Wall’s lucid, poignant, funny and raw memoir of growing up with her ne’er-do-well parents, the father a brilliant scoundrel and drunk, the mother a failed artist with a vagabond’s heart, and with her feisty, ingenious siblings is a masterpiece of turning ashes into gladness. That Wall survived her upbringing is surprising: that she triumphed is a testimony to a God she’s yet to meet. The story is harrowing and inspiring all in a piece, lyrically written, and compelling start to finish.
