Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs is a moving coming of age memoir by the daughter of the late Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs. The memoir recounts Brennan-Jobs’ complex and often tumultuous relationship with her famous and powerful father, through the lens of the emotionally charged turbulent growth of her adolescence to adulthood.
The book is written in several distinct acts, each with its own quasi-dramatic arc. In the first part of the book, Brennan-Jobs takes readers back to her earliest days as a young girl. We hear about her childhood of pinball machines and macaroni & cheese parties. The reader is shown snapshots of the casual disconnect between the young Brennan-Jobs and her father.
When her mother moves to a different state to pursue her career, Brennan-Jobs and her father move in together. During this time, Brennan-Jobs paints a vivid picture of what it was like to live with her aloof and often forgetful father. She also details her experiences at her father’s workplace and in other affluent Silicon Valley circles. Brennan-Jobs is exposed to complex adult conversations and feelings of loneliness, both of which help mold her impressionable young mind.
The next act shifts focus to Brennan-Jobs’ teenage years. Here, readers learn of her strained relationships, failed attempts at fitting in, and ultimately her eventual acceptance of herself despite the lack of acknowledgement and acceptance from her father. Beyond her teenage angsts, Brennan-Jobs candidly reveals her emerging understanding of her father’s success, as well as her insight into the man himself.
In the last act, Brennan-Jobs shows us how, with the help of therapy, she eventually comes to terms with her difficult relationship with her father. Throughout the book, Brennan-Jobs interweaves pertinent reflections from the present and past, making for a captivating, complex and sometimes painful to read, story.
Over the past few years, Small Fry has been celebrated by literary critics for its raw emotional power and insight into Brennan-Jobs’ strained relationship with her father and the effects of it on her. It’s an intimate but powerful portrait of an unconventional childhood that ultimately speaks to the universal themes of seeking acceptance, resilience and hope. In the end, Small Fry will leave you with an appreciation of both Brennan-Jobs’ strength and the unique challenges she faced growing up both as her own person and as the daughter of a famous and formidable Silicon Valley luminary.
