“When Steve Jobs told his daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs that the Apple Lisa computer was not named after her, it was not a cruel lie to a little girl, she insists — he was teaching her ‘not to ride on his coattails,'” Nellie Bowles writes for The New York Times. “When Mr. Jobs refused to install heat in her bedroom, he was not being callous, she says — he was instilling in her a ‘value system.'”
“It’s a strange thing to write a devastating memoir with damning details but demand that these things are not, in fact, damning at all,” Bowles writes. “Yet that’s exactly what Ms. Brennan-Jobs has done in a new memoir, Small Fry, and in a series of interviews conducted over the last few weeks.”
“Ms. Brennan-Jobs navigated a childhood on welfare with her mother, the artist Chrisann Brennan, and an adolescence ensconced in her father’s wealth,” Bowles writes. “On the eve of publication, what Ms. Brennan-Jobs wants readers to know is this: Steve Jobs rejected his daughter for years, but that daughter has absolved him. Triumphantly, she loves him, and she wants the book’s scenes of their roller skating and laughing together to be as viral as the scenes of him telling her she will inherit nothing.”
“Ms. Brennan-Jobs’s forgiveness is one thing,” Bowles writes. “What’s tricky is that she wants the reader to forgive Mr. Jobs, too. And she knows that could be a problem.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, Steve Jobs was a piece of work; a complex, glorious, terrible, wonderous, flawed, human being like us all.
Obviously, Small Fry will be a must-read for any fan and/or student of Jobs.
SEE ALSO:
‘I have a secret. My father is Steve Jobs.’ – August 2, 2018
Chrisann Brennan: Steve Jobs was a haunted house of brokenness; cold, ruthless, and obsessive – October 4, 2015
Steve Jobs’ ex Chrisann Brennan reveals their explosive relationship in new memoir – October 15, 2013
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz” and “TJ” for the heads up.]
No one is perfect. I believe a perfect person would be impossible to be perfect as being perfect in one area probably means you have to be imperfect in another. All things considered, he was a remarkable man who didn’t just dent the universe, he reshaped it a bit, and signed his name.
The world is full of unremarkable people. We should all be so imperfect.
Case in point. I wrote a highly imperfect first sentence while talking on the phone and feeding the dog.
Beautifully sums up the contradiction doesn’t it even more clearly perhaps than the words you would have chosen if your were not so distracted. Life is not the straight line it is often portrayed to be and sometimes your worst mistakes are the result of making attempts to do (at least arguably) the opposite. The bigger the genius the more likely the curves of misadventure in such matters I suspect.
Looking forward to reading the book and adding yet another layer of insight .
I hope this book and hopefully other candid memoirs will enable the ‘blind worshipers’ to realize that what they consider to be infallible and an omnipotent diety was just another flawed human being with strengths and huge shortcomings… and will put an end to this notion of ‘he did everyting, he was perfect, and could do no wrong’…. and allow for greater appreciation and acknowledgment of others who were/are involved in making Apple what it is today.
Certain things are just unacceptable and plain evil …. why would one choose that path… ? Judge for yourself !
Ms. Brennan-Jobs describes her father’s frequent use of money to confuse or frighten her. “Sometimes he decided not to pay for things at the very last minute,” she writes, “walking out of restaurants without paying the bill.” When her mother found a beautiful house and asked Mr. Jobs to buy it for her and Lisa, he agreed it was nice — but bought it for himself and moved in with his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs.
Uncool ^N
Some people should not procreate – Steve was one of those people.
I’m thinking Lisa might possibly disagree with this sentiment.
Take your point but invalid in this case for his daughter despite early trauma is still far luckier than most as it turned out and the trauma she mentions as unpleasant as it is is nothing compared to a fair percentage of children growing up.
Fact is if you want to include Steve in such an argument you would probably (arguably) exclude some three quarters of the population for one negative reason/factor or another…. actually thinking about it maybe your statement has some merit after all.
Perhaps I should have stated that, at that time in his life, he shouldn’t have fathered a child. Maybe Steve matured greatly into his 40’s and 50’s – but – that quote posted above is indicative of someone who is extremely immature, has real psychological issues, and has no business raising a child or even offering input on their rearing.
A one night stand led to millions, other than being born Steve got nothing from his biological parents. ungrateful is her middle name.
3/4 of the population do not intentionaly f-ck with their children’s soul for some sociopathic satisfaction…. they may not have the means or the envirnoment to do better,, but malice is not what 3/4 of the kids are subject too.
That malice in Steves case is absolutly Evil . ( specially with his means )
Malice is the guy in Colorado who killed his wife, two little girls and a unborn child…and then blames them for the outcome.
I rather not believe this ….!
“…..He once insisted she watch – because it was a “family moment” – while he touched his wife sexually and moaned and undulated theatrically in front of her, she added.”
First family rule. Do not publicly embarrass the family.
1st family rule : Do not F-ck your own family.
Karma is a bitch .
What Planet are you on?
Seems like not the one your are on.
Its a lovely morning on Planet Zog today by the way.
What did Steve get from his biological parents? nothing other than being born, however they did keep his sister….All these people after he got rich came with a hand out….
If you want your family to show loyalty to you, perhaps it is best if you showed loyalty to them.
– HCE
Does that include Steve’s biological parents? Who want money and attention after he got rich and famous…
There are rules and there are exceptions… choose which u want to take as mantra.
By the way Steve had a family who brought him up with love, gave him shelter, security and stability. That was his family… ( they did not share blood…. but that was his real family… and they did not Screw him )
Why is it an Amazon link up above? No love for iBooks? Maybe Lisa gets a bigger cut of the sale this way? Why is the hardcover cheaper than the paperback?
That’s probably because Jobs was a jerk. I don’t think most Apple fans are unaware of that or even debate it.
On a personal level, he probably got a lot better, but he was an asshole to a lot of people. There’s no excuse for that. Appreciating his contributions to the advancement of consumer technology products doesn’t ignore that.
I’m a little sick of the articles and commentary that pretend this is not already well known or that Apple fans are all apologists for his bad behavior.
The doucher had most of the cult leader attributes. It was all about him.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/spycatcher/201208/dangerous-cult-leaders
This is not surprising, Jobs was raised in the most narcissistic, leftist (I repeat myself), Godless, self-worshiping region in the world. His sick behavior is a reflection of the moral depravity of the Bay Area combined with egomania and boundless wealth. Its really a miracle that he didn’t act even worse. Maybe that will come out later.
Do you really want me to list the depravity and evil of SO many of the narcissistic, right-wing, god-spouting, self-worshipping, sick, morally depraved scum that infest America.
I’ve never read anything about Jobs which didn’t make him out as a jerk, which matches my personal experiences with the man. Sadly, if he had been less of a jerk, chances are he’d still be alive today.
With his type of Cancer? His adopted parents are the only family, other than the one he had with his wife, was more than the only one’s he really cared about so what…