When Jeannette is three years old, her pink dress catches on fire while she is cooking hot dogs. This is the author’s first childhood memory. Jeannette’s mother hears Jeannette scream, and puts the fire out with water and blankets. Jeannette’s mother and Brian, Jeannette's brother, ask the neighbors for a ride to the hospital. Jeannette’s injuries are serious, but treatable. The doctors ask Jeannette questions like why she was allowed to use the stove at such a young age. Jeannette enjoys the solitude and order of the hospital. She likes having a room to herself. In the hospital, Jeannette is introduced to chewing gum by one of the nurses. Mr. and Mrs. Walls are not pleased. Mrs. Walls is upset that the nurse gave her daughter chewing gum without asking permission, and Mr. Walls is unimpressed by the “ ‘med-school quacks’” that run the hospital. They tell Jeannette about a time when Lori, their oldest daughter, was stung by a scorpion in the desert and instead of taking her to the hospital they took her to a Navajo witch-doctor. At one point Mr. Walls becomes so angry with the hospital staff that he is removed from the hospital by security. Soon afterward, Mr. Walls takes his daughter from the hospital even though it is not safe. He fails to pay the hospital bill.
After returning from the hospital, Jeannette becomes preoccupied with fire. Her parents support this. They do not want her to feel defeated or afraid of what led to her injury. Not only does Jeannette resume cooking hot dogs on the stove, but she also starts to steal her father’s matches.
Next, the family has to move suddenly one night. The “skedaddle”, as Jeannette describes the move, is common for the Walls family, and is characterized by a quiet escape late in the night. Mr. Walls explains the need for such hasty relocation to his children by telling them that someone is after them, FBI agents or big business executives. Mrs. Walls corrects him, explaining to her children that they were in fact being pursued by bill collectors, not federal agents.
#3 The skedaddle (Moving)
During these years the Walls family frequently relocates. They live in Arizona, Nevada, and California where Mr. Walls takes manual labor jobs until he is fired or the bill collectors come after them. When this happens the family moves again. Occasionally, the Walls stay with Grandma Smith, Rose Mary’s mother; however, these visits are usually cut short when Rex and Grandma Smith get into an argument about her being uppity and him being unable to take care of his family. After the arguments, the family packs up and searches for another mining town.
Both Jeanette’s mother, Rose Mary, and Jeannette enjoy life in the desert. They find pleasure in the sandstorms, the rainstorms, and the wildlife. The children are home schooled by their parents, and don't make many friends. One day Rex announces plans to finally settle the family in one place for awhile. According to him, the family can stop moving from place to place as soon as he finds gold. While looking for gold, Rex begins working on an invention called ‘The Prospector’, a machine that sifts gold. Rex tells his children that once the Prospector is finished he will begin building the 'Glass Castle', a house with glass walls and ceilings, even a glass staircase, where the family can live and each of the children can have their own room. Rex also promises to replace his wife's wedding ring once he finds enough gold. He had pawned the ring off for cash after blowing the family's funds on alcohol and gambling. Rex started drinking and gambling after finding his daughter, Mary Charlene, dead in her crib one night. That incident changed Rex, but it did not affect Mrs. Wells nearly as badly. She saw Mary Charlene's death as a sign of G-d's protection; G-d only took her away because she was imperfect. He still blessed her with three other perfect children: Lori, Brian, and Jeannette.
#4 Las Vegas and San Francisco
Rex moves his family to Las Vegas, hoping that he will make some money at the casinos. While mom and dad are gambling, the children talk about what it is like to move around so much. Jeannette likes moving around. Lori thinks that if they stayed put that they would "get caught." While driving away from the casino, Jeannette falls out of the car, and tumbles down a desert hill. She waits for a long time for her parents to return for her. She wonders if they might abandon her. When her family finally returns, Jeannette refuses a hug from her father, but finally laughs when her father makes fun of her snotty nose. The family has to leave Las Vegas after the casino owners discover Rex has been cheating at the blackjack table. They settle for a time in San Francisco until the hotel they are living in catches fire. Jeannette begins to think that fire is a recurring part of her life. She wonders whether the hotel fire is related to the fires she set while playing with matches or the fire that burned her when she was cooking hot dogs.
#5 Midland
After the San Francisco hotel they are staying in burns down, the Walls move to Midland which they discover after Rose Mary demands that they stop in the area so she can paint a wind blown Joshua tree. In Midland the family dog, Juju, dies after being bitten by a rattlesnake. This makes Brian cry for the first time Jeannette can remember. In Midland, Rex is employed as a gypsum miner and Rose Mary pursues her artwork. She discovers that she is pregnant and hopes for a boy so Brian will have a playmate.
That Christmas, the family has no money because Rex is fired from his mining job after arguing with the foreman. Instead of getting the children toys which he cannot afford, Rex takes them out to the desert and tells each of them to pick out a star. The children are pleased to have gotten stars instead of toys. They feel proud not to have been deceived by the myth of Santa Claus like the other kids.
#6 Blythe
In Blythe the family lives in the ‘LBJ Apartments’. Jeannette thinks this stands for the ‘Lori, Brian, Jeannette Apartments’. A lot of Spanish speaking migrant workers live here. Jeannette attends first grade and is such a good student that the other students begin calling her teacher’s pet. Four girls beat her up after school, giving her a busted lip. In Blythe, Rose Mary gives birth to another girl who she names Lilly Ruth Maureen, after her mother, Lilly, and Rex’s mother, Erma Ruth. A police car tries to pull over the family because the car’s brake lights don’t work. Afraid that the police will discover that they have no registration or insurance, and that the license plate was stolen from another vehicle, Rex outruns the police car and decides that the family must leave Blythe.
#7 Battle Mountain
Battle Mountain is a place in Nevada where Rex claims he will find gold. The family lives in an old railroad depot and the children sleep in boxes. Dad works at a mine for 6 months then gets fired. Rose Mary is forced to take a teaching job. Rosemary is not very good at the job, but the children help their mom stay afloat. In the meantime, dad squanders all the money and spends time with prostitutes. The family is very poor and the parents fight a lot. There are problems with animals in the house, setting fires, and stealing. Jeannette is unfortunate to have a juvenile delinquent take an interest in her. The delinquent boy comes after Jeannette with a gun and Jeannette shoots back, The family is forced to leave Battle Mountain to avoid the courts.
The family next goes to Phoenix where Rose Mary’s deceased mother has left an old, big house to her. For awhile the family does ok. The kids go to school; dad gets a job as an electrician, and mom dabbles in art again. Eventually, things fall apart-- dad loses his job; the car breaks down on a trip to the Grand Canyon; dad stops drinking for a short time then his drinking problem spirals out of control. In desperation, the family decides to move to West Virginia where dad’s family is from.
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