Good evening.

I know you're enjoying your programing here on PBS Kansas, and I thank you for your support.

I also want to thank you for staying in front of your television this evening.

As we bring you our locally produced show about books and those who write them.

Inside the Cover.

On our show we sometimes feature an author who is a favorite of mine.

Someone who has created a noteworthy body of work.

And of course, work that I have enjoyed and found worthy of discussion.

Tonight, that author is Jeannette Walls.

It is now time to go inside the cover.

Jeannette Walls is an American author and journalist, widely known as a former gossip columnist For MSNBC .com.

She was born on April 21, 1960.

In Phoenix, Arizona.

Her family life was rootless, with the family shuttling from Phoenix to California to Battle Mountain, Nevada, and to Welch, West Virginia With Periods of homelessness.

When they finally landed in her father's hometown of Welch, the family lived in a three room house without plumbing or heat.

Walls moved to New York City at age 17 to join her sister, Laurie.

With the aid of grants, loans, scholarships and a year spent answering the phone at a Wall Street law firm, she was able to earn her bachelor's degree In liberal arts from Bernard College.

She graduated with honors in 1984.

Early in her career, Walls interned at a Brooklyn newspaper and eventually became a full time reporter.

Walls memoir about the nomadic family life of her childhood, The Glass Castle, was published in 2005.

It details the joys and struggles of her childhood and offers a look Into her life, and that of her dysfunctional family.

The book was well-received by both critics and the public.

It has sold over 4 million copies, and has been translated into 31 languages.

It received the Christopher Award, the American Library Association's Alex Award, and the Books Are For Better Living Award.

Paramount bought the.

Film rights and a movie was released in 2017 starring Brie Larson.

In 2009, Walls published her first novel, Half Broke Horses - A true life novel based on the life of her grandmother Lily Casey Smith.

It was named one of the best books of 2009 by the editors of the New York Times Book Review.

Walls second novel, The Silver Star was published in 2013 and her third novel, Hang the Moon was published In March of 2023.

I finished the Glass Castle many years ago.

Likewise, Half Broke Horses.

I loved both books and was impressed with Walls candor, her good humor and definite ability to charm the reader with her words and story.

Thus, I was happy and eager to accept the offer when my friend Randy offered to loan me the last two books.

I finished Hang the Moon on April 27 2023.

And The Silver Star on June 17 2023.

Hang the Moon is set during Prohibition and tells the story of Sally Kincaid, the daughter of the biggest man in a small town, Duke Kincaid.

After a tragic accident involving her father and stepbrother, Sally is sent away.

Nine years later, she returns to reclaim her place in the family and comes into her own as a bold and reckless bootlegger.

The Silver Star is a story of two half sisters, Liz Stuart and Jean, nicknamed Jean the Bean by Liz, Holliday and their Singer/ songwriter/actress, mom Charlotte Ann Holliday, while Charlotte Ann seemingly wanted to be a good mother As Bean says, mom assured us that no matter how famous she became, nothing would ever be more important to her than her two girls.

However, she was never able to get over her own dreams, wishes and desires and selfishly forgot her real responsibilities as a parent.

Tonight, we have featured the writer Jeannette Walls.

I love her work and certainly hope that you will give her some of your Time and energy.

Thank you.

Goodnight and hope to see you next time.

Right here on Inside the Cover.