Lisa Brennan-Jobs, the daughter of the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, is working on a coming-of-age memoir called "Small Fry" due for release in September, one that will tell the story of her childhood while living with the forward-thinking and complex company founder.
"Small Fry" is described by publisher Grove Press to be a "poignant" story about growing up "between two imperfect and extraordinary homes" and the lives of her parents - artist Chrisann Brennan and Steve Jobs. Set in a rapidly-changing Silicon Valley, the book will cover time spent in both of the very different households.
When Lisa was young, Steve was a "mythical figure who was rarely present in her life," the book's synopsis on the Harper Collins website reads. "As she grew older, her father took an interest in her, ushering her into a new world of mansions, vacations, and private schools."
Her father is described as "cold, critical, and unpredictable," but his attention to Lisa was "thrilling." A strained relationship with her mother prompted Lisa to move in with Steve while she was in high school, in the hope "he'd become the parent she'd always wanted him to be."
Grove Press aims to ship "Small Fry on September 4, according to the Associated Press.
Unlike the public Steve Jobs, Lisa has been relatively private in comparison. In a rare and brief interview in 2011, Brennan-Jobs called her father "the rock, the glue" of the family, noting that, while he wasn't involved with the family on a day-to-day basis, he still had a profound effect on the family.
His non-stop work throughout her life meant her mother had to take the primary responsibility of parenting, she advised. Steve was said to be a silent force that kept the family together, imbuing his children with a strong work ethic to help them find their own path in life.
The father-daughter relationship between the two is at the emotional center of "Steve Jobs," the Aaron Sorkin-scripted biographical movie about the late Apple CEO. Spanning 14 years and featuring times before three major product launches, the film featured exchanges with Lisa, showing the dynamic between them changing at different stages of their lives.
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Apple will buy the rights to the movie.. that’s right! You heard it first.
Soon to be turned into a tween dramady starring Bella Thorne, called “Love, Lisa”.
The film isn’t great in my opinion. Boyle and Sorkin spent a lot of time trying to defend the film. Just didn’t do it for me and the whole birth of the iPod scene in the car park was terribly forced and felt contrived. Boyle has balls for taking it on but as a film I felt it didn’t work and despite whatever noms Fassbender may have received I think he was miscast.
It will be interesting to read her book. Christine Brennan generally gets short shrift in the larger Jobs story, but whatever else can be said about her she raised the kid Jobs (for a long time) denied, and had a very different lifestyle and view in some ways to the man Lisa rediscovered (and who rediscovered her) after his success. I look forward to Lisa's perspective on both of these elements of her life.