I just finished spending most of my day reading this fantastic memoir. I could not put it down. I felt so invested in the Walls family lives that I needed to know how it was all going to "end". I am constantly amazed at people's resilience, resourcefulness and rediscovery after living through some of life's most horrible events. It also makes me feel extremely lucky for everything that I have and gives me a new sense of determination to work as hard as possible, quit my whining and be thankful. 
 This book also got me thinking about living your life the way you want to versus the way society thinks you should versus taking responsibility for lives that you have created, i.e. your children. If Rex and Mary want to live by their artistry and ideals, that is all fine and well, but you have five children and you should not be allowed to be so very selfish. Throw alcoholism and possible past abuse into the story and now things are even more complicated and out of control. That at least some of the children come out of the experience with lives they are happy with seems like a miracle. But I guess that is all that their parents were looking for too - a life they could live with.