Glass Castle author Jeannette Walls in Vancouver

The Glass Castle author Jeannette Walls. Photo courtesy Scribner.

Jeannette Walls’ 2005 memoir The Glass Castle was a sensation. Telling the story of the author’s almost unbelievable childhood, the book went on to sell over four million copies.

Walls has since written two more books. Her latest is The Silver Star, a novel about two young sisters making their way in the world after abandoning their irresponsible mother. Walls is currently on a book tour for The Silver Star, and the tour brings her to Vancouver this Wednesday night.

Walls was raised by two dreamers, one an alcoholic, the other (Walls’ mom) possibly bipolar. She and her siblings were left to more or less raise themselves as their parents chased a dream (her father promised to find gold and build the family a glass castle) but actually pursued poverty with an almost religious fervor. In The Glass Castle, Walls tells of ending up with her family in a deadend town in Virginia where she and her siblings battled abusive relatives, bullying kids and extreme hardship.

The Silver Star revisits many of the themes of Walls’ riveting memoir. In the new novel, Bean and her sister Liz head to Virginia from a town in Southern California when their (irresponsible, it should go without saying) mother heads to L.A. to find her fame and fortune as a singer. In Virginia, the girls become self-sufficient while Bean learns family secrets. And then something happens to Liz…

Presented by the Vancouver Writers Festival, Jeannette Walls reads from The Silver Star and answers questions from readers at the University of British Columbia’s Fredric Wood Theatre (6354 Crescent Road) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 26. For tickets go here.

Article source: http://www.insidevancouver.ca/2013/06/24/jeannette-walls-vancouver/