7 Inspiring Books Like The Glass Castle By Jeanette Walls

---

“I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire. It was the sort of knowledge that kept you on your toes.”

---

If you were moved and inspired by Jeanette Walls’ unforgettable memoir, The Glass Castle, you’re far from alone. This raw, emotional true story of resilience, survival, and a deeply dysfunctional family has resonated with readers across the world. Whether you love coming-of-age memoirs, books about overcoming hardship, or real-life stories that weave heartbreak with hope, you’re probably on the hunt for more books like The Glass Castle to add to your TBR pile. Here at What We Reading, we’ve gathered the most powerful memoirs and emotionally rich nonfiction titles that share the same spirit as The Glass Castle. From inspiring survival stories to family memoirs brimming with complexity and truth, each of these readalikes taps into identity, trauma, and strength. Whether you adore Jeannette Walls’ storytelling or simply love heartfelt nonfiction, these reads all promise to speak to your soul. 

---

The Glass Castle Summary

The Glass Castle is an exceptional memoir by Jeanette Walls about resilience and redemption, and a revelatory portrait of a family both deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeanette’s father is brilliant and charismatic, teaching his children about physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. Yet, when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Jeanette’s mother was a free spirit who loathed the idea of domesticity and never wanted the burden of raising a family. 

The Walls children soon learn how to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected each other, eventually finding their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless, even as their children flourished. The Glass Castle is truly remarkable, charting the intense love of a peculiar but ultimately loyal family. 

Educated – Tara Westover

First up on our list of books like The Glass Castle is Tara Westover’s acclaimed memoir, Educated, the remarkable true story of Westover’s upbringing in a strict, survivalist family in rural Idaho. Brought up without any education and isolated from society, Westover grew up being taught to distrust the world around her. Despite these incredible challenges, she would eventually break free of this turbulent home life and find purpose in education, going on to earn a Ph.D at Cambridge University. 

Similar to Walls’ memoir, Westover’s journey from an isolated, uneducated child to becoming a scholar at one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the world is nothing short of inspiring. The book captures the immense challenges she faces along the way, reminding readers that the most extraordinary transformations are always possible, no matter how bleak the odds may first appear. 

---

Check Out The Best Books Like Educated 

---

The Liars’ Club – Mary Karr

Mary Karr’s The Liars’ Club took the world by storm when it was first published back in 1995. Karr documents her comic childhood in an east Texas oil town, presenting a sweeping cast of colourful and eccentric characters – a hard-drinking father, a sister capable of talking down the sheriff by the age of twelve, and an oft-married mother whose accumulated secrets threaten to destroy them all. 

This candid, unsentimental yet profoundly moving account of an apocalyptic childhood is as funny as it is engrossing. A classic Southern memoir filled with grit, dysfunction, and vivid storytelling, it is the perfect follow-up if you loved The Glass Castle. 

Angela’s Ashes – Frank McCourt

Frank McCourt was born in Depression-era Brooklyn to recent Irish immigrants and grew up in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Frank’s mother, Angela, has no money to feed the family, and his father, Malachy, rarely works. Yet, in between drinking his few wages away, Malachy is able to instil an appetite in Frank, the one thing he is capable of providing: a story. Frank lives for his father’s tales of Cuchulain, who saved Ireland, and of the Angel on the Seventh Step, who brings his mother babies. 

Perhaps it is the story that is responsible for Frank’s survival. From wearing rags for nappies to begging a pig’s head for Christmas dinner, Angela’s Ashes is another one of the best memoirs like The Glass Castle that is brimming with astounding humour and compassion. Frank endures poverty, near-starvation, and the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbours alike, but lives to tell his story with elegance, exuberance and remarkable forgiveness. 

Running With Scissors – Augusten Burroughs

Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Santa Claus. At the age of twelve, Augusten Burroughs found himself living in similar conditions to Victorian-era squalor, living with the doctor’s bizarre family, and befriending the strange man living in a backyard shed. 

The story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of and the Christmas tree stayed up all year round, where Valium was consumed like a snack, and, when things got dull, electric shock therapy would provide the entertainment. Similar to The Glass Castle, Running with Scissors is the funny, harrowing, and bestselling account of an ordinary boy’s survival under the most extraordinary of circumstances. 

The Sound Of Gravel – Ruth Wariner

Ruth Wariner’s The Sound of Gravel is a raw, emotional memoir that charts the harrowing true story of her upbringing in a polygamist cult. Raised as the thirty-ninth child of her father, a prominent member of the Church of the Firstborn, Ruth grows up in rural Mexico in a deeply dysfunctional and impoverished family. Surrounded by religious extremism, abuse, and instability, Ruth becomes a quiet observer of her mother’s suffering and the growing dangers around her. 

As the family struggles to survive, Ruth recounts how she had to grow up quickly, stepping into the role of caregiver and protector for her siblings. Her story is one of resilience, survival, and the strength required to break free from a life built on fear and control. If you found yourself moved by The Glass Castle, this powerful memoir offers a similarly honest and unforgettable look at childhood trauma, family loyalty, and the fight for freedom. 

North Of Normal – Cea Sunrise Person

North of Normal is a gripping memoir by Cea Sunrise Person that recounts her unconventional and chaotic upbringing in the Canadian wilderness. Born into a countercultural family obsessed with the idea of living off the grid, Cea spends her early years living in a remote tent with no running water, electricity, or structure. Raised by a free-spirited but deeply dysfunctional mother and grandparents, her childhood is defined by constant upheaval. 

As Cea grows older, she begins to wrestle with the ideals of the adults around her and dreams of a more conventional life. Her journey from wilderness child to independent young woman is both heartbreaking and inspiring, and the themes of survival, resilience, and self-discovery help make it one of the best books to read if you loved The Glass Castle. 

The Glass Eye – Jeannie Vanasco

The night before her father passes away, eighteen-year-old Jeannie Vanasco promises she will write a book for him. But this isn’t the book she envisioned. The Glass Eye is Jeannie’s struggle to honour her father, her larger-than-life hero, but also the man who named her after his daughter from a previous marriage. A daughter who died. 

After his funeral, Jeannie recounts the next decade in escalating mania, in and out of hospitals, becoming increasingly obsessed with the other Jeanne. Obsession turns to investigation as Jeannie hunts for clues into the mysterious death of her half-sibling. It becomes a puzzle. Jeannie is convinced she needs to solve it to understand both her father and herself better. A brilliant exploration of the human psyche, The Glass Eye is one of the best books like The Glass Castle for anyone looking for another gripping read about love, sanity, grief, and recovery. 

---

Check Out Our Guide To The Secret Behind Great Book Club Picks

---