This is the companion book to Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography. If you wondered about the childhood of that little girl, what she saw, what secrets she knew, how she felt, Small Fry adds another piece to the complicated puzzle. Some passages are written like an adolescent, but perhaps appropriate since this was her perspective as a young child. There was nothing surprising about her father, nor did it change my opinion of him. The surprise was her relationship with her mother. Brennan-Jobs' memoir fills in so many previously unanswered questions and shows how both parents were responsible for how this girl was raised. Both parents, so flawed, so consumed, so carefree with their lives with so little focus on raising a little girl properly. This book is so much more than a 'Steve Jobs' book. This ranks up with Jeanette Walls' 'The Glass Castle'. Highly recommend because this is a social commentary on where we go wrong as parents and the miraculous ability for a child to grow up and prosper through her own will to succeed.

I love everything about this book. I grew up without my father. My father tried (and failed) to say that I wasn't his biological child. Rejection is such a powerful tool to use, but when you use it against a child, it never leaves you, not completely it doesn't. Highly recommend.

I hate Steve Jobs. I was never a huge fan of his and Isaacson's bio was likely fairly damning, but I didn't realize how truly abusive and abhorrent he was. I feel terrible for Brennan-Jobs who first of all, had to endure his cruelty as a child and now finds herself in the upsetting position of having to defend his actions, when really we should be discussing how brilliantly written this memoir is. Because it is brilliantly written! It is emotional and eloquent and Brennan-Jobs is incredibly talented.

As an artist and fan of everything Steve Jobs brought into the world, I was drawn to his daughter's memoir with the idea that it would be a gossipy, beach read. Knowing his reputation, and his exacting standards at Apple, I assumed he was a difficult person to live with and love. And there are some bizarre stories in here.. (I'd forgotten that he refused to acknowledge her for many years--publicly, in print!) But, in the end, Brennan-Jobs memoir is relatable and satisfying on its own. She writes beautifully, allowing us access to her flaws, her fears and her strong will during her chaotic childhood.

It was a struggle to read this book. The writing is brilliant and luminous, but the story is hard. Lisa Brennan-Jobs grew up as the unexpected and often unacknowledged daughter of Steve Jobs and artist Chrisann Brennan. I'll admit, I'm not terribly interested in the personal lives of the rich and famous so I didn't know much about Steve Jobs going into this book. To say he was a difficult man is an understatement, to say he was cruel, emotionally distant and often emotionally abusive towards his daughter is closer to the truth.
In this book Lisa shares in exquisite and uncompromising detail, what it is like to grow up feeling abandoned and unwanted. Even her mother, who was a constant presence, was unable to provide the stability and emotional security a young child requires. Often as I was reading I wondered if Lisa was better off before her father acknowledged her rather than after she went to live with him. His ability to withdraw approval and affection were callous and calculated. He seems unable to connect emotionally with everyone around him, and his conversations and actions are often disconnected, if not wildly inappropriate.
Lisa's writing is poetic and filled with nostalgic images and experiences of what it was like to grow up in the 1980's. Her memories are sharp and vibrant, evoking a visceral response from the reader. Even while she speaks of the ambivalence of her relationship with her father and the turbulence of her relationship with her mother, she remains firmly rooted in place and time in which she grew up. Her sense of place and time shine throughout the memoir and are as much a part of the story as the people who inhabit it.
While this book isn't an easy read by any means, it is a worthy one. Brennan-Jobs writing genius is certainly equal to her father's technical expression. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Brennan-Jobs writes with remarkable clarity and perspective. She could've been bitter and vindictive, but wrote a beautiful coming of age story, with one of the most famous people on the planet. I would've liked to hear how her relationship with her mom is now--hopefully good.

This is a very well written and a very interesting memoir about the complex, distant father that Steve Jobs was to Lisa Brennan. The book joins its great predecessors such as the Educated: a memoir by Tara Westover or We are all shipwrecks: a memoir by Kelly Grey Carlisle that are non-fiction books that read like fiction. All the parts that make a great and compelling read are in place: an unusual and intriguing story, very high quality of writing and editing, maturity of the author able to transcend her experience and personal suffering and able to present an analytical, well-balanced piece of writing that is completely gripping. We cannot avoid rooting for the protagonist of this story and we get the satisfaction by observing how in spite of great adversity, she grows, matures, comes into her own. Lisa Brennan gives justice to the complexity of her father and presents a portrait that is far from simplistic and at the same time very vivid, clear and oddly in accordance with his own rules of esthetics: sparse and minimalistic, devoid of sentimentality. The subject matter of the story, the distant, at times cruel or even malicious father and the daughter who keeps seeking his approval, acceptance, admiration, love and who is denied this love by the parent, will resonate with many readers. The act of describing of the process of her coming into her own and moving beyond the negative formative experiences and its product - the book offers hope and might be as therapeutic to readers as it has been to its writer. Excellent and highly recommended.

This is a solid memoir with great depth of character. Lisa Brennan-Jobs's life might be interesting enough on its own without a connection to her famous father, and I think that that helps to carry the book along.