The Glass Castle

I finished The Glass Castle a couple of weeks ago and loved the book. My boss gave me her copy and she told me she purchased it because she had studied developmental psychology. She was interested in reading it as a way to find out why some children develop into healthy adults while others do not turn out to be as resilient in the face of traumatic events. So, with this idea in mind, I read The Glass Castle. From what I have studied about resiliency, most children who deal with trauma benefit from having just one loving adult in their lives whom they can trust. Though Rex turned out to be an alcoholic, Jeanette had a very strong bond with her father during her formative years and this might be why she was able to develop into a "successful" adult, according to American standards. I do wonder, however, how she feels about her childhood, because though she does not trust her parents and is ashamed of what they have become (she does not want to admit they are her parents to those who do not know her). She does not explore any resentment or regret over a childhood lost to being the caregiver to her parents. I would be interested to know how she feels on a more personal level about her childhood, in addition to what she explored in this novel, about overcoming the obstacles of poverty. Overall, though, it was an excellent read and I couldn't put it down. Nice pick, Jennifer! -Megan

Congratulations!

Kerri and Anthony - congratulations on the new addition! He is beautiful. How is Eric doing getting to know his new little brother? I hope you are all doing well.
Love, Melanie

Congrats!

Congratulations!! Kerri and Anthony. (you notice I put Kerri first..she did the hard part) again...Salute..Marshall is handsome. I'm looking forward to seeing him. I've got some healing to do ! first. (did i see little cougar symbol in the bottom corner of that picture.) craig.

Marshall Scott Cardenas

Hi everyone. Just wanted to write a quick note to let everyone know that our newest family member has arrived! Marshall Scott Cardenas was born at 5:52am on Thursday April 17th. He weighed 6 pounds 15 ounces and measured 19 inches long. He is so handsome! You can see how handsome he is at http://www.kadlecfoundation.org/template.php?id=3738
until I get some pictures posted.
Love, The Cardenas Family

Hello Tebays! Larry here. I finished GLASS CASTLE. Now I'm going to read it again. It rekindled so many memories, both good and bad, of growing up with an alcoholic father in a dysfunctional family. It was easy to identify with the author and her siblings because I went through so many similar situations growing up. When I think of the times I sat in the car, in front of a tavern, for hours at a time, while dad was inside drinking. He would come out sometimes and bring us little bags of beer nuts and then go back into the bar. Or the camping trips where we would throw a few things into the car or truck and head out to " rough it." Sleeping on the ground without a tent,making a camp, fishing and then eating whatever we caught for our meals. I loved every minute of it, never realizing that the reason Dad didn't get up when we did was because he was sleeping it off. The beer around the campfire was " normal" to me. I was so naive I didn't realize Dad had a drinking problem until I was ion High school. The Army was my way out. I'm sorry Sam and Jennifer that you had to stay and endure Dad's sickness. I was going through Hell in Vietnam but you both were going through your own Hell at home. This story made me realize something though. through all the hardships and constant lows we encountered on the road to adulthood, one thing was constant, we had each other. Like Jeanette and her siblings we survived. We didn't turn out so bad. Did we? Alcoholism is like a plague reaching deep and far, spreading it's tentacles wide and sparing no one. I love you Phil, Craig, Jennifer, Sam and Mom.

The Glass Castle

Hi everyone, Erin here!
I just finished reading The Glass Castle and enjoyed it a lot. I haven't had time lately to read too many books, so it was a good book to ease back into reading!
What struck me most about the story were the people; I almost didn't beleive that this was a memoir because the characters all seemed very well thought out, almost made up. Everyone had a certain roll, or certain stereotype that they followed, and they never deviated from them! Parts of the book were so symbolic, that it was amazing that these people and events were not made up.
My favorite person in the book to observe was the Mother (although I hated her at the same time). She was so in to finding the positive in every situation, that it backfired on her and always turned everything into a horrible situation. She found "the good" in everything...but to a fault ("hitler loved dogs"... I loved that line).
The book really shows you how personalies are formed by the way children are raised. The author was made to be self sufficient and strong through her parents unwillingness to coddle her as a child (making your own hot dogs at 3 years old?!), yet the youngest daughter turned out to be completely incapable of living on her own becuase everyone coddled HER as a child. To me, it was neat to be able to see the development of these people's personalities as they grew up. A lot of times as a human being, you like to think that you are in complete control of your own actions and all of your decisions are made because that's who YOU are. But really, that's who your parents/ your environment MADE you (not that this is a good excuse for certain actions, but it explains a lot sometimes!). It's a good view of, if you are a parent, how much your actions can affect your children. Good read!