Quote

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

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Jeannette Walls
Age: 64
Born: 1960
Born: April 21
Journalist
Writer
Phoenix
Arizona
People
Answers
Courses
Course
Simple
Tell
Mother
Truth
Answer
Never
Asked

More quotes by Jeannette Walls

Image
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
Image
It's really not that hard to put food on the table if that's what you decide to do.
Jeannette Walls
Image
....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.
Jeannette Walls
Image
Mom always said people worried too much about their children. Suffering when you're young is good for you, she said. It immunized your body and your soul, and that was why she ignored us kids when we cried. Fussing over children who cry only encouraged them, she told us. That's positive reinforcement for negative behavior.
Jeannette Walls
Image
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
Image
We're stronger than we realize.
Jeannette Walls
Image
My life is not just about the past.
Jeannette Walls
Image
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
Image
You West Virginia girls are one tough breed, he said. You got that right, I told him.
Jeannette Walls
Image
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
Image
Interesting people always have a past.
Jeannette Walls
Image
I'm a big believer in luck - the harder you work, the luckier you become.
Jeannette Walls
Image
Unlike diamonds, watches were practical. They were for people on the run, people with appointments to keep and schedules to meet.
Jeannette Walls
Image
One benefit of Summer was that each day we had more light to read by.
Jeannette Walls
Image
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
Jeannette Walls
Image
Fussing over children who cry only encourages them. That's positive reinforcement for negative behavior.
Jeannette Walls
Image
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
Image
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
Image
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
Image
The dangerous falls were the ones that happened so fast you didn't have time to react
Jeannette Walls