Jeannette’s mother insists that, no matter what, "life with your father was never boring." What kind of man is Rex Walls? What were his strengths and weaknesses, his flaws and contradictions? How does Walls use her experiences with her father to teach society about living with an alcoholic?

In the book, The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls narrates the vicissitudes of her family's story. As a teenager, Jeannette insists her mother to leave their father Rex, but Rose Mary, her mother loves the man who also suffers poverty, migration and odd jobs. Though Rex is alcoholic, his wife is devoted to him. Rex is irresponsible, but remains with the family' he spends money earned by his wife and daughters. Unlike Jeannette, her sister Maureen is not of the same metal and once she tries to stab her mother. The children, Lori, Brian, Maureen and Jeannette, try to make their own lives. Jeannette, in this book, narrates the her whole experience how her mother used to go for teaching job for survival, how she gives money to her father to start business and how her father fails to deliver. Rex is alcoholic, yet he loves his family; he assures his family that the problem is temporary which can be eased soon. He is optimistic though melancholic.