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Mom told us we would have to go shoplifting. Isn't that a sin? I asked Mom. Not exactly, Mom said. God doesn't mind you bending the rules a little if you have a good reason. It's sort of like justifiable homicide. This is justifiable pilfering.

Jeannette Walls

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Jeannette Walls
Age: 64
Born: 1960
Born: April 21
Journalist
Writer
Phoenix
Arizona
Littles
Mom
Reason
Rules
Little
Exactly
Mind
Sin
Good
Asked
Shoplifting
Would
Told
Justifiable
Like
Sort
Homicide
Doesn
Bending

More quotes by Jeannette Walls

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When someone's wounded, the first order of business is to stop the bleeding. You can figure out later how best to help them heal.
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No child is born a delinquent. They only became that way if nobody loved them when they were kids. Unloved children grow up to be serial murderers or alcoholics.
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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.
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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.
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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
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....he said it was interesting. He used the word 'textured'. He said 'smooth' is boring but 'textured' was interesting, and the scar meant that I was stronger than whatever had tried to hurt me.
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You can't cling to the side your whole life, that one lesson every parent needs to teach a child is If you don't want to sink, you better figure out how to swim
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Mom always said people worried too much about their children. Suffering when you are young is good for you, she said. It immunized your body and your soul.
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But no matter how much planning you do, one tiny miscalculation, one moment of distraction, can end it all in an instant.
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Horses were never wrong. They always did what they did for a reason, and it was up to you to figure it out.
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One thing about whoring: It put a chicken on the table.
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Too much hard luck can create a permanent meanness of spirit in any creature.
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My life is not just about the past.
Jeannette Walls
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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
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The dangerous falls were the ones that happened so fast you didn't have time to react
Jeannette Walls
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Don't be afraid of your dark places. ... If you can shine a light on them, you'll find treasure there.
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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
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Interesting people always have a past.
Jeannette Walls
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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
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She never felt sorry for herself, and that was something I decided I admired most in people.
Jeannette Walls