Jeannette Walls is an author who wrote the bestselling memoir The Glass Castle, which details her unconventional childhood living with alcoholic father Rex and eccentric artist mother Rose Mary. The family moved frequently throughout the Southwest as Rex pursued various schemes, often leaving the children to fend for themselves. Jeannette, her siblings Lori and Brian, and their mother endured periods of poverty and homelessness. As adults, Jeannette and Lori moved to New York City to start new lives while Brian also eventually left Welch, West Virginia. The Glass Castle was later adapted into a 2017 film starring Brie Larson as Jeannette.

2. Jeannette Walls
Author of Dish (2000), The Glass Castle (2005), Half Broke
Horses (2009), and The Silver Star (2013).

3. Career a
Jeannette became
columnist for several
newspapers/magazines
in New York including New York
Magazine. Later, she
quit to become a full
time novelist after
publishing her most
famous book, The Glass
Castle: a memoir

4. Over
2.5 million
copies of The Glass
Castle have been sold as
of 2007.

5. “It represents the hope I
have for others, and
myself.”
www.hubpages.com
“5 stars
www.amazon.com
!”
“It’s a story like none other I’ve
read before. It will leave you with a
different view of your day to day
life, I guarantee it.”
www.reederreads.com

6. The Glass Castle’s film is in
the making and
Jennifer
Lawrence
is cast to play Jeannette.

7. In Part I of The Book,
which is only a few
pages, Jeannette talks
about a time in her
later life when she’s
living on Park Avenue.
“I was sitting in a taxi wondering if I had
overdressed for the evening, when I
looked out the window and saw Mom
rooting through a dumpster.”
Walls, page 3

8. As stated on the first page of
Part II of The Glass Castle,
Jeannette’s earliest memory is
catching on
fire while living in a trailer park
in southern Arizona.
“The doctors said I was lucky
to be alive.”
Walls, page 10

9. Jeannette was only
3 years old at the
time. She was
cooking hot dogs
on the stove by
herself.
“ They [the doctors] asked
what I was doing cooking
hot dogs by myself at age
3... “Mom says I’m mature
for my age,” I told them,
“and she lets me cook for
myself a lot.”” Walls, page 11

10. The Walls family moved around the desert,
particularly Arizona and Nevada, for many
years. Sometimes they would just sleep in
their car.
“All thiswas temporary, Dad moving
running around and
around
explained. He had”a plan. He was
going to find gold.
Walls, page 22

11. Rex’s excuse for all their moving
was that the FBI or the mafia was
after him, but it was all a lie.
“Mom,really after told us that the FBI
however,
wasn’t
Dad; he just liked
to say fun having the FBI on your tail
they were because it was
morebill collectors.” Walls, page 22
than

12. Their time in Phoenix was probably
the best, most stable couple years of
Jeannette’s life. During this time the
kids actually had bikes. It was a big
deal for the kids to own anything, let
a lone bikes. They were also enrolled
in school which was somewhat rare
as well.

13. QuickTime™ and a
H.264 decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

14. In Welch the family stayed with Rex’s parents. The kids hated
staying here. Erma, their grandmother, was likely sexually
abusing Brian and she was very hard on the kids. If they mis
behaved, they were locked the basement for days on end
without food.

15. Eventually, the Walls got their own house in the mountains of
Welch. This is when things got worse for the family. Rex was in
his worst state of alcoholism - even stealing Jeannette, Brian, &
Lori’s savings from their piggy bank.

16. New York City
Jeannette and Lori planned to move to
New York to get away from Welch and
have a chance at a better life. Lori moved
there first and started a life for herself,
Jeannette followed, and soon Brian did
too.

17. Jeannette got her degree at Barnard
College in New York and eventually
became a columnist for New York
Magazine.

18. Lori Walls is the eldest of the
Walls children. She is an artist
like her mother and is often seen
as “the brains”. Lori was the first
to go to New York after
graduating high school, followed
immediately by Jeannette.
Lori (left) is Jeannette’s sister, Rex Walls (middle)
is Jeannette’s dad and to his left is Jeannette’s
mother, Rose Mary Walls.
“
Lori was the smart one, Maureen the pretty one, and
Brian the brave one. You never had much going for you
except that you always worked hard. Walls, page 47
”

19. Brian Walls is
Jeannette’s younger
brother. He and Jeannette
are easily the closest of
the siblings because they
have the most in
common. The two love to
go exploring together in
all the places they’ve lived.
Later, they found out that
maybe the Reason why
Lori never joined was
because she had terrible
eyesight and it wasn’t as
fun for her.

20. Rex Walls
“If youout how to swim.” you better
don't want to sink,
figure
Walls, page 66

21. Jeannette’s dad, Rex, has a large role in
her life. She was the closest to him out
of all her siblings because she had a soft
spot for him. She was one of the only
kids who really believed in him.

22. “He told me I was his favorite child, but he made me
promise not to tell Lori or Brian or Maureen. It was
our secret. “I swear, honey, there are times when I
think you're the only one around who still has faith in
me,” he said. “I don't know what I'd do if you ever lost
it.” I told him that I would never lose faith in him. And I
promised myself I never would
”
(Walls, page 78-79)

23. Rex is a big source of conflict in the
book. He is unable to hold a steady job,
so the family rarely has money for even
just the necessities. His alcoholism is the
source of many of the family’s issues with
money.

24. Jeannette’s mother is an artist. She
doesn’t have as much of a roll in the
memoir and I believe this is because
she was somewhat of an absent
mother. She often did not put her
kids’ needs before her own.
Whenever things got too tough, she
would get a job as a teacher, but this
never lasted. She favored her art
over other things, even though it
didn’t make them any money.
Rose Mary Walls

25. “Mom started crying. "I can't help it," she
sobbed. "I'm a sugar addict, just like your
father is an alcoholic." She told us we
should forgive her the same way we
always forgave Dad for his drinking. None
of us said a thing. Brian snatched up the
chocolate bar and divided is into four
pieces. While Mom watched, we wolfed
them down.” Walls, page 87
“But on that first day of school, Mom
refused to get out of bed. Lori, Brian, and I
pulled back the covers and tried to drag her
out, but she wouldn't budge.” Walls, page 89

26. Jeannette now lives
in upstate New York
with her journalist
husband John Taylor.

27. And here are some words from Jeannette herself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naAy_juIOQk