BLUEFIELD, WV (WVNS)– A New York Times best-selling author took time to visit Bluefield High School to present an inside-look of her novel to students.

Jeanette Walls is the author of The Glass Castle, a 2005 memoir about her dysfunctional yet vibrant upbringing.

Walls moved to Welch, West Virginia with her family in 1970 where she also attended high school. This eventually led to her novel being set in her father’s hometown in McDowell County. 

After Wall’s presentation, called “Inside the Glass Castle with Jeanette Walls,” students broke into small group sessions. 

In earlier classes, students at the high school read and created drawings of what the book meant to them. Walls said she wants each student to realize that they all have a story inside them, and to embrace that story and who they are.

“We all have a story, and I think that sometimes we are our own toughest critic, and we think that nobody is going to get this, and we live in isolation thinking that what we’re going through is shameful,” said Walls. “But once you come to terms with your story, you realize, that is your source of great strength. That is your beauty.”

Students and visitors could also take pictures with Wall and receive a signed copy of her book.

The Glass Castle has spent more than eight years on The New York Times best seller list, and was also adapted into a movie in 2017.