The Glass Castle
A Memoir
Chapter One
A Woman on the Street
I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had
overdressed for the evening, when I looked out
the window and saw Mom rooting through a
Dumpster. It was just after dark. A blustery
March wind whipped the steam coming out of the
manholes, and people hurried along the sidewalks
with their collars turned up. I was stuck in
traffic two blocks from the party where I was
heading.
Mom stood fifteen feet away. She had tied rags
around her shoulders to keep out the spring
chill and was picking through the trash while
her dog, a black-and-white terrier mix, played
at her feet. Mom's gestures were all familiar - the
way she tilted her head and thrust out her
lower lip when studying items of potential value
that she'd hoisted out of the Dumpste ... read full excerpt from The Glass Castle: A Memoir ebook