Jeannette Walls, the author of Half Broke Horses, was born April 21, 1960. She was the third child to Rex and Rose Mary Walls. Growing up, her family moved around multiple states in the west region until settling in West Virginia. One of Walls’ first literature-related jobs was as an intern at a newspaper, The Phoenix, in Brooklyn, New York. Later on she became a full time reporter for the newspaper. In 2000, Walls published her first book, Dish: The Inside Story on the World of Gossip. Other works of hers include: The Glass Castle, 2005; Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel, 2009; and The Silver Star, 2013.

In 1984 she graduated from Barnard College with honors. In 1988, Walls married Eric Goldberg. In 1996, she got divorced and remarried journalist John J Taylor.

Following The Glass Castle, the book Half Broke Horses narrates the life of Jeanette Walls’ grandmother, Lily Casey Smith.

Starting with Lily as a young girl, the reader views how she grew up in poverty and helped her father with daily chores. She later travels away from home for a teaching job. From there on, Lily's life begins.