Jeannette Walls Research Paper

Living her childhood brimful of hope and optimism, Jeannette Walls prospered in the face of her hardships. As the second-oldest child to Rex and Rose Mary Walls, Jeannette had to adapt to an undomesticated lifestyle along with her three siblings. At the first glimpse of her childhood, three-year-old Jeannette burned herself, and after being hospitalized, she went back to working with fire. Her parents believed this to be an act of resilience, contrary to it being perilous. They would pretend their turbulent life was a glorious adventure. She was constantly put into circumstances that were typical for her, but unsound in the eyes of most people. She was sporadically on the move, and faced challenges in each stop. She and Brian would be bullied for their attire, and in one case, Jeannette witnessed
As her age increased, so did the realization of the neglect she was facing from her parents. Jeannette decided she would move to New York City. She landed an internship at The Phoenix, a weekly newspaper, which later helped her become a full-time reporter at the age of eighteen. Afterwards she pursued getting a college degree at Barnard College while having a job as an editorial assistant at one of the biggest magazines in the city. She did not let her harsh upbringing stand in the way of the future she wanted for herself and her siblings. To bring this to light, Lori and Jeannette worked together to save money therefore allowing Lori to move to New York. Brian, her younger brother, pitched in, though he had no intention of moving. While her success was emerging, she went through tough situations as well, such as her constant concern for her parents. Today she is married to her second husband, John Taylor, and is widely known as an American writer and journalist. Her memoir The Glass Castle is a New York Times Bestseller and stayed on the list for one hundred