ve been happy,” said Walls. “But my mother could put a spin on anything, which meant she couldn’t really see the situation her children were in.”
As the children grew up, they made a plan, and one by one moved to New York and supported each other. Walls moved there at age 17 to join her older sister, finished high school and college, and became a celebrity reporter for MSNBC and a journalist.
She found her background embarrassing, and seldom talked about it for the next 20 years.
“I went to fabulous celebrity parties and interviewed celebrities … I was convinced if people knew the truth about me, I’d lose everything. But I felt like a fraud,” Walls said.
When she finally decided to tell her story, she had to ask herself, “What is the truth? Is my story a comedy or a tragedy?”
She said going through tough times is a great way to learn a lot about yourself.
“I learned I was a fighter and a scrapper,” he said, “But I feel luckier than most because I was able to pull myself out … It’s when we see what we’re made of.”
Walls said she “finally learned there were good people in the world—kind people and potential friends that aren’t looking to pass judgment.”
She enjoys the small things in life.
“I can go to a grocery store now and buy anything I want. Life is good,” she said.
“I still have food issues. The first time my husband tried to eat off my plate, he almost lost his hand,” she laughed.
Surprisingly, Walls does not hold a grudge against her parents.
“It’s not a matter of forgiving your parents, but accepting. Anger and bitterness will just eat you up inside. It’s your choice whether to let those experiences cripple you,” she said. “The way to heal is to share your stories.”
“The Glass Castle” was adapted as a feature film and released in August 2017 starring Brie Larson, Naomi Watts and Woody Harrelson.
The Malibu Library Speaker Series is a joint effort of the County of Los Angeles Public Library – Malibu Branch and the City of Malibu.
