I was so worried that people wouldn't like me or my story. 
Poor old Venus didn't even make her own light, Dad said. She shone only from reflected light. 
You're in a horse race but you're thinking like a sheep. Sheep don't win horse races. 
But no matter how much planning you do, one tiny miscalculation, one moment of distraction, can end it all in an instant. 
I believe that everyone has some huge talent in them; the really lucky ones discover what it is. 
You West Virginia girls are one tough breed," he said.You got that right," I told him.
If you want to be treated like a mother, act like one. 
Sometimes you need a little crisis to get your adrenaline flowing and help you realize your potential. ![Jeannette Walls quotes: [Marriage] made the hard moments easier and the good moments better.](http://www.wisefamousquotes.com/images/jeannette-walls-quotes-624086.jpg "Jeannette Walls quotes: [Marriage] made the hard moments easier and the good moments better.")
[Marriage] made the hard moments easier and the good moments better. 
My older sister achieved her dream of being an artist. She's an illustrator living in Manhattan. 
Whoever coined the phrase 'a man's got to play the hand that was dealt him' was most certainly one piss-poor bluffer. 
Aficionados of the weather. We'd follow a storm 
Sometimes you have to get sicker before you can get better. 
History gets written by the winners, he said, and when the crooks win, you get crooked history. 
One benefit of Summer was that each day we had more light to read by. 
Most important thing in life," he would say, "is learning how to fall." * 
Things usually work out in the end.""What if they don't?"
"That just means you haven't come to the end yet.
Pleased to meet you, Grandma,' I said. 
Look at the way you live. You've sold out. Next thing I know you'll become a Republican." She shook her head. "Where are the values I raised you with? 
Most important thing in life is learning how to fall. 
Anyone who thinks he's too small to make a difference has never been bit by a mosquito 
I've told you before, life's not about doing what you want. 
I feel like 'Alice Through the Looking Glass.' 
Confidence doesn't come from thinking you're perfect or flawless. That's arrogance. Confidence comes from appreciating the beauty of your texture. 
People are like animals. Some are happiest penned in, some need to roam free. You go to recognize what's in her nature and accept it. 
We had some times, didn't we?''We did.'
'Never did build that Glass Castle.'
'No. But we had fun planning it.
You were free to choose enslavement, but the choice was a free one only if you knew what your alternatives were. 
If you went back far enough, Uncle Tinsley went on, just about 
Once you go on welfare it changes you. Even if you get off welfare, you never escape the stigma that you were a charity case. You're scarred for life. 
That was the thing to remember about all monsters, They love to frightenpeople, but the minute you stare them down, they turn tail and run.
You're not supposed to laugh at your own father. Ever. 
The dangerous falls were the ones that happened so fast you didn't have time to react 
Sometimes it didn't matter how much gumption you had. What mattered were the cards you'd been dealt. 
The place where you live - your home - is one of the most important things in a body's life. 
I find books that have a moral and spiritual center, that speak to what is really important and lasting, hugely appealing. 
She was developing what Mom called a bit of a sarcastic streak. 
Nobody's perfect. We're all just one step up from the beasts and one step down from the angels. 
If you don't want to sink, you better figure out how to swim 
Life there was hard and it made people hard. 
I'd rather have a yard filled with genuine garbage than withtrashy lawn ornaments.
Okay, kids,' Dad said, 'the civilians are revolting. We better skedaddle. 
Don't be afraid of your dark places," Mom told her. "If you can shine a light on them, you'll find treasure there. 
Interesting people always have a past. 
If I owned hell and west Texas, he said, I do believe I'd sell west Texas and live in hell. 
She knew how to get by on next to nothing. pg. 21
As awful as he could be, I always knew he loved me in a way no one else ever had. 
You can't live in fear of something as basic as fire. 
I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire. It was the sort of knowledge that kept you on your toes. 
Life's too short to care about what other people think. Besides, they should accept us for who we are 
Years from now, when all the junk they got is broken and long forgotten, you'll still have your stars. 
You know, if it's humanly possible, I'll get it for you. And if it ain't humanly possible, I'l die trying. 
Horses are a mirror of who you are. They're emotionally dependent on you. 
Unlike diamonds, watches were practical. They were for people on the run, people with appointments to keep and schedules to meet. 
New Yorkers, I figured, just pretended to be unfriendly. 
When I got a little older, I started writing for the high school newspaper, 'The Maroon Wave,' and that's when I fell in love with journalism. 
I sit down at my desk pretty early in the morning and write all day until about 4 or 5 p.m. 
She never felt sorry for herself, and that was something I decided I admired most in people. 