Former gossip columnist for MSNBC.com, Jeannette Walls was born in 1960 in Phoenix, Arizona and grew up in numerous American communities. She graduated with honors from Barnard College. Walls interned at The Phoenix newspaper in Brooklyn, New York, and became a full-time reporter there. She also wrote a column for New York magazine, and has also written for other publications. Her first book was Dish: The Inside Story on the World of Gossip, was a historic look at gossip. Her critically acclaimed memoir The Glass Castle, published in 2005, was on The New York Times best seller list for almost two years. The book also brought Walls a number of honors, including the Christopher Award. Her novels, Half Broke Horses and The Silver Star, have been instant bestsellers. Walls lives in Virginia.