Alcoholism In The Glass Castle

“If you don't want to sink, you better figure out how to swim.” The fantastic memoir, The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls is about a dysfunctional family lead by an alcoholic father and a mother who can only be explained as “crazy.” The family battled poverty, hunger, and homelessness along a journey that put family in disarray. One of the biggest issues raised by the book was alcoholism. Alcoholism is a very serious addiction similar to other addictive substances that are abused by millions of people all around the world. Thousands die every year along with doing irreparable damage to their families and friends. Alcohol was a repeating theme in the book and it affects millions still today. Throughout The Glass Castle, there were many problems that affect the Walls family and still families today, but one of the most important is alcoholism. In the memoir, The Glass Castle, The Walls family is a dysfunctional group of people who move around a lot. The book starts with Jeannette telling about her homeless mother digging through the garbage. It then goes back to Jeannette at age three. It seems life is normal but there were horrible issues lurking unseen. Unknown to Jeannette then was that her father, Rex Walls, was a raging alcoholic. She knew that he drank but had no clue what the alcohol was doing to his body. She says that her father has been an avid drinker since the age of thirteen and he puts down at least a bottle of liquor a day. Rex spends most of his days drinking when he could be working to provide for his family. When he does have a job he always finds a new way to lose it. He also lies to his kids saying that he will build them a huge house made of glass that would be completely self-sufficient. Throughout the first half of the book, the family moves several different times for various reasons. Sometimes the “gestapo” or the tax collectors, and other times for other very unique reasons. Rex’s way of thinking, especially towards fathering his children, is always skewed. He frequently manipulates his kids to follow his side and not their mothers. He roughs his kids up, for example, he throws Jeannette into a deep spring so she can learn to swim. His mistreatment reaches its height when he steals Jeannette and Lori’s money for New York just so he can purchase alcohol. This affected the family almost to the breaking point. Rex suffered from alcoholism for probably most of his life and it affects millions still today. It is even thought that Walls wrote the book, to some degree, of informing the reader about the dangers of alcoholism. The a vast majority of people do not know what the cause, effect, and the general facts about alcoholism are. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) says that moderate alcohol use for men is up to two drinks per day, while for women, it is one drink per day. One in every thirteen Americans, nearly fourteen million, either abuse alcohol or are alcoholics and fifty-three percent of Americans claim one of their family members has an alcohol problem. Heavy drinking brings the consequences of increased chances …show more content…
So much has been learned about alcoholism in the past decades and it is now a curable disease. To this day there are a lot of people who will not believe alcoholism is a real, serious disease or they will look down on people who suffer from alcoholism. Alcohol is a shroud that covers every aspect of a person’s life. For those who don’t seek help, it is unlikely they will return to a healthy lifestyle. For those who have the strength of mind or of family, the outlook of rehabilitation is very promising. For all the detoxification and counseling the person receives, they must be persistent to continue with a sober way of life. still unfortunately, alcoholism extends from the addict to their family and friends. The effect on the family can be almost as terrible as the effect on the addict. As horrible as this disease is, things could be worse. At this time we are on new frontiers in medicine and hopefully soon we can find a cure for all ailments coming from drug