"Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did." So begins the story of Lily Casey Smith, Jeannette Walls's hardheaded, resourceful grandmother, who at age ten grabbed her younger siblings and climbed into a cottonwood tree when a flash flood tore through their West Texas farm. Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, betrayal, the Great Depression, and heartbreaking personal tragedy. She bristled at prejudice of all kinds—against women, Native Americans, and anyone else who didn't fit the mold. Rose Mary Smith Walls, the author's mother, always told Jeannette that she was like her grandmother, and in this novelized life of Lily, the author channels that kindred spirit.

"A spare and lovely memoir [whose] power stems from its childlike perspective and unsentimental prose."—Village Voice