This is a memoir I will never forget and will forever be changed by. It has made me give pause to give thanks for the many simple daily things I take for granted, like eating a meal, or taking a bath. This story both enraged and inspired me. It seemed never acknowledged in …more the story that mental illness was behind much of the Walls' family dysfunction, but that's sort of an aside. What shines through most is the sheer grit and determination of the neglected Walls' children to carve a better life for themselves in spite of unimaginable odds. This book is an utterly devastating memoir. I sat late into the night reading, and crying. When I made soup and cabbage rolls today and my home was warm and fragrant, I thought of the Walls children foraging for food in the school trash cans and in the woods behind their crumbling shack of a home with no heat, no water, no toilet, no food. Are there more like this, even now, even in this great country of excess? We need to open our eyes and see, be aware, and act. Precious few made even a small attempt to intervene for these kids. (less)