In the book, Jeannette spends her life forgiving her parents for many mistakes. She copes with many obstacles created by her own parents. Her childhood life is spent constantly short on cash and food while the family moved around the country frequently and tried to re-settle. Jeanette’s parents were always irresponsible, neglectful and careless but they managed to instill in their children the key commendable qualities and raised well-balanced adults.