Jeannette Walls shared her story – a story of making do, adapting, and constantly being on the move as the result of a rough upbringing with an alcoholic father and an absentee mother - with more than those in attendance at Ranch Ehrlo Society’s 50^th anniversary gala. First, she toured the Pilot Butte campus and perhaps found the deepest connection of her trip with the young people we serve.

“I had a childhood that many people would’ve considered at-risk,” she explained.

So it was no surprise that as she told her story, some of our youth felt a pull toward her.

“The connection that you made with those young people was really, really heartwarming,” said Ranch Ehrlo CEO and president Andrea Brittin, who accompanied Jeannette on her tour.

“There was this young woman in particular, who for some reason just sort of seemed to gravitate toward me. She found out I was an author and just wanted to meet an author,” Jeannette continued. “We later on got to talking and I told her about my father and she told me some things about her family.”

“The youth that we serve come with trauma, so they come with a distrust for individuals. I was really taken with how quickly the one young person in particular opened up to Jeannette,” Andrea said. “She could identify with some of these stories – ‘I was poor’; ‘people made fun of me.’”

The ability to share stories is why Jeannette does what she does.

“I think that I’m in this interesting position.  I have this past that I’m not only willing to discuss but eager to let people know it doesn’t matter where you came from, what matters is where you’re going; and that we all, to some degree, can control our destiny,” she added.

“And that really is a compelling message, particularly for the young people that we serve,” Andrea said.

“It’s the power of storytelling,” Jeannette continued. “We’re hoping these kids are going to re-write their stories to say, ‘yes, there’s tragedy, but it doesn’t have to end there. There’re difficulties, but what is the rest of the story?”