Small Fry

By: Lisa Brennan-Jobs

Narrated by: Eileen Stevens

Length: 12 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

A frank, smart, and captivating memoir by the daughter of Apple founder Steve Jobs

Born on a farm and named in a field by her parents - artist Chrisann Brennan and Steve Jobs - Lisa Brennan-Jobs' childhood unfolded in a rapidly changing Silicon Valley. When she was young, Lisa's father was a mythical figure who was rarely present in her life. As she grew older, her father took an interest in her, ushering her into a new world of mansions, vacations, and private schools. His attention was thrilling, but he could also be cold, critical, and unpredictable. When her relationship with her mother grew strained in high school, Lisa decided to move in with her father, hoping he'd become the parent she'd always wanted him to be.

Small Fry is Lisa Brennan-Jobs' poignant story of a childhood spent between two imperfect but extraordinary homes. Scrappy, wise, and funny, young Lisa is an unforgettable guide through her parents' fascinating and disparate worlds. Part portrait of a complex family, part love letter to California in the '70s and '80s, Small Fry is an enthralling audiobook by an insightful new literary voice.

©2018 Lisa Brennan-Jobs (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Simply Awesome

I’ve read and listened to a lot of books ... This one is one of my favorites. Beautifully written, touching and beautiful. I never thought of Steve as bad just as a human and Lisa as a kid growing through the trials and tribulations of growing up. Thank you for sharping your staring with us Lisa. I have two kids I don’t live with and live far apart from... touched me so deeply.

Truly an amazing book. Simply awesome! Thank you!

Made me angry yet hopeful

A daughters account of seeking love and attention from one parent while being enmeshed with the other. The difficult choices and painful moments amidst the happy ones.

Captivating memoir of a childhood

This book will attract readers because of the famous father connection. But it stands on its own as a beautifully written story about a fractured family with multi-dimensional characters who are sympathetic and relatable despite the hurtful and hateful (and lying and cheating) actions they at times take. At the end I wanted to spend more time with Lisa and her mother. I hope she writes a sequel.

A Moving Memoir of Redemption

This book held me in thrall from beginning to end. I could identify easily with Lisa Brennan-Jobs as she describes incidences, big and small, of her growing up between, but not with, her two parents. From the often cruel coldness of her father to the mental instability of her mother, the years of her youth alternately living in poverty and luxury, she somehow never loses her love of both and somehow emerges intact, successful and at peace.

I recommend this book to everyone I think would appreciate it. Despite perhaps an over abundance of metaphors, I thought it beautifully written.

Having lived in the Palo Alto area for forty plus years, revisiting those familiar places in her memoir added even more to the pleasure in my reading of it.

Beautiful on every level.

Her words are precise, the foreshadowing unexpected, and her delivery splendidly adds dimension. I learned and felt so much that can be applicable to many different relationships.

Read many books around Steve Jobs

If Lisa Brennan-Jobs wasn't the daughter of Steve Jobs, this would be a very ordinary story about a very dysfunctional family. What makes this book stand apart is we have Lisa's mom, who obviously gave birth to Lisa, on one hand. Lisa's mom struggled to barely even keep a roof over their head while she was growing up (pre-teen), and sometimes wasn't even successful at that. Then you've got her dad - everyone knows as Steve Jobs (who even she refers to as "Steve" - not dad), who has unbelievable amounts of money and could solve all of their problems with a snap of his fingers. But Steve also lacks any level of empathy or compassion for the fate he put on Lisa.

Lisa's recall of even the most mundane details is amazing. I certainly don't have that much color of recollection of my upbringing much less last month. Throughout the story you keep waiting for Steve Jobs to just snap out of it and realize what he's got - and sometimes he does, but in the very next breath he is as vile and vulgar of a human being towards a daughter as anyone ever could be. Again - this isn't really much of a surprise to me.

It's a long journey to get to the end where Steve is realizing his mistakes. By then Lisa has found her voice in who she is in the world. She seems to have triumphed over what could have been a very bad adulthood given her circumstances of feast or famine.

Am I happy I read it? Yes - it gives me another layer of texture on Steve Jobs. In the end I hope she's doing o.k.

Wonderful structure and story telling

Thank you Lisa. This book captivated me. I was very sad when it ended. Proud of how you made it through with such honesty. One of my most favorite audible books so far.

Be well, be successful and proud!

Her experiences are valid but too much detail

Too obsessed with detail, quickly becomes hard to finish. Obviously has very toxic/immature human beings as parents hence the “whine”. People shouldn’t invalidate her experiences.

It’s a train wreck you can stop looking at

The story I found strange it’s a cross between a school girl crush and torment for her whole life. It’s an interesting insight into someone people put on a peristalsis but the more you understand how horrible a person Steve was.

A stubborn genius

I felt sorry for his daughter growing up but it was probably the best he could do for her. In a sense she could easily wound up another sad case of a druggie with or mental health problems when parents only give money and not time or life experience. He did in his own way perhaps get his heat felt goodbyes in to his final days with his daughter. A treasure we can all hope for regardless of circumstances.