Steve Job’s Daughter Describes Her Upbringing in 1980s California

In her new memoir Small Fry, Lisa Brennan-Jobs describes her childhood growing up in ’70s and ’80s California as the daughter of a single mom, with her famous father Steve Jobs in the background. Moving from place to place with volatile finances despite her father’s success at Apple, she insists, “It’s a coming-of-age story amid the scent of eucalyptus and West Coast sunlight.”

In the book she comes to terms with her father’s early absence and seeming unwillingness to access a role as father. But she also prefers not to identify herself as a victim despite the unusual and often challenging circumstances.

When describing her last conversation with Jobs during an interview with NPR, she shares, “We had a kind of Hollywood ending, which I didn’t think would happen. So strange. You see these movies where people apologize in the end and you think there’s no way that it will ever happen in life, but it did happen. And he was saying this phrase, “I owe you one, I owe you one,” which was so confusing to me. But it was soothing. But I think, still, I had to go over it in my mind again. And the real resolution for me came more in writing the book—even more than our last conversation.”

Read more of Brennan-Jobs’ interview here.