Why spend the afternoon making a meal that will be gone in an hour," she'd ask us, "when in the same amount… — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire. It was the sort of knowledge that kept you… — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
“At the same time, Dad was working on a book arguing the case for phonetic spelling. He called it 'A Ghoti out… — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
I wondered if the fire had been out to get me. I wondered if all fire was related, like Dad said all… — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
“What Dad didn't understand was that no matter how much he hated or feared the future, it was coming, and there was… — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
Mom also hinted a couple of times that it was good I was going to college, since with one failed marriage behind… — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
“For the first time in our lives, we were living on the backs of others, but that was how you got ahead… — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
The best time to tell your story is when you have to tell your story. When it's not really a choice. But… — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
“[Marriage] made the hard moments easier and the good moments better.” — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
One time I saw a tiny Joshua tree sapling growing not too far from the old tree. I wanted to dig it… — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
“Everything in life had a purpose, and unless it achieved that purpose, it was just taking up space on the planet and… — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
The dangerous falls were the ones that happened so fast you didn't have time to react — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love… — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
“You should never hate anyone, not even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You had to find the redeeming quality and… — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
With a complicated childhood, you can either focus on the positive or the negative, and I chose to focus on the positive. — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
She never felt sorry for herself, and that was something I decided I admired most in people. — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
“If you want to live in the farmland, haul your sorry hide off to Pennsylvania.” — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
“I WAS SITTING IN a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting… — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
I had the big shoulders; I had the big hair. I loved the '80s. It was all about power women. — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
Things usually work out in the end." "What if they don't?" "That just means you haven't come to the end yet. — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
“That was the way man was meant to live, he’d say, in harmony with the wild, like the Indians, not this lords-of-the-earth crap, trying… — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
Sometimes you need a little crisis to get your adrenaline flowing and help you realize your potential. — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
“Don’t be afraid of your dark places,” Mom told her. “If you can shine a light on them, you’ll find treasure there.” — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
I hate Erma," I told Mom... "You have to show compassion for her..." She added that you should never hate anyone, even your worst… — Jeannette Walls Copy Share Image
