This being the first memoir I have read, I enjoyed it very much. I loved to be able to see how the children displayed resiliency and how everything came into place. At times, it was hard to read because I could not believe the events that were going on. The children were treated poorly at home, at school and at play which broke my heart. It was so amazing to read about resiliency in reality. The parent’s traits and actions made for the children to rely on themselves to get tasks done or learn how to do something. The incidents that occurred just disgusted me, I couldn’t help but gasp. Rex Walls (father), his alcoholism was out of hand and I really felt for the children because of how he affected them. The Walls children were treated so unfairly it was ridiculous. I will never get past Jeanette’s first grade teacher, Miss Cook she was very mean towards her. Throughout the book, I tried to discover what Jeanette’s passion was throughout school – it was writing. I loved that she was writing and editing the news paper for her high school. She is so creative. When Lori left for NYC, I believe that her decision motivated Jeanette to follow her dreams and grow out of her past. I love how Jeanette, Brian and Maureen left Welch and came to NYC. I was so proud of their accomplishments. I feel that this memoir touched me and made me think differently about what I take for granted. I enjoyed this book so much and I am glad to have gotten a chance to read it.