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Jeannette Walls Burns
When Jeannette was 3, she was cooking hotdogs on the stove, and her dress caught on fire, and she was rushed to the hospital by her father. Her father was unable to pay for the medical bills, so he carried her out of the hospital without paying. -
... Stays in Vegas
Jeannette's father, under the influence of alcohol, turns a corner while driving to Las Vegas, and Jeannette falls out of the car. Seeming to not notice, Jeannette's father keeps driving, returning sometime later to get her. -
Hotel burns
As the Walls are staying in a hotel in San Francisco, it catches fire, and they are forced to move once again. -
Jeannette bullied in school
When the Walls move to Blythe, California, Jeannette attends first grade in a predominantley mexican school. She becomes very fond of reading and is called a teachers pet by the other students. After school one day she is beat up by a group of mexican girls as she walks home from school. -
The Walls move to Phoenix
The Walls move into the inherited house of Mrs. Walls' mother, and the kids enroll in school. At school, Lori is told that she needs glasses. When the school provides glasses for her, she is moved by the newfound detail of the world. She decides to become an artist like her mother. -
The Family moves to Welch
The family drives for a month to live with Mr. Walls' parents. Jeannette meets Erma (her grandmother), Grandpa Walls, and Uncle Stanley. Jeannette is surprised to see little resemblance between them and her father. -
The death of Erma Walls
during a harsh winter, Lori attempts to build a fire but gets severley burned. Later that winter, Erma Walls dies, and Mrs. Walls blames it on her alcoholism. -
Child Welfare
Jeannette, home alone, is visited by a Child Welfare officer. She avoids answering the questions she is asked, and tells the officer to return when her parents are home. After this, her mother gets a teaching job outside of Welch. -
The Big Apple
Jeannette decides to move to New York City to live with her sister, after she is done with school. The two sisters move into a new appartments, and Jeannette enrolls in a primarily Puerto Rican school, and gets an intern at a newspaper called The Phoenix. -
Barnard University
Enrolled at Barnard University, Jeannette finds that she is $1,000 dollars short of paying tuition. When she tells her father she may have to drop out, he gives her money to pay for college. After college, she moves in with her boyfriend Eric, and gets a full time job at a magazine company.
