...was The Glass Castle, Jeanette Walls’ memoir of growing up in a dysfunctional family. This intriguing book will make readers reconsider the meaning of family, growing up, and living with people who are both brilliant and flawed. The Glass Castle was the talk of the community when The Big Read 2007 kicked off in March 2007.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, published 2005, 288 pages

I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster. So begins journalist Jeannette Walls' memoir, a heartbreaking and astonishing story of unconditional love in a family that, despite its profound flaws, gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms. Raised by eccentric parents lacking in parenting skills, Walls and her siblings turn adversity into adventure. Author Dominick Dunne said this true story of an unusual family’s struggles was "funny and sad and quirky and loving. I was deeply touched."