The Glass Castle

I am so torn on my review of this memoir. But, I think that's the point. At one point, the brilliant/creative/alcoholic father catches his children burning down an old warehouse and points to the "top of the fire where the snapping yellow flames dissolved into an invisible shimmery heat that made the desert beyond seem to waver, like a mirage." He explains "'...that zone was known in physics as the boundary between turbulence and order. It's a place where no rules apply, or at least they haven't figured 'em out yet,' he said. 'You all got a little too close to it today.'" But even though the children didn't die in the fire, this family seems to live in this strange in between place. A place where the children paint, read Plato, and go hungry most nights of the weeks. Its an interesting/upsetting read but I think worth the time - its one you really won't be able to put down.

It would make an interesting book club discussion and here's one thought - it seems that the way we were raised leads to who we are. But, I firmly suggest that its our obligation to look at the past (for good and for bad) and analyze what was true and what wasn't; instead of just taking it for truth because its what we know. We are all raised by imperfect people and we are imperfect as well - therefore some of our patterns could be damaging. But the most damaging is not looking.

One of my favorite quotes from literature is the last line from Morrison's Song of Solomon..."If you surrender to the air, you can ride it." Simply meaning we need to accept the past in order to soar into the future.