花了一周時間，廢寢忘食地讀完Jeannett Walls的回憶錄The Glass Castle（中譯本名為《玻璃城堡》）。讀368頁的原版書，我通常用不了一周，更何況還是一有空就捧起讀。之所以用了整整7天來讀這本書，是因為很多段落寫得太好、太美，我不由得要重讀幾遍，反復領略文字的精彩和真摯。
這本書講的這是一個真實的故事，卻又常常離奇得超乎想象，輕松幽默的語言背后有著許多深沉感人的亮點。
一個擁有價值百萬美金的土地卻堅持流浪街頭的畫家母親Rose Mary，一個魅力超凡才華橫溢卻酗酒嗜賭的天才父親Rex，四個聰明堅強的孩子，大女兒Lori，二女兒Jeannett，兒子Brian和最小的女兒Maureen，構成了Walls一家。
父母的空想主義和特立獨行的生活態度既給全家帶來了災禍，也帶來了歡樂。雖然經濟拮據，常常吃不飽穿不暖，但這種被父母稱為adventure式的游牧生活卻讓他們興奮不已。他們在美國西南部的礦鎮和西部的沙漠度過了純真快樂、充滿冒險而又滿懷希望的流浪生活，學會了很多野外生存的技能，豐富了知識，也學會勇敢地擁抱生活。
Walls一家人的圣誕節要比所有家庭的都要晚一個星期。因為只有在那個時候，他們能在路邊找到人們節后丟棄的圣誕樹，甚至那些閃亮的裝飾物還掛在上面。送給孩子們的東西，通常是爸爸媽媽從超市里過季的圣誕商品中挑出的一袋彈珠、一個玩偶或者一樣玩具弓箭。而有一年的圣誕節，父母連過季的禮物都買不起，于是爸爸輪流將每個孩子帶到沙漠的夜空下。
I never believed in Santa Claus. None of us kids did. Mom and Dad refused to let us. They couldn't afford expensive presents and they didn't want us to think we weren't as good as other kids who, on Christmas morning, found all sorts of fancy toys under the tree that were supposedly left by Santa Claus.
Dad had lost his job at the gypsum, and when Christmas came that year, we had no money at all. On Christmas Eve, Dad took each one of us kids out into the desert night one by one.
"Pick out your favorite star", Dad said.
"I like that one!" I said.
Dad grinned, "that's Venus", he said. He explained to me that planets glowed because reflected light was constant and stars twinkled because their light pulsed.
"I like it anyway" I said.
"What the hell," Dad said. "It's Christmas. You can have a planet if you want." And he gave me Venus.
爸爸讓Jeannett在群星里挑出一顆最喜歡的，他要把那顆作為圣誕禮物送給她?！澳悴荒芙o我一顆星星啊！星星又不是誰的！” “沒錯，它們不屬于任何人。你必須搶在別人之前宣布你擁有它，就像那個拉丁老哥倫布宣布美洲是伊麗莎白女王的一樣?！?“那我要那一顆?！?“那是金星”，爸爸對她說：“當太陽燃盡，地球變冷，這里的所有人都會想搬到金星上好變得暖和些。到時候，他們就得先要獲得你后代的許可。”
那天晚上，Walls家的孩子們在星空下各自收到了一顆星作為禮物，他們嘲笑那些相信有圣誕老人，除了一些便宜的塑料玩具就什么也得不到的孩子們。他們的爸爸說，過不了幾年，那些塑料垃圾都會壞掉然后被遺忘，而“你們依然擁有你們的星星?！?/p>
這一部分很暖心，也很浪漫。但是當經濟越發拮據、流浪的熱情逐漸減退、孩子們漸漸長大的時候，他們對這種居無定所、忍饑挨餓的生活產生了質疑。沒有父母的照顧，他們只能互相照顧，并忍受著父母對他們不經意的傷害。他們努力地存錢，相繼離家去了紐約，開始了各自想要的生活。
Jeannett離家那一段我反復讀了幾遍，令人潸然淚下。
Dad was lighting a cigarette. I waved, and he shoved his hands in his pockets, the cigarette dangling from his mouth, and stood there, slightly stoop-shouldered and distracted-looking. I wondered if he was remembering how he, too, had left Welch full of vinegar at age seventeen and just as convinced as I was now that he'd never return. I wondered if he was hoping that his favorite girl would come back, or if he was hoping that, unlike him, she would make it out for good.
I reached into my pocket and touched the horn-handled jackknife, then waved again. Dad just stood there. He grew smaller and smaller, and then we turned a corner and he was gone.
成長就是不斷地舍棄和拾取。你所經歷的造就了你，無論它是怪誕還是傷痛。
這本書讓我很著迷的原因是：一家人的愛和傷害是糾纏在一起，分不出頭緒的。就像這世界，不是非黑即白一樣。家庭的關系也不是全是愛，或者全是恨。Walls家庭的父母生活隨心所欲，他們過于忠實自己的內心和夢想，卻忽略了生活艱辛的現實。父親知識豐富，夢想發明金礦探測器和建造太陽能玻璃城堡；母親才華橫溢，能詩會畫。但他們追求理想的熱卻無法抵御懶于改變現實的冷。父親經常失業、酗酒，母親厭惡工作，情緒不穩定。他們拒絕領取救濟，孩子們常常要在中午撿學校同學吃剩的食物，盡量喂養自己并設法生存下去。父親Rex甚至偷取孩子為了離家前往紐約而辛苦積攢的旅費。無論從哪個角度來評判，他們都是不合格的，且沒有責任心的父母。但就是這樣的父母，卻又全心全意愛著他們的四個孩子。
母親會灌輸正確的價值觀，教導孩子們每個人都有優點，所以不該去恨別人，而要善于發現他人的好。
You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love the person for that.
她還用她的生活哲學給孩子們鼓勵和信心。
“Things usually work out in the end."
"What if they don't?"
"That just means you haven't come to the end yet.”
以及在艱難中也要學會發現樂趣，并全力享受生活的美好。
Life is a drama full of tragedy and comedy. You should learn to enjoy the comic episodes a little more.
在Jeannett因為無力支付大學學費而打算放棄學業時，已經淪為街頭流浪者的父母帶來了皺皺巴巴的950元錢，加上一件大衣，父親說還可以在當鋪當到50元錢。他們在無比需要錢的情況下，竭盡全力地幫助女兒完成學業。
When he arrived with Mom, he was carrying a large plastic garbage bag and had a small brown paper bag tucked under his arm. I assumed it was a bottle of booze, but then he opened the paper bag and turned it upside down. Hundreds of dollar bills - ones, fives, tens, twenties, all wrinkled and worn - spilled into my lap.
" There's nine hundred and fifty bucks," Dad said. He opened the plastic bag, and a fur coat tumbled out. "That there's mink. You should be able to pawn it for fifty, at least. "
" Dad," I said. " You guys need this money more than I do."
" It's yours," Dad said. " Since when is is wrong for a father to take care of his little girl?"
"But I can't." I looked at Mom.
She sat down next to me and patted my leg. "I've always believed in the value of a good education,' she said.
So, when I enrolled for my final year at Barnard, I paid what I owed on my tuition with Dad's wadde, crumpled bills.
正如每一個個體都是獨一無二的，每一個家庭也都是獨一無二的。也許我們的父母是“靠譜”的父母，也許我們從未經歷過游牧式的生活，但我相信，我們的家庭也有自己的故事。雖然不像The Glass Castle這樣充滿著殘酷和甜蜜的瞬間，但我們各自的故事也一定有著不同于其他的色彩。每個人都有故事，每個人都需要為自己的故事負責，我們是故事的創造者，我們也是故事的閱讀者。
