The World of Memoirs: The Glass Castle vs. Educated

I have recently discovered my love for memoirs. There is an added experience you get from reading a story about true events that fiction just does not provide. Of course, I still love fiction and I always will. The first memoir I read was The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, I’m so glad I read this one first because it has become one of my favourite books and paved the way for all the other memoirs I decided to read. The Glass Castle is about the author’s life of being part of a dysfunctional family and the parents whom she loves but can not seem to escape. This book can be both happy and sad, and includes some pretty crazy stories. The second memoir is Educated by Tara Westover, although it has a similar vibe to Wall’s The Glass Castle, Westover’s story is still uniquely her own. Educated is all about Westover’s life as a Mormon and her very traditional Mormon father who does not let her attend public school. Since these two books have similarities, I am going to do a comparison between them.

The Glass Castle

This memoir is great for readers who are looking to start reading non-fiction; the life Jeanette Walls shares is quite eccentric and reads just like fiction. A strong theme that is present throughout The Glass Castle is family. Walls grew up with two sisters, one brother, and two zany parents. Although both parents display love for their children, Rex Walls struggles with alcoholism and a temper while Rosy Mary Wells tends to disregard her responsibilities as a mother. Rex Walls is quite a creative man and a lot of the time, likes to paint himself as a hero. This contributes to the Walls’ family’s money problems throughout the book, as Rex commonly disagrees with the way things at his job are run and then he either quits his job or is fired. Rose Mary does something similar in which she sometimes refuses to work as a teacher (or any job really) because she would rather pursue a career in art. As much as Rex and Rose Mary love their children, they can not convince themselves to make sacrifices for them. Throughout the book Jeannette struggles with this fact, as she loves her parents but as she grows older comes to realize their faults. 

Educated

While looking for a memoir to read after finishing The Glass Castle I came across Educated. Soon after starting Educated I could see similarities with The Glass Castle, like a dysfunctional family and the life of someone trying to navigate their future between their family’s beliefs and their own. Specifically, the author, Tara Westover, struggles with gaining an education. Her father is a very conservative Mormon and does not believe in the public school system, her mother is not as strict when it comes to public education but does not have power over Tara’s father to state these opinions. The father also places a lot of guilt on Tara for wanting to pursue an education by making her feel like she is abandoning her family, and basically forcing her to chose between her family and her education. Westover’s father is not the only family member she has to look out for; one of her brothers, Shawn, contributes to her guilt. Shawn and Tara’s relationship is tricky, Shawn can be a loving brother one day and a terrible bully the next. Worst of all, he gets Tara to forget his past faults by “sincerely” apologizing to her after and claiming he did not mean what he did. Thankfully though, Westover does have a few family members and friends to count on and are a part of her journey for education.

So there you go, The Glass Castle vs. Educated. I highly recommend both these memoirs as they truly moved me and got me to think about my own family, education, and personal goals. However, if these two memoirs do not seem like your cup of tea (or you have already read them), I have two more recommendations: 

Happy reading!