This memoir tells the story of the Walls family -- with the boisterous, oftentimes drunken dad; the free-spirited, artist mother; and the four children who, as they grow, come to realize that their constantly moving, often-starving, proud-to-a-fault family is not "normal" and that there are better ways to live.The writing is great -- the beginning especially is written in such a humorous way, with the childlike acceptance of her parents' eccentricities. By the time the children begin growing up and realizing things aren't as adventurous and great as they seem, the author has pulled you into their world, made you care for them, and you find yourself rejoicing in their triumphs, aching with their losses, and hoping beyond hopes that things will start looking up for them.