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Born
On April 21, 1960, Jeannette was born to Rex and Rose Mary Walls, an alcoholic father and a self-indulgent mother. She was the second child of the Walls' family, after Lori. -
Brian
Jeannette's brother, Brian, was born. -
Cooking Mishap
While cooking hotdogs at the age of three, Jeannette severely burned herself and had to spend weeks in the hospital in Phoenix. When the doctors and nurses insinuated abuse, Rex kidnapped her from the hospital and left without paying. (pp. 9-14) -
Road to Las Vegas
The Walls family was forced to "skedaddle" to avoid debt collectors. On the way to Las Vegas, they slept under the stars. On one occasion, Jeannette was thrown from their car, the Blue Goose, after her parents had been drinking at a bar. She had to wait on the side of the road, injured and scared, until her parents realized what happened and returned. While in Vegas, Rex cheated the casinos out of money until he had to "skedaddle" once again. (pp. 29-31) -
Hotel Fire
The family moved to San Fransico, California, and lived in a brothel/hotel until Jeanette burned it down while playing with matches. They slept in their car on the beach until a police officer made them leave. As a result, the family headed to the Mojave Desert and moved into a two room house in Midland. (pp. 32-34) -
Blythe, California
At age 5, Jeannette started school in Blythe, California. Her eagerness to learn inevitably caused her to be bullied by her fellow classmates. One day the Mexican girls beat her up on her way home from school. The next day her younger brother, Brian, defended off the attackers. (pp. 44-45) -
Maureen
Maureen, the fourth child of Rex and Mary Walls, was born in Blythe, California. (pp. 46) -
Police Chase
Rex was chased by the police but somehow managed to escape by taking refuge in a parking garage. The Walls family rented a U-Haul truck and headed for Battle Mountatin, Nevada. While the children rode in darkness in the back of the U-Haul, the doors came open and the children almost fell out. (pp. 48-50) -
Battle Mountain
The family moved into an abandoned depot station without any furniture. The children slept in old refrigerator boxes. Jeannette attended second grade and played at the dump after school. Rex worked at the local mine and bought a piano for Mary which was placed in the backyard. Brian is almost killed when he and Jeannette set a shed on fire. (pp. 51-66) -
Repercussion of Rex's Lost Job
The family starved after Rex lost his job. The Walls' children stole food out of other children's lunches during recess. Mary and Rex fought, and Mary jumped out the window to get away. However the children saved her, and Mary got a job as a teacher at the school. Unfortunately, Rose spanked Lori in front of her class to prove to administation that she could discipline children. (pp.67-77) -
Billy Deel
Billy Deel, a juvenile delinquent, moved to town and attempted to rape Jeannette. However, she was able to fend off her attacker. When Billy retaliated with a gun, Jeannette shot back at him which led to the police paying them a visit. Instead of dealing with the law, her family chose to "skedaddle". (pp. 81-88) -
Emerson
The Walls family moved to Emerson after they inherited their grandmother's house. Unfortunately, it was infested with termites and cockroaches. Mary worked on her art while Rex joined the local electricans' union and bought his children bicycles. The school bought Lori glasses since Mary refused to buy a pair. (pp. 91-99) -
Intruder
The family slept with the doors unlocked and the windows open. One night, a homeless man climbed through Jeannette's window and tried to touch her while she was sleeping. Brian came to her rescue with a baseball bat and chased the man out of the house. (pp. 102-103) -
Zoo
While visiting the zoo, a drunk Rex and the kids climbed over the chained fence and petted the cheetah. The other people at the zoo panicked, but the cheetah remained calm and licked the salt off Jeannette's hand. (pp. 106-109) -
Thrift Shop
Rex lost his job so Mary took the children to a thrift shop. She made them distract the sales clerks so she could steal clothes for Maureen. The children pretended to fight, and Mary hid the stolen clothes under her coat. After many trips, Mary finally got caught and had to pay for the dress she tried to steal. (pp. 110-111) -
Quit Drinking
Jeannette pleaded with her dad to quit drinking as her tenth birthday present. After a year of sobriety, Rex resumed his old habits. He lost multiple jobs and continued engaging in dangerous fights with Mary. When Mary received a check for oil found on her plot of land in Texas, they decided to move to West Virginia. However, Rex refused to go with them. (pp. 116-125) -
Welch, West Virginia
The family moved into the basement of Rex's parents' house in Welch. Jeannette was placed in remedial classes because of her accent. Rex returned to the family. The grandma tried to molest Brian; however, Jeannette and Lori prevented it. As a result, they were forced never to speak in the house, never to go upstairs, and only could eat overcooked beans. (pp. 129-148) -
Little Hobart Street
Finally, the Wall's were kicked out of their grandparents' house and moved into 93 Little Hobart Street. The house was falling apart and had a leaky rook ready to collapse at any moment. It had no indoor plumbing and no electricy, but Mary made it seem like an adventure. (pp.150-156) -
Tough Winter
During the winter, the children used their recently adopted pets as heaters because the house did not have insulation. The children collected coal and wood to build fires for the house, but they would burn out after a few short hours. The Walls melted snow for drinking water. The children dug through the garbage at lunch to find food to eat. After Rex's mom died, he spent all his time drinking at bars. (pp. 164-180) -
Welch High School
Rose Mary went back to teaching, and Jeanette began the seventh grade at Welch High School. She spent her time working for the school newspaper, The Maroon Wave, where she felt like she belonged. She made her own braces out of a wire coat hanger and a rubberband since braces were too costly. (pp. 196-213) -
Piggy Bank
The children saved money in their piggy bank to be used to send Lori to New York City to begin her career. Rex asked Jeannette for loans. After many months of hard work and saving, their dad stole all the money from the piggy bank. Jeannette had saved large sums money from babysitting and her job at a jewlery so she was furious. However, Jeannette found an alternate plan to get Lori to New York City. (pp. 226-230) -
New York City
After she finished her junior year of high school, Jeannette moved to New York. She found an internship at "The Pheonix" and finished high school. She remained at "The Phoenix" as a reporter and attended Barnard College with the help of grants and loans. Soon after, Brian moved to New York City and began working as well. (pp. 235-251) -
Siblings in New York
Maureen moved in with Lori, and the four siblings bonded over their crazy past. Rex and Mary followed the kids to New York and lived in a room in a bordering house, a flop house, and a van until they were homeless. They looked at being homeless as an adventure. (pp. 251-255) -
Start of Adulthood
Jeannette graduated college, married a man named Eric who lived on Park Avenue, became editor for The Barnard Newpaper, and began her own newspaper column on the movers and shakers of New York. Rex and Mary joined a house of squattters. Brian became a police officer and got married. Maureen dropped out of high school and was arrested for stabbing Mary. After a one year stay at a mental hospital, Maureen bought a one-way bus ticket to California. (pp. 258-279) -
Rex's Death
Rex contracted Tuberculosis and later died of a heart attack. Shortly after, Jeannette divorced Eric and married a man named John. (pp. 279-281) -
Thanksgiving
Five years after her dad's death, Jeannette invited her mom to Thanksgiving at her farmhouse. They made peace with the past and accepted each other. (pp. 285-288) -
Publication of The Glass Castle
The book was published. As of the publication date, Jeannette Walls lived in New York City and Virginia. She worked as an American author and journalist who contributed to MSNBC.com.
