Jeannette Walls Quotes

Don't worry, God understands,' Mom said. 'He knows that your father is a cross we must bear.

Whenever I'm reading a book I enjoy, I always develop a mental list of the people I want to share it with.

It was your inner spirit and not your outward appearance that mattered,

I'm a fairly fast, but sloppy writer, so I'm a big fan of re-writing, and re-writing again.

If you don't think you're hurt, then you aren't

Bought me another snow cone, and, as he gave it to me, planted a diamond ring on top. "A piece of ice that I'm hoping will make you melt," he said.

I always wanted to be a serious journalist.

The fact is, you don't love me, and you haven't destroyed me. You don't have what it takes to do that.

If you get down, all you need to do is act like you're feeling good, and next thing you know, you are.

In this world, it's not enough to have a fine education. You need a piece of paper to prove you got it.

I was torturing the fire, giving it life, and snuffing it out.
pg. 33

I never had any question that my parents loved me. I had a real sense of self confidence.

What doesn't kill you will make you stronger

When people kill themselves, they think they're ending the pain, but all they're doing is passing it on to those they leave behind.

Everything in life is gray, you know.

God deals us all different hands. How we play 'em is up to us.

Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.

We both stood a better chance if we took on the world together.

Horses were never wrong. They always did what they did for a reason, and it was up to you to figure it out.

What I do know is that wondering why you survived don't help you survive.

When someone's wounded, the first order of business is to stop the bleeding. You can figure out later how best to help them heal.

Life's too short to worry about what other people think,' Mom said.'Anyway, they should accept us for who we are.

I didn't have the answers to those questions, but what I did know was that I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire.
pg. 34

We're becoming a nation of sissies.

I found out that people are incredibly compassionate and kind. It really changed my view of the world.

Optimism is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

She had her addictions and one of them was reading.

You'll never make a fortune working for the boss man

My life is not just about the past.

People worried too much about their children. Suffering when you're young is good for you. It immunized your body and soul ...

Phoenix was square and straight, boxy and boxed in, and above all, fake.

A wind picked up, rattling the windows, and the candle flames suddenly shifted, dancing along the border between turbulence and order.

I found the gas," he said. "Now all's I need to do is find the brake.

I felt best when I was on the move, going someplace rather than being there.

It's so much of what art and creativity are, being able to confront your own demons. If you can do that, you can get through just about everything.

Even more important than saving money is making it.

What struck me most was his crooked grin, like he saw the world in his own special way and got a kick out of it.

One thing about whoring: It put a chicken on the table.

A lady's hair is her crowning glory

I'm a big believer in luck - the harder you work, the luckier you become.

I'm a grown woman now," Mom said almost every morning. "Why can't I do what I want to do?

All seasons have something to offer

One of the ways to discover our toughness and resiliency is to look back at where we come from. (from Amazon description)

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.

[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 frighten
people, 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 with
trashy 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.