“Periodically in the past year, Abdulfattah ‘John’ Jandali would shoot off an email to Steve Jobs, the son he never met. They were simple notes: ‘Happy Birthday’ or ‘I hope your health is improving,'” Alexandra Berzon reports for The Wall Street Journal.
“It’s unclear if Mr. Jobs ever wrote back. A person close to Mr. Jobs’s family said, no, he didn’t, while Mr. Jandali said he did receive two short replies,” Berzon reports. “The last one arrived six weeks before Mr. Jobs’s death, Mr. Jandali said, and said simply, ‘Thank you.'”
Read more in the full article here.
Related article:
Steve Jobs’ 80-year-old biological father regrets giving him up for adoption, yearns to meet – August 30, 2011
SJ never discussed his family life with the media.
I don’t know the whole story there. Something about his dad just wanting some of his cash along the way… Still, under all the egoistic crap and selfish lusts we’re all still human. Beautifully human. I’m glad his dad wrote. It’s what an estranged father hearing his son is dying of a terrible disease ought to do, would have to do. “Hi, son. Happy Birthday.” Good for Steve for replying, “Thank you.” Both beautiful human responses to an essentially shitty situation all around.
Agreed!!
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Not sure Jobs’ dad, who had the money fore decades and now vice president of a casino business ever wanted money. The more so he is now 80+.
Read The Lost Father and Anywhere But Here by Mona Simpson and you’ll understand a lot more. I was very surprised to read that Simpson and Jobs share the same biological
parents! I read these books many years ago and remember the
storylines well, and as described in this article, about a disengaged foreign grad student who deserts his family and for many years disappears….until the daughter finds him for a not so happy reunion. It’s understandable why Jobs, also, had no interest in contact.
It’s interesting that later in life Steve had developed a relationship with his biological sister. Since they have the same bio parents and he still didn’t talk to his bio father, it makes you think there is lots more to this father. If the sister had a good relationship with him, then it would be odd for steve never to meet him. On the other hand, the sister must not have had a relationship with this guy either. If that is the case, it must be for good reasons.
I applaud steve for not contacting the father and maybe the mother too. I’m adopted too and the only people that matter are my real parents. they were the ones who cared for me, raised me, disciplined me, and guided me. My bio parents did nothing but give up on me before anything started.
Grossly over-simplistic. Grossly.
Obviously you have some scars whether you admit them to yourself or not, but there a multitude of reasons people adopt out children, and it’s usually traumatic for perents for the rest of their lives, as well as for the children of course. And no, I have not adopted out my kids, I’m not defending myself or any friends, but life is complicated.
Not really. It’s actually quite simple. Anyone can reproduce. Not everyone can parent. Life is complicated, sure, but what he says is true: your parents are the ones that raised you.
How do you think parents feel when they spend decades of their life to raise their child only to have the biological parents want a piece of the child’s life?
It’s good to seek our your biological parents to know about certain illnesses that run in the family and other similar issues and I’m not suggesting holding grudges, but simply put (and not over-simplistically) your parents are the ones that raised you.
We tend to over-complicate life.
Well, where would you be now if you had no bio parents?
IN SPAAACE.