Jeannette Walls

We all have our baggage, and I think the trick is not resisting it but accepting it, understanding that the worst experience has a valuable gift wrapped inside if you're willing to receive it.

During recess at school, I'd slip back into the classroom and find something in some other kid's lunch bag that wouldn't be missed - a package of crackers, an apple - and I'd gulp it down so quickly I would barely be able to taste it.

Kids are smarter than you realize.

One of the blessings of my childhood was being a fighter and a scrapper, but being a fighter and a scrapper is a curse, too.

And as soon as the Internet hit and people started having their own web sites, I realized that people who did what I did, our positions were being threatened because, as journalists, we were the conduits between the celebrities and the public.

I liked movers and shakers more than celebrities. I wasn't that interested in celebrities. I grew up without a TV.

I was going to some fabulous party, and my taxi got stuck in traffic, and I looked out the window, and I saw a homeless woman rooting through the garbage, and I realized it was my mother. And I was so mortified that I ducked down, and I hid.

Horses are a mirror of who you are. They're emotionally dependent on you.

I found out that people are incredibly compassionate and kind. It really changed my view of the world.

I was so worried that people wouldn't like me or my story.

I reached my full height at age 11, and I was clumsy as all get-out - all elbows and knees, couldn't get up a flight of stairs without falling down. I wanted to be a cute, petite blonde, but I'm a big ol' strapping thing, so I just accept it.

I love Woody Harrelson. He's a fine actor.