Jeanette Walls

New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle

Jeannette Walls, who is originally from Phoenix and grew up moving around the country with her family, is the bestselling author of The Glass Castle, a memoir that recounts her dysfunctional and nomadic upbringing. The Glass Castle has been a New York Times bestseller for over eight years and was named one of the top 10 books of the decade by Amazon. In 2017, The Glass Castle was made into a movie starring Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, and Naomi Watts. Walls is also the author of two other New York Times bestsellers, The Silver Star and Half Broke Horses, which was named one of the best books of 2009 by the New York Times Book Review. Walls was the recipient of the Christopher Award, the Books for Better Living Award, and the American Library Association’s Alex Award. Her newest book, Hang The Moon, was published in March 2023 and was named a LibraryReads Pick for March 2023 and a Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by Oprah Daily, Elle, and LitHub.

Hailed as one of the world’s most gifted storytellers, Walls has been sharing her remarkable story of resilience and redemption with audiences since The Glass Castle first published in 2005. Her memoir documents her and her siblings’ unconventional upbringing, detailing a childhood spent in extreme poverty and chaos with parents who, despite their flaws, taught them to embrace life fearlessly. She continues to captivate audiences with her incredible story and offers a unique perspective on how to overcome unimaginable obstacles, confront challenges, and pursue a life of authenticity.

Walls graduated from Barnard College, which she was able to attend through a combination of grants, scholarships, and a year spent answering phones on Wall Street. She has written for New York magazine, Esquire, and MSNBC, and has appeared on The Today Show, Primetime, and The Colbert Report. After many years in New York, Walls currently lives with her husband in rural Virginia.