Finding joy in a difficult situation is a hard thing to do. In Jeannette Walls’ memoir, she manages to have a sense of joy in the midst of her hectic childhood. “Learning to enjoy the comic episodes a little more” is key because “life is a drama full of tragedy and comedy.” Throughout the book, Jeanette’s father struggles with an addiction to alcohol. In hopes of breaking this addiction, Jeanette and her family moved to West Virginia in order to be closer to Jeanette’s father’s family. Jeanette was apprehensive about the move to WV, but nonetheless, she went into the move with a positive attitude. Jeanette’s life was not easy once she got to West Virginia. She had to live with her abusive grandparents. Brian was sexually assaulted by his grandmother while Jeanette’s parents were going back to Phoenix to retrieve some of their belongings. …show more content…
Eventually, the whole family had enough of the family antics. When Jeanette and her family bought their own house, there was little furniture, little food and no clothing to wear. Going to a school was an exciting time for Jeanette because she loved to learn new things, but she and Brian were placed in special classes because they were “different.” It is hard going into a new place where you do not know anyone. There are so many unknowns that people make assumptions about you. This happened to Jeanette when she was on the playground. There was a group of girls that targeted Jeanette and Brian because they looked different, spoke different and acted in a different way. Instead of accepting them, these girls beat up Jeanette and Brian. These gangs called them “poor and ugly and dirty. According to Jeanette, “it was hard to argue that