to talk about some of Dad’s great escapades: letting me pet the cheetah, taking us Demon Hunting, giving us stars for Christmas.

"We should drink a toast to Rex," John said.

Mom stared at the ceiling, miming perplexed thought. "I’ve got it." She held up her glass. "Life with your father was never boring."

We raised our glasses. I could almost hear Dad chuckling at Mom’s comment in the way he always did when he was truly enjoying something. (chapter 5)

Jeanette is partial toward her parents. Still, she recognizes, despite the celebration at the end, that her parents were not responsible for taking great care of their children throughout their lives. They were lazy, hypocritical, and negligent throughout the story. For example, the memoir opens with a scene where a three-year-old Jeanette is burned while trying to cook her hot dogs:

I was on fire.

It’s my earliest memory. I was three years old, and we were living in a trailer park in a southern Arizona town whose name I never knew. I was standing on a chair in front of the stove, wearing a pink dress my grandmother had bought for me... (chapter 2)

Jeanette was cooking hot dogs because her mother refused to make food for her own children, instead letting Jeanette be “mature” and “independent.” This type of parenting (really a lack of parenting) happens throughout the story. The question of whether or not Rex and Rose Mary deserve any credit for their children’s success is interesting.

On the one hand, Rex and Rose Mary help make their children independent and resourceful because of their neglect. The children work hard to ensure their own survival, doing things that most children aren’t required to do. However, this is hardly a commendation of their parenting, and it is in spite of their actions that the children succeed. An excellent example of how their parenting style can backfire is what happens to Maureen, who has a psychotic break and refuses to care for herself. Her parents won’t help her, and she can’t help herself, which shows how their parenting is not successful in itself.

On the other hand, the success of the children never translates directly from what their parents do or teach. Rex is an alcoholic, and despite the insistence of the children, he can’t ever quit for good. Rose Mary is an “artist” who continually says that she needs to look after herself, but she somehow can’t take care of herself or find stability. The three oldest children succeed in getting away from the life of their parents, which shows how divorced success is from their parents' lifestyle and philosophy. It is difficult to give much credit to the Wall parents based on their actions in the book.