I read this several years ago and this is a second copy I bought for BookCrossing.

This is Jeannette Wells' memoir of a very unusual childhood. The kids sleep in cardboard boxes and savage garbage cans for food, while the father either gets drunk or dreams of hitting gold, and the mother stays home and paints, both of them capable of being gainfully employed but neither bothers to. In some way it's terrible child abuse, but on the other hand there are some cool moments, like having a star for Christmas present - that kind of makes you wish for a dad like hers... And the children turns out more than okay, which makes you wonder, how come such lousy child-rearing brings up great adults when other good and caring parents turn out terrible adults? What is good parenting?

I've also read her Half Broke Horses, a memoir/fiction about her grandmother, which kind of explains how her mother grew up so, er, unconventional.

Leaving at the Little Free Library.
Releasing this to celebration New Zealand's virtual BC UnCon. Hopefully we can make it there in person some day soon!

Hi! How wonderful you've found one of my books! Thank you so much for checking out the journal. I would really appreciate if you can take a moment to let me know you have it now. Trust me, it'll totally make my day to hear from one of my "wild" books.

Bookcrossing is a wonderful online community of book lovers dedicated to sharing books with each other and the world at large. We are also curious to see how far and wide our books can travel. I would appreciate if you can make a journal entry on this book so we know where the book has been. You don't have to set up an account.

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