Overview

• E.A. Hanks’ memoir recounts her childhood shaped by her mother Susan Dillingham’s undiagnosed bipolar disorder, neglect, and eventual death from lung cancer in 2002.
• The book reveals incidents of emotional and physical violence that led to a custody change, with E.A. moving to live with her father, Tom Hanks, during her teenage years.
• Hanks embarked on a six-month road trip in 2019 along Interstate 10 to explore her mother’s life and uncover family history, which serves as the framework for the memoir.
• The memoir examines how her parents’ divorce and her mother’s mental health struggles influenced her identity and family dynamics.
• E.A. Hanks’ reflections highlight themes of reconciliation, family legacy, and the stories we construct about our pasts and ourselves.