2009 Life of the Mind Selection

 

 

The 2009 Life of the Mind book selection was Jeannette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle. It has been described as “nothing short of spectacular.” This award-winning bestseller models for us how a person can overcome almost unbelievable obstacles to survive and to succeed. Wall’s story addresses in particular the issue of poverty and its effect on children. Walls will be visiting the campus in the fall, and the theme of poverty will be the focus of a year-long series of university programming and events.

For further information about the author, her book, and the issues presented in The Glass Castle, please visit the University Libraries' Life of the Mind page.

 

2009 selection:
The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls

 

“Sharing incredible, painful experiences in no-nonsense prose, Walls has, as The New York Times Book Review notes, ‘succeeded in doing what most writers set out to do—to write the kind of book they themselves most want to read.’” —Bookmarks Magazine

“Just read the first pages of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, and I defy you not to go on. It's funny and sad and quirky and loving. I was incredibly touched by it.” —Dominick Dunne, author of The Way We Lived Then: Recollections of a Well-Known Name Dropper

“Jeannette Walls has carved a story with precision and grace out of one of the most chaotic, heartbreaking childhoods ever to be set down on the page. This deeply affecting memoir is a triumph in every possible way, and it does what all good books should: it affirms our faith in the human spirit.” —Dani Shapiro, author of Family History