Thursday, April 11, 2019

The Bite in the Apple; Chrisann Brennan


AUTHOR:  Chrisann Brennan
PUBLISHER:  St. Martin's Press
PUB. YEAR: 2013
SETTING:  California
FORMAT:  -  library/print (320 pp)
RATING: 3.5/5


I love Apple products so have been long interested in the genius who made the company the empire it is today.

I think many people already know that Steve Jobs might have been brilliant but he was also a deeply flawed individual.  He met the author of this memoir when the two were in high school in the early 1970s. They had an on again off again relationship for over 5 years which resulted in the birth of Lisa Brennan.  For several years he denied paternity of his first-born, but in 1979 a paternity test proved otherwise.  But, just who was this flawed, brilliant man?

Steve Jobs was given up for adoption as an infant and adopted by a couple who were also flawed. The father was often cruel and hard on Steve.  From Steve's earliest months as an infant, his adoptive mother never got too close to him, fearing his birth mother would change her mind as she wanted him placed in a wealthy Catholic home. So for the first 6-months of his life, his adoptive mother showed him no love. He soon became a somewhat difficult child.

Bullied in school, he developed a propensity toward unexplained verbal attacks on others, often coming out of nowhere, described as similar to "Tourette's." Even when he obtained unimaginable wealth, he was described as cheap.  He often caused friction between his daughter and her mother once he became more involved in Lisa's life.

I didn't think this story was perfect, but, it was a rather human story giving more insight into perhaps the circumstances which shaped the negative aspects of Steve Job's personality.  I thought Chrisann's story almost felt like she forgave him for his verbal assaults over the years. The memoir felt real and very personal and this not so much about his professional successes. Overall, I'm happy I read this one but admit to skimming a few pages here and there.

5 comments:

  1. He sure was an amazing dude in many ways.

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  2. He certainly sounds like a conflicted person who had issues personally and did extremely well professionally.

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  3. I read Lisa's book and just thought it was okay and think I might just skip this one.

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  4. I want to read all the books about Mr Jobs. Fascinating character. I am conflicted about the terrible load of responsibility put on parents for how they affect the lives of their children. I guess you could say, I'm a bit obsessed with the subject lately.

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  5. I have this and Lisa's book on my list but keep putting them off. Not really sure whether I'll get to them or not.

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