Jeannette Walls on stage at standing-room-only Hughes Lecture.
WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., March 22, 2018 — Best-selling author Jeannette Walls, who wrote the memoir, “The Glass Castle,” drew a standing-room only crowd of more than 550 people when she appeared as the guest lecturer at West Liberty University’s Hughes Lecture on Thursday, March 22.
Discussing “Demon Hunting and Other Life Lessons,” she shared memories of her childhood and stories from her past as she encouraged everyone to find their truth and share their own stories with others. She also took questions from the audience during the free lecture that was open to the public.
The lecture took place at 7 p.m. in College Hall and was followed by a book signing in Boyle Conference Center. Walls signed books for more than 90 minutes as she took time to smile and speak to each fan of her novel and the movie that followed.
Jeannette Walls is shown in WLU’s Liberty Oaks, the alumni house.
“We are so pleased with the turn-out from the community and campus. She is a dynamic speaker and her message resonates with readers everywhere,” said Dr. William Scott Hanna, who coordinated the lecture and is a faculty member of the English Department.
Walls also met students during an afternoon English class to discuss writing and answer questions.
Currently living in Virginia, Walls shared anecdotes from her childhood in Welch, West Virginia as she demonstrated that we all have more in common than we think and that our flaws can be our greatest assets, stressing that demons can be harnessed for positive results.
“The Glass Castle” details her life growing up in extreme poverty. It was named by Amazon as one of the top 10 books of the decade. In August 2017, her inspiring story was brought to the big screen in one of the most highly anticipated major motion pictures of the year starring Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts and Brie Larson as Jeannette.
According to her publicist, “From the pages of her #1 New York Times best-selling book and the critically-acclaimed recently released film by the same name, Walls moves you to realize the power of the human spirit as she inspires courage in the face of new and longstanding fears, and reveals how our weaknesses can be our greatest strengths.”
Born in Phoenix, Walls describes her nomadic childhood and her challenges. She moved to New York at age 17 and went on to graduate from Barnard College, prior to becoming a journalist in New York and then a best-selling author.
Students in writing classes listen to author Jeannette Walls.
She also is the author of the bestsellers, “The Silver Star” and “Half Broke Horses,” which was named one of the 10 best books of 2009 by the editors of “The New York Times Book Review.”
The Hughes Lecture Series began in the 1970s and is named after Dr. Raymond Grove Hughes, a beloved teacher who joined West Liberty in 1931. His generous endowment gift established a fund managed by the West Liberty University Foundation which funds the Hughes Lecture Series.
Thanks to this fund, the series has brought a wide range of authors and speakers to WLU, including: Dr. Ralph Abernathy, confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Eugene McCarthy, U. S. Senator and presidential candidate in 1968; and John Simon, noted film critic and West Virginia writer and NASA scientist Homer Hickam.
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