Lisa Brennan-Jobs to Publish Memoir of Her Childhood With Steve Jobs and Chrisann Brennan

Grove Press this week announced that Lisa Brennan-Jobs, the eldest daughter of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and artist Chrisann Brennan, is working on a memoir about her childhood spent between two imperfect but extraordinary parents. The news was first reported by the Associated Press.

lisa brennan jobs

Lisa Brennan-Jobs and Steve Jobs via BHW

In the book, titled Small Fry, Brennan-Jobs recounts how Jobs was "rarely present" in the early years of her life, as he denied paternity. As she grew older, however, Jobs began to show an interest in her and apologized for his behavior.

The memoir's description notes that Jobs ushered his daughter into a "new world of mansions, vacations, and private schools." Brennan-Jobs was "thrilled" to receive attention from her father, but he could be "cold, critical and unpredictable" at times, echoing stories about his management style at Apple:

When she was young, Lisa's father was a mythical figure who was rarely present in her life. As she grew older, her father took an interest in her, ushering her into a new world of mansions, vacations, and private schools. His attention was thrilling, but he could also be cold, critical and unpredictable. When her relationship with her mother grew strained in high school, Lisa decided to move in with her father, hoping he'd become the parent she'd always wanted him to be.

Brennan-Jobs, 39, graduated from Harvard University in 2000 and is now a professional writer. Jobs named the Apple Lisa, released one year before the original Macintosh, after her. She has three half-siblings, including Reed Jobs, Erin Jobs, and Eve Jobs, from Jobs's later marriage to Laurene Powell.

Small Fry is scheduled for release in September, according to the Associated Press and a listing on the HarperCollins Canada website.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
macos tahoe

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for macOS Tahoe 26.1

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:21 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of macOS Tahoe 26.1, which means the update will likely see a public launch next week. The release candidate includes notes on what's in the update, so we have a full picture of the new features that Apple has included. macOS Tahoe 26.1 adds AutoMix support over AirPlay, improved FaceTime audio...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Another Vehicle Brand Gaining iPhone Car Keys Support

Tuesday October 28, 2025 5:27 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to bring support for its digital car key feature to Jetour vehicles, according to evidence uncovered on Apple's backend by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. Introduced in 2022, Car Keys allows an iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock a vehicle through the Wallet app. A digital version of a car key is stored in Wallet, and unlocking can be done by holding an Apple Watch or...

Top Rated Comments

macduke Avatar
100 months ago
My wife and I both have horrible fathers. If you're going to get a woman pregnant, you need to be prepared to put your life on hold. I couldn't imagine any scenario where I would abandon my daughter. Fathers who do this are *******s. There is no sugar coating it. We need to stop saying "But they're really successful, etc so it's okay." It is never okay. It is completely unacceptable, full stop.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fuchsdh Avatar
100 months ago
Most brilliant minds are "cold, critical, and unpredictable." I'm glad they had a relationship later on as daughters need their fathers to show them how men should treat them.
I don't think that's necessarily true, it's just the image we're familiar with and thus what we notice. There are plenty of brilliant people out there who aren't jackasses or cold people inside, but that's not as newsworthy as the maverick genius stereotype.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RichTF Avatar
100 months ago
My wife and I both have horrible fathers. If you're going to get a woman pregnant, you need to be prepared to put your life on hold. I couldn't imagine any scenario where I would abandon my daughter. Fathers who do this are *******s. There is no sugar coating it. We need to stop saying "But they're really successful, etc so it's okay." It is never okay. It is completely unacceptable, full stop.
I understand your emotions on this one, but as someone whose father was absent as a kid, I disagree. I’m glad I was raised by people who did so out of choice, than by someone who was coerced into being a dad out of a misplaced sense of “duty” or whatever. (And I think my dad’s a great guy, for what it’s worth)

People are complex, situations are complex, relationships are complex, lives are complex. Trying to hit everyone with simple “no exceptions” rules is not a recipe for a happy society.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joe Rossignol Avatar
100 months ago
My wife and I both have horrible fathers. If you're going to get a woman pregnant, you need to be prepared to put your life on hold. I couldn't imagine any scenario where I would abandon my daughter. Fathers who do this are *******s. There is no sugar coating it. We need to stop saying "But they're really successful, etc so it's okay." It is never okay. It is completely unacceptable, full stop.
I agree. Totally inexcusable.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
canny Avatar
100 months ago
Good to see Arab-Americans in positive news for a change.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kabeyun Avatar
100 months ago
Fine to sympathize with Lisa, although I don’t know if she’s looking for sympathy. But let’s not pile on with a character assassination of a man we’ve never met involving details we don’t know. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)