3.5 out of 4 stars.
If you are anything like me, you absolutely tore through Jeannette Walls’ memoir, “The Glass Castle”.
To any of the readers that didn’t pick that one up (you are missing out) it was a look at a lifestyle that was essentially a train wreck you couldn’t keep your eyes off of. A story of poverty-stricken family that is forced to try to make ends meet at all costs. In example, Walls was forced to eat cat food some nights because her drunk father stole the grocery money to get buzzed. Her mother was no help because she lived in La La land painting through the obvious struggle surrounding her.
I had many questions while reading, “The Glass Castle” but the main one that stood out in my mind was how the heck can a family end up in this much calamity? I ask, mainly so I never allow myself to get into the same bind.
With “Half Broke Horses” we take a step backwards in time to get a behind the scenes look at how “The Glass Castle” formed. In other words, we get answers of where the tumultuous pattern begins in this family lineage. Instead of the viewpoint being Jeannette Walls’ like it was in “The Glass Castle” it is now through the eyes of her Walls’ grandmother, Lily Casey. What a family tree puzzle!
“Half Broke Horses” is set in the early 1900s era when Lily was born. A woman absolutely bursting at the seams with gumption, bravery, and wide-eyed interest in everything and anything. Her first love being horses due to having grown up on a ranch. However, not the only thing that pulls at her heart-strings. Lily Casey has many passions; flying planes, teaching kids, and an overall need to explore every nook and cranny the United States has to offer. Above all though, Lily Casey was determined to create a thicker-than-thieves family.
Each chapter is an edge of your seat moment. I just kept gasping that this is a true story.
If you are interested in finding a book with over the top personalities and adventure than this is your read for the summer. As a matter of fact, I just gave you two books to pick up, if you haven’t read, “The Glass Castle” read that after! You are welcome!
Glass Castle is one of my favorite memoirs! Just put Half Broke Horses on my Summer Reading List.
Lynette! Thank you for the like. What other books are on your list? I am looking for recommendations myself. Thanks!
You’re welcome. So far, I only have six, mostly memoirs–God Help the Child by Toni Morrison, Pieces of My Mother, A Memoir by Melissa Cistaro, Who Asked You? by Terry McMillan, Fire Shut Up in My Bones by Charles Blow, Running in Heels, A Memoir of Grit and Grace by Mary Ann Perez, and Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls.