Jeannette Quotes & Sayings

Once you start your exercise routine and you include in your daily diet foods rich in calcium and potassium, you will start losing weight in about a week — Jeannette Murueta

Everything in life is gray, you know. — 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

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

You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake — Jeannette Rankin

What one decides to do in crisis depends on one's philosophy of life, and that philosophy cannot be changed by an incident. If one hasn't any philosophy in crises, others make the decision. — Jeannette Rankin

Years from now, when all the junk they got is broken and long forgotten, you'll still have your stars. — Jeannette Walls

One of the many lessons I hope I've learned is how much I underestimated people, their open-mindedness and their willingness to understand. I think, moreover, I underestimated the degree to which everyone has a story. So my advice, for whatever it's worth, is to trust readers, trust the truth and trust the power of storytelling. — Jeannette Walls

I never met a kid I couldn't teach. Every kid was good at something, and the trick was to find out what it was, then use it to teach him everything else. It was good work, the kind of work that let you sleep soundly at night and, when you awoke, look forward to the next day. — Jeannette Walls

Crockett and James Bowie got what was coming to them," Mom said, "for stealing this land from the Mexicans — 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

As a woman I can't go to war, and I refuse to send anyone else. — Jeannette Rankin

If you don't think you're hurt, then you aren't — Jeannette Walls

My favorite books all involved people dealing with hardships. — Jeannette Walls

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

You can't live in fear of something as basic as fire. — Jeannette Walls

If I had my life to live over, I would do it all again, but this time I would be nastier. — Jeannette Rankin

You know, if it's humanly possible, I'll get it for you. And if it ain't humanly possible, I'l die trying. — Jeannette Walls

The barn was dark from the storm, and we couldn't find the harness, which no one had used in years. Old Jake, who had sprained his good foot falling off a horse and was hobbling around worse than ever, started getting panicky at the idea of the dam giving out and washing away the cattle, but I told him to hush his mouth. We all knew what was at stake, and if we were going to save the ranch, we needed clear heads. — Jeannette Walls

Don't hate anything, because that's exactly what you'll get — Jeannette Katzir

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

Sometimes you have to get sicker before you can get better. — Jeannette Walls

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

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. — 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

What turns to stone is inside you. — Jeannette Walls

Sometimes you need a little crisis to get your adrenaline flowing and help you realize your potential. — Jeannette Walls

A lady's hair is her crowning glory — Jeannette Walls

As we mature in faith, our willingness is tested, expanded, and refined. We become more conscious of our limitations and turn to God. The necessity of God's grace becomes clearer as we become more attuned and accurate in our recognition of our dependence on God and less sure of anything that causes us to describe ourselves self-righteously. At times, when confronted by the less-than-ideal behavior of others, we may recognize that we are capable of similar actions and give thankds to God for helping us avoid unwelcome pitfalls. Scripture instructs us to be holy as God is holy, yet we increasingly realize the impossibility of holy behavior unless it is brought about by the Spirit's empowerment and our willing responsiveness and cooperation. Many people use spiritual direction as a window through which to notice and attend to their own expectations of willingness and willfulness. — Jeannette A. Bakke

Life is a drama full of tragedy and comedy. You should learn to enjoy the comic episodes a little more. — Jeannette Walls

My older sister achieved her dream of being an artist. She's an illustrator living in Manhattan. — 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

Horses are a mirror of who you are. They're emotionally dependent on you. — Jeannette Walls

The individual woman is required ... a thousand times a day to choose either to accept her appointed role and thereby rescue her good disposition out of the wreckage of her self-respect, or else follow an independent line of behavior and rescue her self-respect out of the wreckage of her good disposition. — Jeannette Rankin

What doesn't kill you will make you stronger — Jeannette Walls

Small use it will be to save democracy for the race if we cannot save the race for democracy. — Jeannette Rankin

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

Aficionados of the weather. We'd follow a storm — Jeannette Walls

Englishmen have a genius for looking uncomfortable. Their feelings are terribly mixed up with their personal appearance. — Sara Jeannette Duncan

I believe that everyone has some huge talent in them; the really lucky ones discover what it is. — Jeannette Walls

We define Christian spiritual direction then, as help given by one Christian to another which enables the person to pay attention to God's personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God and to live out the consequences of the relationship. The focus of this type of spiritual direction is on experiences, not on ideas, and specifically religious experiences, i.e., any experience of the mysterious Other whom we call God. Moreover, this experience is viewed, not as an isolated event, but as an ongoing expression of the ongoing personal relationship God has established with each one of us. — Jeannette A. Bakke

The place where you live - your home - is one of the most important things in a body's life. — Jeannette Walls

Sometimes it didn't matter how much gumption you had. What mattered were the cards you'd been dealt. — Jeannette Walls

How many places have we lived?" I asked Lori.
"That depends on what you mean by 'lived', "she said. "If you spend one in some town, did you live there? What about two nights? Or a whole week? "
I thought. "If you unpack all your things," I said.
We counted eleven placed we had lived, then we lost track. We couldn't remember the names of some of the towns or what the houses we had lived in looked like. Mostly, I remember the inside of cars.
"What do you think would happen if we weren't always moving around?" I asked.
"We'd get caught," Lori said.
pg. 29 — Jeannette Walls

I could see why Archimedes got all excited. There was nothing finer than the feeling that came rushing through you when it clicked and you suddenly understood something that had puzzled you. It made you think it just might be possible to get a handle on this old world after all. — Jeannette Walls

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

We're stronger than we realize. — Jeannette Walls

[Marriage] made the hard moments easier and the good moments better. — 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

I may be the first woman member of Congress, but I won't be the last. — Jeannette Rankin

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

I closed my eyes, but that didn't blur the images his words had evoked. "Oh, God," I murmured.
"God," he said, "had nothing to do with it at all. — Jeannette De Beauvoir

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

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

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

When Dad wasn't telling us about all the amazing things he had already done, he was telling us about the wondrous things he was going to do. Like build the Glass Castle. — Jeannette Walls

No one expected you to amount to much," she told me. "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. — 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

Pleased to meet you, Grandma,' I said. — Jeannette Walls

She wore tight corsets to give her a teeny waist - I helped her lace them up - but they had the effect of causing her to faint. Mom called it the vapors and said it was a sign of her high breeding and delicate nature. I thought it was a sign that the corset made it hard to breathe. — Jeannette Walls

I hate Erma," I told Mom ...
"You have to show compassion for her ... " She added that you should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. "Everyone has something good about them," she said. "You have to find the redeeming quality and love the person for that."
"Oh yeah?" I said. "How about Hitler? What was his redeeming quality?"
"Hitler loved dogs," Mom said without hesitation. — Jeannette Walls

You take people as far as they will go, not as far as you would like them to go. — Jeannette Rankin

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

Life's too short to care about what other people think. Besides, they should accept us for who we are — Jeannette Walls

Even more important than saving money is making it. — Jeannette Walls

But the positive thoughts would give way to negative thoughts, and the negative thoughts seemed to swoop into her mind the way a big flock of black crows takes over the landscape, sitting thick in the trees and on the fence rails and lawns, staring at you in ominous silence. — Jeannette Walls

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

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. — 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

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

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

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

You can't prepare for everything life's going to throw at you. And you can't avoid danger. It's there. The world is a dangerous place, and if you sit around wringing your hands about it, you'll out on all the adventure. — 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

She had her addictions and one of them was reading. — 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

When God gave men tongues, he never dreamed that they would want to talk about the Himalayas; there are consequently no words in the world to do it with. — Sara Jeannette Duncan

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

You West Virginia girls are one tough breed," he said.
You got that right," I told him. — 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

If you have anything to tell me of importance, for God's sake begin at the end. — Sara Jeannette Duncan

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

There can be no compromise with war; it cannot be reformed or controlled; cannot be disciplined into decency or codified into common sense. — Jeannette Rankin

One benefit of Summer was that each day we had more light to read by. — 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

He would almost call this feeling for
jeannette hate, if he were not so afraid it was love. — Karen Harper