Finding the Fun in Dysfunction

The first time I ever heard of Jeannette Walls was this summer when we committed to this years Baltimore Speakers Series. She was the October 30^th speaker, which ended up being postponed until last night because of Frankenstorm. Mama Wordbones had never heard of her either

Obviously we didn't buy the subscription series because of Jeannette Walls.

Two weeks before her appearance, I found myself between books. Her bio in the program said that her book “The Glass Castle” had been a New York Times best-seller for over four years so I figured I'd check it out. I mean, it had to be good, right?

Those To2C readers who've already read this book know the answer to that. I couldn't put it down. I finished the book in less than ten days.

The Glass Castle is Jeannette Walls real life memoir of an absurdly chaotic childhood with absurdly dysfunctional parents. That alone wouldn't necessarily distinguish this book from thousands of others with similar themes but the way Jeannette spins her tale with humor, grace, grit, and hope is masterful.

In other words, I liked the book, a lot. Last night I had the opportunity to hear her talk about her life, then and now. She was terrific. Chalk up another reason I've come to love the Baltimore Speaker Series.

The next writer in the series is Peter Warren. Singer on January 15^th.  Peter is described as a “leading expert on changes in 21^st century warfare." I've started reading his “Wired for War” but I have to admit, it’s a lot slower going than The Glass Castle.