Talk about hitting close to home - I'm also the daughter of a flight attendant that raised me as a single parent. Great understanding of what her mother went through, as well as showing how much harm is done when not living an authentic life.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC for an honest review.

What a fascinating life the author has led. Basically living on her own in NYC by the time she was 15, Schepper figured out how to make her own way, but always questioning the family history that was only parceled out in small portions, especially pertaining to her biological father.
I found her search for her true history to be the most interesting part. I wish she had included more of her grandmother’s story there appeared to be a lot of material to cover.
Schepper has accumulated a lot of experience and travel for a woman who fought to carve her own path in the world.

Really enjoyed reading this memoir,I found the authors story engaging interesting enjoyed following her growing up and her sucess.#netgalley #girlfriday

Enjoyed reading this book about a little girl who you grow up with as you read it. She is resilient and dermined well above her age. It is not surprising she ends up with a very prestigious job working in the Whitehouse.

Finding My Way is a story of overcoming where you landed at birth and determination to succeed while trying to survive your circumstances. Schepper's story is remarkable and she seems to be very honest in her telling. She gives a good account of her mother, grandmother and her childhood but the adult stuff seemed rushed or glossed over. One of the selling points of the book is that the author worked for Michelle Obama in the White House but that is maybe a couple of paragraphs.

As I write this review the book is due to be released in 6 months. I hope it gets a good edit. There are several abrupt changes when she is deep into a time in her childhood then switches to a story about working as an adult or something about her children. The book is pretty much written in chronological order so these fast forwards make the narrative seem choppy. I found that some people and situations in her life are discussed in depth but others are very cryptic or only focus on the rough times. Example: I was sure we would learn that she and her husband were divorced as the struggles of their marriage are the focus where we are left when the book ends but in the epilogue she indicates he is supportive of her and her family is her support.

Overall as stated the story Schepper tells is remarkable. Hopefully when published it will be edited with the last half of the book flushed out more. Whether it is or not Finding My Way is worth the read.

Finding My Way by Robin F. Schepper, published by Girl Friday Books is to be released in April 2023. What attracted me to the book is that in the promotional material the author is described as a “White House staffer”. Having been a political staffer myself in a previous life, I was intrigued to find out about her experiences in that role. Especially in the White House!

Schepper’s memoir however primarily deals with her upbringing in 1960s New York. She was born into what could best be described as a fractured family and she attributes the challenges and problems she faced as she grew up to those early years, in particular that she missed out on the happy and harmonious family situation she craved.

The narrative follows her as she finds her way from her inauspicious beginning to the end of the book, where she describes herself as having “landed where [she] wanted to be” – now a happily married middle aged woman with two children she loves and a life that is satisfying and rewarding. As difficult as her early years were, she grows up determined, independent and largely self-motivated. Although she describes her journey as fraught and distressing at times, she manages to attain a commendable level of education, qualifications, skills, professional experience and a career that many would envy.

At the crux of the story is her inability over many years to have the kind of solid, close and loving relationships she wanted. Her mother was unmarried when Schepper was born, and she was never told who her father was. It was the lack of a father’s love that not only frustrated and saddened her but made her resentful of her mother who refused to publicly acknowledge her single mother status and was consistently obstructive to Schepper's many attempts to find her father.

Adding to the burden of guilty secrets Schepper carried was that her grandmother owned a brothel, which at the time had to be hidden behind the façade of a massage business, where clients were referred to as “patients” and the rooms where the transactions were carried out as “treatment rooms”.

What Schepper describes as “the shame of the truth, and the work of keeping all these secrets hidden from the outer world” combined to make her intensely insecure and uncertain of her own worth. But instead of succumbing, she decided to “create my own worth and show everyone that a bastard child could succeed.” Which she did in no small measure.

Other issues she focuses on are sexual abuse, which was rife then in political circles, as it sadly is today, teenage pregnancy, which despite her concerted efforts to prevent among her schoolmates, she experienced herself and gender inequality, particularly in the church.

It’s always heartening to read a woman’s story of overcoming challenges and developing the strength and self-determination to make something of herself and in this regard Schepper’s story is gratifying reading. Where it falls down is that sometimes it veers into what I call “CV” land, where the author lists their achievements, their career history and important postings. This becomes a bit prosaic and is quite at odds with the deeply personal passages which, in a memoir, are what engage the reader. Notwithstanding that it was most definitely an important posting, I’d have loved to hear more about Schepper’s experiences working in the White House, especially her time with Michelle Obama. I think most readers would love the chance to get an “insider” view of this episode in her career and of Michelle Obama.

Thank you to Girl Friday books for providing me with an advance review copy of the book.