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3 years-old
When Jeannette is three years old her mother decides that she can cook food for herself. Jeanette is making herself a hot dog when her pink dress catches fire and seriously burns her. Jeannette was rushed to the hospital and had to get skin graphs to treat her burns. The fire represents fear and destruction and Jeannette is left with scars as a reminder. -
4 years-old
One night, whole Jeannette and her siblings are sleeping, they are woken by their dad who is frantic. As he says that they must pack their bags and leave. They piled in the car and began driving. While they were driving Jeannette fell out of the car and her family almost left her behind. -
5 years old
When Jeannette was five years old, her little sister Maureen was born. That same year her family decided to pack up again and move to Battle Mountain. Jeannette's dad had and alcohol problem and had extreme paranoia about organized society, which caused him to always feel the need to move. -
7 years-old
After only living in Battle Mountain for a few months, and exploring the desert for many hours with her brother Brian, Jeannette's family decided to move again. This time they decided to move to Welch which was her dads hometown. -
8 years-old
In Welch, the Wall family finally found a house and a place to settle. Jeannette attends school and beings to meet friends. Jeannette is living with her grandparents, but after her brother is sexually abused, they move out. The house they move into has no plumbing and no heat and makes the winter especially miserable for the family. -
10 years-old
Jeannette and her dad always had a very weird but close relationship with her father. On her tenth birthday her dad told her that he would get her anything that she wanted. He was always dreaming and believing that the most unrealistic things could come true. -
11 years-old
After Rex's mother dies, he completely disappears. He disappeared after her funeral. He had been missing a while and needed to come home. It was hard for the family to be without him it wasn't the same. But Rex was mourning the loss of his mother. Jeannette was the only one who could get her father to come home. -
13 years-old
When Jeannette becomes a teenage, she finally stars to become sick of her mothers attitude. She calls her mother out on her wrongdoings. This is the first time that Jeannette has stood up for herself and she starts to gain strength and power, which allows her to grow up and become very successful. -
17 years-old
When Jeannette turned 17, she decided that she wanted to go and live in New York with er older sister Lori. Jeannette saved up her money to be able to do this and just wanted to start a new life for herself. Jeannette and her sister spend their time exploring the city and Jeannette is warmly welcomed by all of Lori's friends. -
Adult
Jeannette opens her book with a scene of her taking a cab through the city, where she sees her homeless mother looking through a dumpster. Jeannette really begins to think about her lifestyle and how she feels guilty for the way that her parents are living.
