The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (nonfiction)

Whenever you think your parents are kooky or whenever you think your life is tough, you need to read this book. Walls' parents were clearly gifted, intelligent people who loved their children. But they each had serious character flaws that prevented them from being unselfish. They are probably the most selfish two parents I have ever read about.
It's a miracle that Walls and her siblings even survived their childhood. You get a whole new appreciation of what alcoholism does to a family. But it's more than just an alcoholic father that creates the childhood that Walls experiences. Her mother doesn't fit into a neat category either.
From the blurb on the book jacket, I expected to read about an alcoholic parent and the strife that ensued because of it. I was not prepared for Rex and Mary Rose Walls. There were so many scenes that caused me to hold my breath and wonder how those children lived--what kind of a mother would suggest to her child to just cut off the maggot-y part of a week old, unrefrigerated ham and tell her that some people were too picky? What kind of parents would lock their 4 children (one an infant) into the back of a windowless U-Haul trailer and drive for 16 hours without checking on them? What kind of parents would feed their children only popcorn and let them sleep in boxes while refusing to sell property worth over a million dollars? What kind of parents would. . . well, you could finish that sentence a zillion different ways.
Walls does not try to explain her parents. She just presents them in a voice that reflects her vision as a child. She loves them. She is not critical of them and is pretty matter of fact about their behavior. You can appreciate the free spirit that her father was, and the creative artist her mother was. Her father "gives" her Venus as a Christmas present one year, and it is clear she adores him. However, as Walls grows older, her voice changes to one a teeny bit more critical, mostly because of the ruined dreams she and her siblings are subjected to. She is still conflicted--how can you disapprove of your own parents' choice about living?