Literary Work and Practice Implications: The Glass Castle Essay

Literary Work and Practice Implications: The Glass Castle Essay

Societies and Cultures reflect their values and beliefs in literature as well as the way they are portrayed. As a result, literature often portrays idealized versions of society and its people. Jeannette Wells wrote a book titled The Glass Castle in 2005. In this book, Jeannette tells the story of her life and childhood struggles and hopes for success (Walls, 2005). It wasn’t easy for Jeannette to grow up with a father who was an alcoholic and a mother who had a hard time keeping a steady job. They moved around the country constantly, living in cities, towns, and even the desert.

Rex Walls, Jeannette’s father, promised to build a glass castle for his family but never did. It was up to Jeannette and her siblings to make ends meet. Their resourcefulness and resilience allowed them to make the best of their circumstances, even in difficult circumstances. This book provides a candid account of the struggles and triumphs of a family living in poverty. As well as illustrating how individuals can adapt and cope with adverse circumstances, the book provides a realistic portrayal of resilience and the complex relationship of family members.

Theoretical Background and Implications in Practice

This book narrates about a unique socioeconomic background of a child that could potentially affect her life socially, economically, and psychologically. The theory in the book can be related to Nola Pender’s health promotion theory. Nola Pender’s theory described the multidimensional nature of human behavior and health. Human interaction with their environment should define the nature of their health outcomes to improve their0 self-efficacy (Masoudi et al., 2020). Prior related personal characteristics determine their individual experiences and motivation.

Jeannette Walls showed resilience and codependency. Socioeconomic circumstances forced codependency between Rex and Rose Mary. Jeannette Walls and her siblings developed codependent interactions and relationships that led to their adaptation. This book also depicts concepts related to Roy’s Adaptation theory. Her quality of life is a product of multidimensional factors that enhanced her adaptation and survival (Almasloukh & Stewart Fahs, 2021). Social, economic, financial, and psychological factors have shaped her adaptation to survival and providing for her family ad parents.

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Implications in Clinical Practice

These concepts are relevant to health practice and the workplace. Every day, we meet various patients from different families and social backgrounds. This book shows how family relationships and struggles can impact an individual’s adaptation in all spheres of life and health. Sometimes, nurses come across patients from disadvantaged social backgrounds. In such circumstances, the nurse needs to provide holistic care that takes into account the impact of this background. Codependence in family relationships will determine the type of therapy that best suits these patients’ needs. Parenting and its impact on future health and emotional interactions have been documented in the literature.

Child neglect has a significant impact on the child’s mental health in the future. A recent study by Baldwin et al. (2023) found that child maltreatment, which includes child neglect, has a significant impact on mental health. In this book, the character, Jeannette, is at risk of poor mental health in late childhood and adulthood. Overall, this book reflects society’s pictures and enlightens the reader on the existence of the extremes of life. These realities exist and have a role to play in an individual’s adaptation, social interactions, and mental health.

References

Almasloukh, K. B., & Stewart Fahs, P. (2021). Quality of life through the prism of the Roy adaptation model. Nursing Science Quarterly, 34(1), 67–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894318420965221

Baldwin, J. R., Wang, B., Karwatowska, L., Schoeler, T., Tsaligopoulou, A., Munafò, M. R., & Pingault, J.-B. (2023). Childhood maltreatment and mental health problems: A systematic review and meta-analysis of quasi-experimental studies. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 180(2), 117–126. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.20220174

Galama, T. J., & van Kippersluis, H. (2019). A theory of Socio-economic disparities in health over the life cycle. Economic Journal (London, England), 129(617), 338–374. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecoj.12577

Masoudi, R., Lotfizade, M., Gheysarieha, M. R., & Rabiei, L. (2020). Evaluating the effect of Pender’s health promotion model on self-efficacy and treatment adherence behaviors among patients undergoing hemodialysis. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 9, 197. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_747_19

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Walls, J. (2005). Glass Castle: A Memoir. Recorded Books.

Discuss an identified theory as it is portrayed in the book, The Glass Castle,” by Jeannette Walls.

It is the winner of the Christopher Award and spent nearly three years on the New York Times bestseller list.

This book offers us an opportunity to understand “the unique experience of a child growing up with two eccentric parents….”

Summarize the book prior to your reaction and include the clinical implications for practice.