For this month’s streaming list, I selected a film based on a best-selling novel, a Netflix original series based on a best-selling novel, and a network television show that’s ending after five brilliant seasons.

These dramas are about family and friendships, the family you are born into, the family you embrace, and the family that embraces you.

Each drama offers a unique version of the relationship between parent and parent, parent and child, parent and adult child, and the importance of friendships and forgiveness.

The Glass Castle -This film is based on Jeanette Wall’s memoir about growing up in a dysfunctional family and overcoming the many obstacles this dysfunction caused in her life. Walls and her three siblings grew up with free-spirited responsibility-averse parents.

Their mother, Rose Mary, was an artist so focused on her creations that she often forgot to feed her children or clean the house.

Their father, Rex, had a drinking problem and often spent the family’s meager food budget on cigarettes and alcohol. Rex and Rose Mary were adept at pretending their lax parenting style was an intentional plan to raise free-thinking and independent children.

The children were homeschooled and learned math, physics,  and geology from their father when he was sober. When he drank, Rex often became mean and destructive. The Glass Castle is available to stream on Netflix with a subscription, or on  YouTube, Apple Tv, Vudu, or Google Play Movies & TV for $3.99.

 They moved often because Rex constantly lost jobs because of his inability to stay sober. The children had to learn to depend on each other and their own determination to have a better life. They became each other’s best friends. It’s a story that will make you angry and sad at times, but also hopeful and proud of the Walls children for their resilience and determination. You’ll adore the children and hate their irresponsible parents.

The film version of the memoir is often criticized for portraying Wall’s parents in a sympathetic light near the end of the film. Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts give strong performances as Rex and Rosemary Walls. We feel the complexity of these individuals, and as much as we despise their behaviors, they make us want to understand what caused them to be such broken human beings. Brie Larson is exceptional as the adult Jeanette Walls. Chandler Head, (Jeanette at age eight) and Ella Anderson, (Jeanette at age 11) also give memorable performances.

Firefly Lane is a series on Netflix based on the novel of the same name by best-selling author Kristin Hannah. Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke star as Tully and Kate. Alissa Skovbye (teenaged Tully) and Roan Curtis (teenaged Kate) are exceptional. Skovbye and Heigl mastered each other’s mannerisms and expressions flawlessly. The same can be said for Curtis and Chalke to a slightly lesser degree.

Tully and Kate meet as young girls when Tully’s mother, Dorothy “Cloud” Hart, a free-spirited hippy  takes custody of her daughter who had been in the care of Dorothy’s mother. Cloud and Tully move to the house on Firefly Lane next door to Kate Mularkey and her family. Tully is the cool girl everyone wants to impress, and Kate is the nerdy late bloomer everyone underestimates. Kate has a stable family with a stay-at -home mom, a loving dad, and a brother. Tully’s mother gets drunk and high with her friends and lets Tully fend for herself most of the time. Tully never knew her father, and her mother refuses to tell her anything about him.

After a bumpy start their friendship grows and the girls help each other navigate growing up, meeting boys, and going to high school in the 70s. Having grown up in the 70s, I can tell you the music, clothing, and the social and political climates are spot on. It was a time when girls and women were trying to assert their independence and prove they were just as capable as any man. Tully and Kate have big dreams. They have spats, but when the tough times come, they show up for each other.

The story is told in flashbacks of their days on Firefly Lane, their college years, their careers and relationships, and their families. No spoilers here, but the story of their friendship is heartwarming and bittersweet. The ensemble cast of characters who float in and out of Tully’s and Kate’s lives are quirky and endearing, The bad guys and mean girls are characters many of us have encountered in our own lives.

It’s a story you’ll either love or hate. Some viewers don’t connect with the characters because they feel they aren’t likeable enough. That’s probably one of the reasons I fell in love with the story. Tully and Kate aren’t perfect. They are thoughtless at times and hyper-focused on creating the sort of lives they think they should have. But, they learn, grow, and evolve just like humans are meant to do.

A Million Little Things is ending after five exceptional seasons. When the ABC drama started many compared it to the NBC series, This is Us, but it soon established itself as so much more. The series with an exceptional ensemble cast, James Roday Rodriguez, Grace Park, Romany Malco, Ron Livingston, David Giuntoli, Allison Miller, Christina Moses, Lizzy Greene, Chance Hurstfield, Tristan Byon, Stephanie Szostak, and Cameron Esposito, tackles the tough issues – suicide, depression, cancer, infidelity, divorce, immigration, racism, disability, college, aging, marriage, having children or making the decision not to have children, sexual assault, sexual orientation, social justice, and forgiveness.

Along the way, their friendships are tested, and they stand the test of time. Dramatic moments are infused with a healthy dose of humor. The characters make mistakes, sometimes they make the same mistake multiple times, but with the help of their friends, they learn and grow. I admit, I’ll miss these people.

Photo Credits:

Image of Katherine Heigl:

By Photo from www.lukeford.net - http://www.lukeford.net/Images/photos4/photos/080107.htm, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12313640

Image of Sarah Chalke:

By Photo Larry, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6042974

Poster Art for The Glass Castle:

By The poster art can or could be obtained from the distributor., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54080409

All other images are in the Public Domain