American Daughter

A Memoir

By: Stephanie Thornton Plymale, Elissa Wald

Narrated by: Mozhan Marno

The sharp and surprising true story of a woman who finally sets out to understand her past, and the mother she had one day hoped to forget. Full of unexpected twists and unbelievable revelations, American Daughter is an immersive memoir that will have you on the edge of your seat to the very last page.

For years, Stephanie Plymale, successful CEO and interior designer, kept her past a fiercely guarded secret. Only her husband knew that her childhood was fraught with every imaginable hardship: neglect, hunger, poverty, homelessness, truancy, foster homes, a harrowing lack of medical care, and worse. Stephanie, in turn, knew very little about the past of her mother, who was in and out of jails and psych wards for most of Stephanie's formative years. All this changed when a series of shocking revelations forced Stephanie to revisit her tortured past and revise the meaning of every aspect of her compromised childhood.

American Daughter is the extraordinary true story of a young girl growing up on the wrong side of the American Dream. Stephanie has slept in blankets on the floor of crowded apartments, lived in the back seat of a car with her siblings, and spent decades looking over her shoulder at a mother who might just as easily hug or harm her. American Daughter is at once a moving account of a troubled mother-daughter relationship and a meditation on resilience, transcendence, and ultimately, redemption.

Not your typical story of hardship

This book was extremely satisfying in the way it shared the horror of this girls upbringing meshed with her achievements at obtaining peace. It teetered between a version of herself about to give in to the trauma with the version that can overcome, with success.

The one thing I think readers should do while listening to this book is their own research on the historical incident that is discovered in this book. It will reveal truths about powerful political families of today that are shameful and may give the reader pause in their own political beliefs.

A Must Read for the Human Race

I could not put this book down. I cried, I smiled, and I empathized with the author throughout. Portions of her story reminded me of my family and portions were so unimaginable that I couldn’t imagine how she and/or her mother survived physically and emotionally. Every social worker, teacher, law enforcement officer…human being should read this story…Stephanie’s story.

Beautiful

This story is tragic and beautiful. Written and narrated beautifully. What an amazing story. She's a woman to be examplified in all ways.

Truth of life

Simply put : I want to genuinely thank the author for sharing this most real and sincere story about life , the American “ fabric” and truth about what each of our families and one’s on journey is about in this world

Success story

Beautiful story of how a person’s resilience and maybe good genes can help one overcome tragedy.