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Dec 17, 2018bell5133 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
A highly entertaining memoir. I loved reading it. The first half is about the family's life in the west desert areas of the US (Nevada, California, and Arizona). The second half is about them in Welch, West Virginia, and later New York. The large print version of the book isn't missing anything except the picture of Jeannette's parents on their wedding day, which the regular version of the book includes. "One time I saw a tiny Joshua tree sapling growing not too far from the old tree. I wanted to dig it up and replant it near our house. I told Mom that I would protect it from the wind and water it every day so that it could grow nice and tall and straight. Mom frowned at me. 'You'd be destroying what makes it special,' she said. 'It's the Joshua tree's struggle that gives it its beauty.'" The book (and therefore the author's life) wouldn't be interesting without everything that this author went through. Her parents didn't have much money, but they were smart and talented and resourceful. It's not like the parents intended to neglect or abuse their kids. They were doing things the way they thought was right. And despite their poverty and hardships, their kids grew up to be intelligent, strong, hard working, and successful. The kids didn't wallow in self-pity and hopelessness. They learned from their parents' mistakes and chose to make something of their lives. The mother says about her homelessness in NY: "It's sort of the city's fault. They make it too easy to be homeless. If it was really unbearable, we'd do something different." I think that's a good thing to keep in mind when trying to help the poor. Because helping them too much just encourages them to stay right where they are and not try to improve their lives at all. Jeanette's parents could have improved their lives if they wanted to, but they chose not to. The father was addicted to alcohol, and the mother was addicted to living a life of laziness and leisure, painting. Without these addictions, they would've been much better parents. It's easy to look down on them, but look at yourself in the mirror before you judge them. Do you drink alcohol? Then you're choosing to take the chance that you might end up exactly like Jeannette's drunk father. Once you're addicted, it's hard to stop. So before you get addicted, make the smarter choice by choosing not to drink at all. Otherwise you're a hypocrite. My father was an alcoholic too (and died from it), and that's why I choose never to drink. Alcohol ruins lives, and this book is just one of many examples of that fact.