"TODAY" INTERVIEW. IT’S BEEN SEVEN YEARS SINCE
APPLE FOUNDER STEVE JOBS LOST
HIS LIFE TO PANCREATIC CANCER.
HIS LIFE HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF
FILMS AND BOOKS.
THE LATEST PERHAPS THE MOST
PERSONAL, HIS DAUGHTER LISA
JOBS.
JOBS. WE’LL TALK TO HER IN A MOMENT.
BUT FIRST, LISA’S COMPLICATED
RELATIONSHIP WITH HER FATHER.
>> WE ARE CALLING IT iPHONE.
>> STEVE JOBS WAS THE MAN WHO
INTRODUCED LIFE CHANGING
TECHNOLOGY TO THE MASSES.
A TIGHT-LIPPED TECH GENIUS WITH
ENDLESS AMBITION.
ENDLESS AMBITION. >> I DON’T HAVE A DAUGHTER NAMED
LISA.
LISA. >> THOSE WHO HAVE SEEN THE 2015
FILM STEVE JOBS KNOW JOBS
DAUGHTER, LISA BRENNAN JOBS, AS
A YOUNG GIRL DESPERATE FOR
VALIDATION FROM A FATHER WHO
APPEARED DISMISSIVE.
APPEARED DISMISSIVE. >> YOU KNEW WHAT I WAS GOING
THROUGH AND YOU DIDN’T DO
ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
>> STEVE JOBS WAS 23 WHEN HE MET
HIS OLDEST DAUGHTER DAYS AFTER
SHE WAS BORN TO HIS FORMER
GIRLFRIEND CHRIS ANN BRENNAN.
BRENNAN-JOBS SAID HER FATHER
HELP NAME HER BUT FOR YEARS AND
DESPITE A DNA TEST PROVING HE
WAS HER DAD, HE DENIED THAT.
LATER HE REPEATEDLY REFUSED TO
CONFIRM THAT AN EARLY VERSION OF
AN APPLE COMPUTER CALLED LISA
WAS NAMED AFTER HER.
>> NOTHING WAS NAMED AFTER
ANYBODY.
ANYBODY. IT’S A COINCIDENCE.
>> IN HER NEW MEMOIR "SMALL FRY"
BRENNAN-JOBS SHARES HER
PERSPECTIVE TO LIFE WITH A
FATHER WHO COULD BE CRUEL TO
MOMENTS OF SHARED JOY ON THE
PIANO OR ROLLER SKATES.
SHE DESCRIBES A LARGELY UNSTABLE
CHILDHOOD.
CHILDHOOD. AT 14 SHE MOVED IN WITH HER
FATHER AND GROWING FAMILY,
THOUGH HE HAD ONE CONDITION.
SHE COULD NOT SEE HER MOTHER FOR
SIX MONTHS.
SIX MONTHS. BRENNAN-JOBS DESCRIBED THAT TIME
AS LONELY BUT SPRINKLED WITH
MOMENTS OF JOY AND BELONGING,
PAINTING A VERY COMPLICATED
PICTURE OF HER RELATIONSHIP WITH
A MAN SHE JUST CALLED STEVE.
LISA BRENNAN-JOBS JOINS US NOW.
AGAIN, HER MEMOIR IS CALLED
"SMALL FRY."
"SMALL FRY." HI, LISA, GOOD MORNING.
>> GOOD MORNING.
>> FATHER-DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIPS
WE KNOW ARE VERYCOMPLICATED.
YOURS KIND OF IS NO EXCEPTION.
WHEN I WAS READING THIS BOOK, I
HAVE TO TELL YOU, I FELT YOUR
PAIN AS A LITTLE GIRL.
I WAS THINKING IT’S HARD TO READ
PARTS OF IT.
IT MUST HAVE BEEN SO HARD TO PUT
THIS ON PAPER.
WAS IT?
WAS IT? HOW WAS THAT PART OF IT?
>> IT TOOK A LONG TIME.
I THINK IT WAS IN SOME WAYS
CATHARTIC AND JOYFUL TO GO BACK
AND SPEND TIME WITH MY YOUNG
PARENTS.
PARENTS. THEY WERE YOUNGER THAN I AM NOW,
SO IT WAS NICE TO DO THAT.
THERE IS THIS REALLY FAMOUS
PERSON IN THE STORY.
BUT I THINK IN MANY WAYS, THIS
COMING OF AGE STORY ABOUT A GIRL
GROWING UP IN CALIFORNIA IN THE
’80s AND ’90s IS ALSO -- IT’S
ALSO A UNIVERSAL STORY.
I THINK IT’S EASY TO FORGET,
BECAUSE THERE’S DISTRACTION OF
THIS FAMOUS PERSON.
BUT WE ALL HAVE COMPLEXITY IN
OUR LIVES.
OUR LIVES. >> I WAS STRUCK BY SO MUCH OF
IT.
IT. SOME OF IT WAS HARD TO READ.
I FELT THERE WAS EXTREME CRUELTY
IN CERTAIN PARTS OF YOUR LIFE.
THERE WAS A SCENE, I’M JUST
THINKING OF A COUPLE OF THINGS,
WHERE YOUR MOM WAS ON THE PHONE.
YOU WERE JUST A LITTLE GIRL.
SHE WAS BEGGING YOUR DAD FOR
MONEY, LIKE SOBBING AND BEGGING.
YOU AS A LITTLE GIRL WALK UP AND
TAKE THE PHONE FROM HER AND
SAID, JUST GIVE HER SOME MONEY,
OKAY, AND HANG UP THE PHONE.
I WAS THINKING ABOUT WHAT THAT
LITTLE GIRL MUST HAVE BEEN
FEELING IN THOSE MOMENTS KNOWING
THOSE THINGS.
THOSE THINGS. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING THEN?
WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER?
>> SO I REMEMBER -- THAT
ACTUALLY I TALKED WITH MY AUNT,
AND I ALSO TALKED WITH MY
MOTHER.
MOTHER. MY AUNT WAS THE ONE THAT
WITNESSED THAT SCENE.
I DON’T PARTICULARLY REMEMBER
THAT, AS I TALK ABOUT IN THE
BOOK.
BOOK. BUT I WONDER -- BUT MOMENTS LIKE
THAT.
THAT. I THINK I WAS KIND OF A TOUGH
LITTLE SCRAPPY SOUL.
I THINK SOMETIMES YOU SAVE
THINGS FROM YOUR PAST THAT YOU
DON’T QUITE UNDERSTAND.
THEY ARE LIKE LITTLE BOXES AND
YOU PRESERVE THEM FOR LATER WHEN
YOU CAN UNWRAP THEM AND TRY TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY MEANT.
I THINK THIS WHOLE BOOK WAS A
WAY TO UNDERSTAND.
>> DID THE LITTLE GIRL LIKE HER
DAD?
DAD? HATE HER DAD?
THE LITTLE GIRL THAT WE’RE
DESCRIBING.
DESCRIBING. BECAUSE THERE’S ANOTHER SCENE IN
THERE WHERE YOUR MOTHER SAYS TO
YOUR DAD, HI, WE NEED A HOUSE,
COULD YOU GET US A HOUSE.
HE SAYS, YEAH, I’LL GET A HOUSE
AND HE GETS IT FOR HIMSELF.
THERE WERE OTHER SCENES WHERE I
WAS LITERALLY READING IT AND I
WAS LIKE, OUCH, IF THAT WERE ME,
I CAN’T IMAGINE WHAT I WOULD BE
FEELING IN THE MOMENT.
>> WHAT WAS THE FIRST ONE YOU
SAID?
SAID? >> ABOUT THE HOUSE OR DENYING
PATERNITY, ANY OF THE SPECIFICS.
>> I THINK SOME OF THE STORIES
WERE REALLY DIFFICULT.
YOU WERE ASKING WHAT THE LITTLE
GIRL FELT ABOUT THIS MAN.
I IMAGINE -- I REMEMBER FEELING
JUST PROFOUND LOVE AND
ADMIRATION, BECAUSE HE DID
HAVE -- WE DID HAVE JOYFUL,
TENDER, DEAR MOMENTS TOGETHER.
HE MADE THE DECISION TO COME
BACK AND GET TO KNOW ME AFTER HE
HADN’T REALLY BEEN AROUND WHEN I
WAS YOUNGER.
WAS YOUNGER. ALSO I MUST HAVE FELT SO
CONFUSED AND ANGRY.
I BET IT WAS SOME COMBINATION OF
THESE THINGS.
THESE THINGS. YEAH.
YEAH. >> TELL ME, WHAT WAS THE MOST
LOVING THING YOUR FATHER EVER
DID FOR YOU?
>> I THINK THAT -- JOSH, YOU
KNOW, I WAS GOING TO SAY COMING
BACK TO GET TO KNOW ME AFTER HE
HADN’T BEEN AROUND WHEN I WAS
LITTLE BUT I ALSO WANTED TO SAY
ONE DAY HE CAME TO A PERFORMANCE
THAT MY BOYFRIEND WAS IN A PLAY.
IT WAS FREEZING COLD.
HE DIDN’T HAVE A SWEATER.
ONLY HE AND I CAN KNOW HOW COLD
THAT NIGHT WAS.
HE DIDN’T COMPLAIN.
HE SAT THROUGH THE WHOLE THING
BECAUSE HE KNEW HOW IMPORTANT IT
WAS TO ME.
>> AT THE END, HE WAS DYING.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> YOU WERE AT HIS BEDSIDE.
A LOT WAS BEING MADE WHEN HE
SAID SOMETHING TO YOU LIKE, YOU
SMELL LIKE A TOILET.
I READ THAT, AND I SAID, WHAT
COULD THAT HAVE BEEN?
WAS THAT A CRUEL STATEMENT, DO
YOU THINK, OR WAS THAT HIS
PERSONALITY?
PERSONALITY? WHAT WERE YOU DOING THERE?
>> I HAVE TO ANSWER YOUR
QUESTION, WHICH WAS AT THE VERY
END, HE WAS SO APOLOGETIC ABOUT
THE TIMES WE HAD MISSED
TOGETHER.
TOGETHER. HE KEPT ON SAYING -- THE THING
HE KEPT ON SAYING IS, I OWE YOU
ONE, AND I’M SO SORRY.
>> DID YOU FORGIVE HIM?
>> I THINK NOT AT THE TIME.
I FELT A LITTLE BIT PARALYZED.
>> DO YOU NOW?
DO YOU FORGIVE HIM NOW?
>> IN MANY WAYS, YES.
I UNDERSTAND HIM MORE AND
UNDERSTAND MYSELF MORE.
BUT THE TOILET -- I HAVE TO BE
CLEAR ABOUT THE TOILET PHRASE.
I THINK THINGS HAVE BEEN MADE OF
THAT.
THAT. I REALLY DID, I EXPLAINED IN THE
BOOK I WAS SPRAYING MYSELF WITH
NATURAL "ROSEWATER" THAT WAS
TURNING OVER AND OVER.
SO EVEN THOUGH IT WASN’T
PARTICULARLY A NICE PHRASE, IT
WAS ACTUALLY TRUE.
IT WAS A TRUE PHRASE.
>> THE DAY YOUR DAD PASSED, WHAT
DID YOU LOSE THAT DAY?
>> WELL, THAT’S A PERSONAL
THING.
THING. I LOST THE CHANCE TO ADD MORE
FRIENDSHIP WITH HIM, WHICH IS
WHAT I TOLD HIM IN THE BOOK IS
THAT I WISHED THAT WE HAD HAD
MORE TIME TOGETHER.
I THINK HE WISHED THAT, TOO.
WE DID LIKE EACH OTHER.
WHEN WE SPENT TIME TOGETHER AND
WE GOT ALONG, IT WAS KIND OF
GREAT.
GREAT. SO I WISH THERE HAD BEEN MORE
TIME.
TIME. >> IT’S SUCH A COMPLICATED BOOK.
I JUST WANT TO READ WHAT SOME
MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY, I GUESS,
WEREN’T SO FOND OF THE BOOK.
THIS WAS WRITTEN, LISA IS PART
OF OUR FAMILY.
SO IT IS WITH GREAT 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 KNOW.
>> SO I WAS THINKING ABOUT IT.
I’VE BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT SINCE I
WAS 3 YEARS OLD.
THERE WAS THE ARTICLE IN "TIME"
MAGAZINE.
MAGAZINE. THERE HAVE BEEN BOOKS AND MOVIES
SINCE.
SINCE. SO I KNOW IT CAN BE REALLY
DIFFICULT TO READ ABOUT YOUR OWN
LIFE AND YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE, A
SLICE OF IT, IN SOMEONE ELSE’S
WORDS.
WORDS. IT CAN BE HURTFUL.
WHEN I WAS THINKING ABOUT
WRITING THIS BOOK, I REALIZED
THAT I BELIEVE PEOPLE HAVE THE
RIGHT TO TELL THEIR OWN STORY AS
HONESTLY AND ACCURATELY AS THEY
CAN.
CAN. SO IN THIS CASE, YOU KNOW, THIS
BOOK IS -- IT’S ABOUT SO MUCH
MORE THAN MY FATHER.
ALTHOUGH, OF COURSE, IT INVOLVES
MY COMPLICATED FAMILY.
IT’S ALSO A COMING OF AMGGE STOR
ABOUT ME.
ABOUT ME. IF YOU’RE GOING TO READ THE 400
PAGES, HAVE YOU TO YOU CAN ABOUT
EMUP FOR ALSO WHISPERING IN
LIBRARIES AND ADOLESCENT ANGST
AND ALL THAT.
>> LISA, I KNOW IT WASN’T EASY