Velshi Banned Book Club: ‘The Glass Castle’ with Jeannette Walls

Written using frank language and vivid descriptions of moments that are so emotionally fraught and shocking you would be forgiven for thinking they are fiction, ‘The Glass Castle’ is a masterclass in thought-provoking memoir. It chronicles Walls' deeply abusive and dysfunctional childhood, which was constantly uprooted at the whims of her parents. Walls and her siblings faced bullying, hunger, homelessness, and sexual abuse. Yet, where Walls could depict her parents as one-sided abusers, she doesn’t, writing, instead, with nuance, depth, and love. The book bans are ‘breaking my heart,’ says Walls. ‘The way to protect children is not to put them in a bubble…Give them the tools…It’s very empowering to these kids to know ‘I’m not the only one going through it.’May 4, 2024