The story of Lisa Brennan-Jobs and her father Steve Jobs has been told countless times in movies, shows, and other forms of media. As the public knows, Jobs fathered Lisa when he was still in his early 20's. He denied being her father, even though a DNA test proved he was the dad, and stayed out of his child's life for years as he gained glory, money, and fame. Their relationship grew over time, and now Lisa is telling her side of the story in a memoir called Small Fry.
The book features many moments where it seems like Lisa is making her father look like a monster. As reported by The New York Times, Lisa writes about how her father refused to put heating in her bedroom, how Jobs commented negatively on the way she smelled, and even recounts a story of her father having an awkward sexual moment in front of her. Lisa sat down for a profile in NYT, and she discusses her reasoning behind releasing the memoir. She feels like the moments that shock the reader shouldn't make her father look bad. She says his more crude moments only displayed his commitment to honesty.
Walter Isaacson, the author who wrote the best-selling biography about Steve Jobs, didn't tell her side of the story, admits Lisa. “I never spoke with Walter, and I never read the book, but I know I came off as cold to my father and not caring whether he felt bad,” she stated. “I was devastated by it. I felt ashamed to be the bad part of a great story, and I felt unresolved.”
In Small Fry, Lisa tells an anecdote about her father, where he begins to get intimate with his wife Laurene Powell Job in front of her. When she tried to leave, he made her stay and watch. “‘Hey Lis,’ he said. ‘Stay here. We’re having a family moment. It’s important that you try to be part of this family.’ I sat still, looking away as he moaned and undulated.” Lisa told NYT she never felt threatened by her father, “just awkward.”