Sharon Metcalf's Reviews > Small Fry: A Memoir

Lisa Brennan-Jobs was the first daughter of world famous Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple and one of the richest men in the world. If, like me, you don't already know her story you might imagine for her a privileged life. If so, like me, you would be wrong. Hers is not exactly a story of the lifestyles of the rich and famous.

From the outset Steve Jobs denied his paternity so her earliest years were spent with her artist mother. Later, he acknowleged her as a daughter but theirs was a volatile father-daughter relationship. She desperately wanted to be accepted but often when she was with him or around him she didn't feel she belonged. For a period of time in her teens she lived with him but this time was angst filled. Trying to make herself fit into two entirely different lifestyles. Life with her mother where they lived from hand to mouth, scraping to make ends, feeling cherished but smothered. Life with her father, with his wealth and surrounded by other famous people yet never feeling she was good enough, often feeling unimportant and incredibly lonely.

This was a cross between a coming of age story, an insight into the many ways parents can unwittingly damage their children, and a lesson about appreciating family whilst you have the chance. When she was young her mother had predicted “It’s his loss"... “His great, great loss. He’ll get it someday. He’ll come back and it’ll rip his heart open, when he sees you, how much you’re like him, and how much he's missed". Though Jobs was in and out of her life until his death (33 years after her birth) there did seem to be a death bed reconciliation which I was pleased about^^

Her writing had a ring of honesty as she shared examples about both the good and bad in everyone she wrote about, herself included. Perhaps my only complaint was a faint trace of 'woe-is-me' but overall it was an interesting read and most definitely made me realise that money and smarts are not all important. Lisa herself has done well and I congratulate her.

^^ This brought to mind a story which went viral on social media about a supposed death bed essay he'd written. Whilst the words I'd read were certainly valid and they align with the idea of understanding what's really valuable in one's life, there's no evidence that these words were actually his. Rather attributed to him.