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Jeannette Walls sees her mom on the street looking through a dumpster. Walls is in a car while her mom is homeless. Later, her mom talks about values and how homelessness does not affect her mom.
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Walls is 3 years old and she is cooking hotdogs on her own. Her dress catches on fire and she suffers severe burns to her torso. Her father Rex Walls wants to get Jeannette out of the hospital and so he takes her without permission.
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Jeannette arives home from the hospital with a new facsination with fire.
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The Walls family quickly leaves their home in Arizona for a mysterious reason that is not mentioned.
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Jeannette overhears her parents talking about whose chasing them. The FBI is after her dad for something he did. The family runs from state to state, and learns how to do many things including how to survive in the dessert. Their living conditions are not great but they learn to survive on their own.
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Jeannette was saying how "Life was better with less money because Dad wouldn't drink as much." That made me worry. I don't like the idea of a young girl barely surviving with what little money she has and her father being an alcoholic. No child should have to suffer having an alcoholic parent.
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Dad mentions for the first time, his plans of building "The Glass Castle". This is a dream house he wants to build for his family. Although he has his problems with drinking and working (he has a big mouth so he always loses his job), he does have plans for a bright future for his family.
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The Walls are in a hotel room that catches on fire. The hotel burns to the ground, thus causing the family to have to move yet again.
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Mom Rosemary Walls quotes, "It's the Joshua Tree's struggle that gives it its beauty." I belive that Rosemary was trying to hint at her children that struggling to make ends meet is not a bad thing, and it shows others that the family is hardworking and can manage with what little they have.
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For christmas, Rex "gives" his children stars. He wants his children to understand that material things can never surpass neverending things.
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Rosemary gives birth to a baby girl and names her Maureen. She insists that she was twelve months pregnant when she gave birth.
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The family moves to Battle Mountain. They live in an abandoned wooden building.
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Rex gets a job as an electrician.
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Rex is tough with Jeannette when teaching her how to swim. He wants his kids to be intelligent and not immature.
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Jeannette's parents fight because of money and food shortages. Rosemary hates living the life they are living. But I wonder why she acts as if there is nothing wrong with their way of life. It's as if she has mixed feelings on the issue.
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Rosemary begins teaching and there are many ups and downs in the job.
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Rex asks his kids, "have I ever let you down?" Brian, Jeannette's brother, replies "Yes." He is obviously upset with the situation of his father being a drunk, and not ever having enough money and food.
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A boy named Billy torments Jeannette, claiming they are dating and that he raped her. Also, Rex faces the police again so the family moves to Phoenix.
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The Walls family is moved into North Third road, and they got an electric washing machine and a telephone which was a big thing for them.
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Rex takes Jeannette (his favourite child) to a zoo, where he teaches her about animals and they have a nice bonding time.
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The Walls don't have jobs so they move to Rex's parents' house in Welch Virginia.
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Jeannette is bullied by girls at her new school.
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Erma, Jeannett's grandma, is about to rape Brian, but Jeannette catches her and stops her.
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The Walls have a run-down home on Little Hobart Street.
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Rex Walls is severly cut, and asks Jeannette to sew his cut. She again learns something to help brighten her future.
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Jeannette's uncle Stanley is about to rape Jeannette, and her mother doesn't do anything about it, saying," Poor Stanley, He's so lonely."
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Jeannette is introduced to the idea of moving to New York for her career.
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Lori, Jeannette's older sister, leaves for New York to start her own life and career.
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Jeannette also leaves her home in Welch and goes to New York for university.
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Jeannette and Lori are settled in New York, and eventually their brother Brian, sister Maureen, and parents join them. Rex dies shortly after moving to New York. Maureen also gets into trouble with the police and stabbs Rosemary (doesn't kill her though.)