Laurene Powell Jobs responds to ‘Small Fry’ book by Steve Jobs’ daughter

Laurene
Powell Jobs speaks onstage during The New York Times 2017
DealBook Conference at Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 9, 2017
in New York City.
Michael Cohen/Getty
Images for The New York Times

• Laurene Powell Jobs is pushing back against a memoir
  published by Lisa Brennan-Jobs, Steve Jobs’ daughter, which
  talks about the legendary Apple cofounder.
• Powell Jobs said the memoir, which presents an ugly
  picture of Jobs’ behavior, does not reflect “the husband and
  father we knew.”
• But Chrisann Brennan, the mother of the book’s author,
  has praised the depiction of her daughter’s childhood as
  accurate.

A new memoir by Lisa Brennan-Jobs about growing up with her
father, Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, sounds absolutely brutal —
and some members of the Jobs family are pushing back.

The book,
which has been excerpted in Vanity Fair and
detailed in an extensive feature in The New York Times,
details Jobs being frequently cruel and cold towards his
daughter, and engaging in arguably inappropriate behaviour —

with some critics arguing what is described qualifies as
“abuse.” 

But Laurene Powell Jobs, the legendary entrepreneur’s wife who
also features in the book, issued a joint statement with Jobs’
sister Mona Simpson disputing Brennan-Jobs’ characterization of
her father:

“Lisa is part of our family, so it was with sadness that
we read her book, which differs dramatically from our memories of
those times. The portrayal of Steve is not the husband and father
we knew,” they said.

“Steve loved Lisa, and he regretted that he was not the
father he should have been during her early childhood. It was a
great comfort to Steve to have Lisa home with all of us during
the last days of his life, and we are all grateful for the years
we spent together as a family.”

Chrisann Brennan, however, Brennan-Jobs’ mother, thinks the
depiction is spot on. “It was horrendous for me to read,” she
told The New York Times. “It was very, very hard. But she got it
right.”

She added: “She didn’t go into how bad it really was, if you can
believe that.”

The New York Times details several incidents in Brennan-Jobs’
childhood that directly involved Powell Jobs. On one occasion,
Jobs seems to have behaved inappropriately in front of his
daughter with his wife.
The newspaper wrote: 

“Ms. Brennan-Jobs describes him embracing Ms. Powell Jobs one
day, ‘pulling her in to a kiss, moving his hand closer to her
breasts,’ and up her thigh, ‘moaning theatrically.’

“When Ms. Brennan-Jobs tries to leave, her father stops her:
”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.'”

On another occasion, during a therapy session with Jobs and
Powell Jobs, a teenage Brennan-Jobs complained that “she feels
lonely and has wanted her parents to say good night to her.”

Powell Jobs’ response, according to the book: “We’re just cold
people.”