The Glass Castle confronts hunger, other issues

When we started talking about September being Hunger Action Month, I couldn’t help but think about the book I was shoving my nose into: The Glass Castle, a memoir by Jeannette Walls.

Jeannette and her dysfunctionl family don’t always go hungry–sometimes her brilliant-yet-alcoholic father hits it big at the casino–but they’re often left to eat lefover beans all week, and sometimes a stick of butter to stifle their hunger pains. But the Walls kids hardly complain. Even when their lives are uprooted because their father is out-running the law and they have holes in their shirts because their artsy mother (who holds a teaching degree) refuses to work even while their dad can’t hold a steady job.

It’s a story about more than just hunger–a child’s devotion to a parent, loyalty to your family and most of all, rising above all odds. The short chapters and unbelievable stories about the Walls’ childhood (and how they eventually succeeded) keep the pages turning and the shock value high.

This What-Are-You-Reading-Wednesday post was written by Kristen Fuhs Wells, the communications director for the Council. For more on Hunger Action Month, visit the Food for Thought blog.