Jeannette Walls Quotes & Sayings
Enjoy the top 100 famous quotes, sayings and quotations by Jeannette Walls.
Famous Quotes By Jeannette Walls
Then he pointed to the top of the fire, where the snapping yellow flames dissolved into an invisible shimmery heat that made the desert beyond seem to waver, like a mirage. Dad told us that zone was known in physics as the boundary between turbulence and order. "It's a place where no rules apply, or at least they haven't figured 'em out yet," he said. "You-all got a little too close to it today. — Jeannette Walls
But I also hoped that [she] had chosen California because she thought that was her true home, the place where she really belonged, where it was always warm and you could dance in the rain, pick grapes right off the vines, and sleep outside at night under the stars. — Jeannette Walls
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. — Jeannette Walls
Helen and Buster got down and started praying with Mom, but I just stood there looking at them. The way I saw it, I was the one who'd saved us all, not Mom and not some guardian angel. — Jeannette Walls
I find books that have a moral and spiritual center, that speak to what is really important and lasting, hugely appealing. — Jeannette Walls
From the time the Joshua tree was a tiny sapling, it had been so beaten down by the whipping wind that, rather than trying to grow skyward, it had grown in the direction that the wind pushed it. It existed now in a permanent state of windblowness, leaning over so far that it seemed ready to topple, although, in fact, its roots held it firmly in place.
pg. 35 — Jeannette Walls
One of the most challenging aspects of writing a memoir is finding your own voice, and you should be very careful about being influenced by someone else's voice. — Jeannette Walls
I wanted to let the world know that no one had a perfect life, that even the people who seemed to have it all had their secrets. — Jeannette Walls
Submitting seemed to me a lot like giving up. If God gave us the strength to bail- the gumption to try and save ourselves- isn't that what he wanted us to do? — Jeannette Walls
If you had weak eyes, they needed exercise to get strong. Glasses were like crutches. They prevented people with feeble eyes from seeing the world on their own. — Jeannette Walls
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. — Jeannette Walls
I'm not so sure," Dad said. "Every damn thing in the universe can be broken down into smaller things, even atom, even protons, so theoretically speaking, I guess you had a winning case. A collection of things should be considered one thing. Unfortunately, theory don't always carry the day. — Jeannette Walls
I was in control of what people thought of me, but I had no control over what they thought of my mother. When I asked my mother, 'How do I tell people about you?' her answer was, 'Tell the truth'. But of course, the truth is never simple. — Jeannette Walls
Some people who've read my story think I had a terrible childhood and that I was neglected or even abused, while others feel that my parents, while certainly flawed, also had truly wonderful qualities. And that's the way it should be, because in real life two people can look at the same president and one will see a hero and the other a villain. — Jeannette Walls
You're in a horse race but you're thinking like a sheep. Sheep don't win horse races. — Jeannette Walls
Life is a drama full of tragedy and comedy. You should learn to enjoy the comic episodes a little more. — Jeannette Walls
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. — Jeannette Walls
Whoever coined the phrase 'a man's got to play the hand that was dealt him' was most certainly one piss-poor bluffer. — Jeannette Walls
God deals us all different hands. How we play 'em is up to us. — Jeannette Walls
Those shining stars, he liked to point out, were one of the special treats for people like us who lived out in the wilderness. Rich city folks, he'd say, lived in fancy apartments, but their air was so polluted they couldn't even see the stars. We'd have to be out of our minds to want to trade places with any of them. — Jeannette Walls
I sit down at my desk pretty early in the morning and write all day until about 4 or 5 p.m. — Jeannette Walls
You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love the person for that. — Jeannette Walls
At the same time, Dad was working on a book arguing the case for phonetic spelling. He called it 'A Ghoti out of Water.' "Ghoti," he liked to point out, could be pronounced like "fish." The "gh" had the "f" sound in "enough," the "o" had the short "i" sound in "women," and "ti" had the "sh" sound in "nation. — Jeannette Walls
The tree burst into color and we all gasped at the red, yellow, green, white and the blue lights boldly growing in the cold night, the only lights for miles around in the inmense darkness of the range. — Jeannette Walls
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. — Jeannette Walls
Mom also hinted a couple of times that it was good I was going to college, since with one failed marriage behind me, I 'd have trouble landing a good husband and would need something to fall back on. "A package that's been opened once doesn't have the same appeal". — Jeannette Walls
I reached my full height at age 11, and I was clumsy as all get-out - all elbows and knees, couldn't get up a flight of stairs without falling down. I wanted to be a cute, petite blonde, but I'm a big ol' strapping thing, so I just accept it. — Jeannette Walls
Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever. — Jeannette Walls
I felt best when I was on the move, going someplace rather than being there. — Jeannette Walls
As awful as he could be, I always knew he loved me in a way no one else ever had. — Jeannette Walls
If I owned hell and west Texas, he said, I do believe I'd sell west Texas and live in hell. — Jeannette Walls
Ironing was a particularly galling waste of time. You'd spend twenty minutes pressing one shirt front and back, spraying starch and getting the creases sharp, but once the man of the house put it on, it would wrinkle as soon as he bent an elbow; plus, you couldn't even see whether the danged shirt was ironed or not under his suit coat. — Jeannette Walls
It's really not that hard to put food on the table if that's what you decide to do. — Jeannette Walls
You know you're down and out when Okies laugh at you,' she said. With our garbage bag taped window, our tied down hood, and art supplies strapped to the roof, we'd out-Okied the Okies. — Jeannette Walls
Horses were never wrong. They always did what they did for a reason, and it was up to you to figure it out. — Jeannette Walls
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
idea. I told Mom we should empty out each room, clean it thoroughly, and put back only the things that were essential. That was the one way, it seemed to me, to get rid of the clutter. But Mom said my idea was too time-consuming, so all we ended up doing was straightening piles of paper into stacks and stuffing dirty clothes into the chest of drawers. Mom insisted that we chant Hail Marys while we worked. "It's a way of cleansing our souls while we're cleaning house," she said. "We're killing two birds with one stone." The — Jeannette Walls
The fact is, you don't love me, and you haven't destroyed me. You don't have what it takes to do that. — Jeannette Walls
I'm a big believer in luck - the harder you work, the luckier you become. — Jeannette Walls
The water you kids were playing in, he said, had probably been to Africa and the North Pole. Genghis Khan or Saint Peter or even Jesus may have drunk it. Cleopatra might have bathed in it. Crazy Horse might have watered his pony with it. Sometimes water was liquid. Sometimes it was rock hard- ice. Sometimes it was soft- snow. Sometimes it was visible but weightless- clouds. And sometimes it was completely invisible- vapor- floating up into the the sky like the soals of dead people. There was nothing like water in the world, Jim said. It made the desert bloom but also turned rich bottomland into swamp. Without it we'd die, but it could also kill us, and that was why we loved it, even craved it, but also feared it. Never take water forgranted, Jim said. Always cherish it. Always beware of it. — Jeannette Walls
The dangerous falls were the ones that happened so fast you didn't have time to react — Jeannette Walls
If you don't want to sink, you better figure out how to swim — Jeannette Walls
Life there was hard and it made people hard. — Jeannette Walls
I'd rather have a yard filled with genuine garbage than with
trashy lawn ornaments. — Jeannette Walls
Okay, kids,' Dad said, 'the civilians are revolting. We better skedaddle. — Jeannette Walls
The way Mom saw it, women should let menfolk do the work because it made them feel more manly. That notion only made sense if you had a strong man willing to step up and get things done, and between Dad's gimp, Buster's elaborate excuses, and Apache's tendency to disappear, it was often up to me to keep the place from falling apart. But even when everyone was pitching in, we never got out from under all the work. I loved that ranch, though sometimes it did seem that instead of us owning the place, the place owned us. — Jeannette Walls
There was no better way to read a man's character than to watch him play poker. Some played with the aim of holding on to what they had, others played to make a killing. For some it was gambling pure and simple, for others it was a game of skill involving small calculated risks. For some it was about numbers, for others it was about psychology. — Jeannette Walls
If you want to be reminded of the love of the Lord, just watch the sunrise. — Jeannette Walls
Poor old Venus didn't even make her own light, Dad said. She shone only from reflected light. — Jeannette Walls
What Dad didn't understand was that no matter how much he hated or feared the future, it was coming, and there was only one way to deal with it: by climbing aboard. — Jeannette Walls
Sometimes something catastrophic can occur in a split second that changes a person's life forever; other times one minor incident can lead to another and then another and another, eventually setting off just as big a change in a body's life. — Jeannette Walls
Maybe I should have cut him some slack. With his broken wing and lifetime of eating roadkill, he probably had a lot to be ungrateful about. Too much hard luck can create a permanent meanness of spirit in any creature. — Jeannette Walls
Since Mom wasn't exactly the most useful person in the world, one lesson I learned at an early age was how to get things done, and this was a source of both amazement and concern for Mom, who considered my behavior unladylike but also counted on me. "I never knew a girl to have such gumption," she'd say. "But I'm not too sure it's a good thing. — Jeannette Walls
I became known as Lily Casey, the mustang-breaking, poker-playing, horse-race-winning schoolmarm of Coconino County, and it wasn't half bad to be in place where no one had a problem with a woman having a moniker like that. — Jeannette Walls
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? — Jeannette Walls
New Yorkers, I figured, just pretended to be unfriendly. — Jeannette Walls
Living there [Horse Mesa] was like living in a natural cathedral. Waking up every morning, you walked outside and looked down at the blue lake, then up at the sandstone cliffs
those awe-inspiring layers of red and yellow rock shaped over the millennia, with dozens of black-streaked crevices that temporarily became waterfalls after rainstorms. — Jeannette Walls
In this world, it's not enough to have a fine education. You need a piece of paper to prove you got it. — Jeannette Walls
Brian told Mom we needed to keep Maureen away from those nutty Pentecostals, but Mom said we all came to religion in our own individual ways and we each need to respect the religious practices of others, seeing as it was up to every human being to find his or her own way to heaven. — Jeannette Walls
Dad was a philosopher and had what he called his Theory of Purpose, which held that everything in life had a purpose, and unless it achieved that purpose, it was just taking up space on the planet and wasting everybody's time. — Jeannette Walls
One time I saw a tiny Joshua tree sapling growing not too far from the old tree. I wanted to dig it up and replant it near our house. I told Mom that I would protect it from the wind and water it every day so that it could grow nice and tall and straight. Mom frowned at me. "You'd be destroying what makes it special," she said. "It's the Joshua tree's struggle that gives it its beauty. — Jeannette Walls
Horses are a mirror of who you are. They're emotionally dependent on you. — Jeannette Walls
Books are my very favorite gift to give. If you give a book to someone and they really respond to it, you feel you've actually changed their life in some way. — Jeannette Walls
I feel like I failed," I said. "Don't beat yourself up," Jim said. "She might not have turned out like you planned, but that don't mean she turned out wrong. — Jeannette Walls
During the sermon, the priest discussed the miracle of Immaculate Conception and the Virgin Birth. "Virgin, my ass!" Dad shouted. "Mary was a sweet Jewish broad who got herself knocked up! — Jeannette Walls
Memoir is about handing over you life to someone and saying, This is what I went through, this is who I am, and maybe you can learn something from it. — Jeannette Walls
Life's too short to worry about what other people think,' Mom said.'Anyway, they should accept us for who we are. — Jeannette Walls
I found the gas," he said. "Now all's I need to do is find the brake. — Jeannette Walls
In my opinion, trying to guess what readers want is the wrong approach. You have to tell your story as best you can and as true to yourself as possible. You have to be honest and fair and vulnerable and foolish and brave, and not care what anyone thinks of it. — Jeannette Walls
Life's too short to care about what other people think. Besides, they should accept us for who we are — Jeannette Walls
I feel like 'Alice Through the Looking Glass.' — Jeannette Walls
Nobody's perfect. We're all just one step up from the beasts and one step down from the angels. — Jeannette Walls
We're stronger than we realize. — Jeannette Walls
It was your inner spirit and not your outward appearance that mattered, — Jeannette Walls
We should never eat the liver of a polar bear because all the vitamin A in it could kill us. — Jeannette Walls
We're becoming a nation of sissies. — Jeannette Walls
People say that when you return to the place where you grew up, it always seems smaller than you remember ... but I don't know if it was because I had built it up in my memories or I had gotten bigger. Maybe both. — Jeannette Walls
Confidence doesn't come from thinking you're perfect or flawless. That's arrogance. Confidence comes from appreciating the beauty of your texture. — Jeannette Walls
I think you'd make a wonderful teacher. You have a strong personality. The women I know with strong personalities, the ones who might have become generals or the heads of companies if they were men, become teachers. — Jeannette Walls
A wind picked up, rattling the windows, and the candle flames suddenly shifted, dancing along the border between turbulence and order. — Jeannette Walls
My advice to anyone is to figure out what you're good at - what it is that you love doing the most in life - and figure out a way to make a living from it. — Jeannette Walls
I found out that people are incredibly compassionate and kind. It really changed my view of the world. — Jeannette Walls
When God closes a door, he opens a window, but it's up to you to find it. — Jeannette Walls
Mom asked me if I was okay. I shrugged and nodded. "Well, there you go", she said. She said that sexual assault was a crime of perception. "If you don't think you're hurt, then you aren't", she said. "So many women make such a big deal out of these things. But you're stronger then that", she went back to her crossword puzzle. — Jeannette Walls
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. — Jeannette Walls
Dad's death didn't hollow me out the way Helen's had. After all, everyone had assumed Dad was a goner back when he got kicked in the head as a child. Instead, he had cheated death and, despite his gimp and speech impediment, lived a long life doing pretty much what he wanted. He hadn't drawn the best of cards, but he'd played his hand darned well, so what was there to grieve over? — Jeannette Walls
History gets written by the winners, he said, and when the crooks win, you get crooked history. — Jeannette Walls
God knows what He's doing, — Jeannette Walls
Most important thing in life is learning how to fall. — Jeannette Walls
We had some times, didn't we?'
'We did.'
'Never did build that Glass Castle.'
'No. But we had fun planning it. — Jeannette Walls
So they told us all about how other kids were deceived by their parents, how the toys the grown-ups claimed were made by little elves wearing bell caps in their workshop at the North Pole actually had labels on them saying MADE IN JAPAN. — Jeannette Walls
[Marriage] made the hard moments easier and the good moments better. — Jeannette Walls
Mom, you have to leave Dad," I said. She stopped doing her toe touches. "I can't believe you would say that," she said. "I can't believe that you, of all people, would turn on your father." I was Dad's last defender, she continued, the only one who pretended to believe all his excuses and tales, and to have faith in his plans for the future. "He loves you so much," Mom said. "How can you do this to him?" "I don't blame Dad," I said. And I didn't. But Dad seemed hell-bent on destroying himself, and I was afraid he was going to pull us all down with him. "We've got to get away. — Jeannette Walls