American Daughter: A Memoir

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 neglect, hunger, poverty, homelessness, truancy, foster homes, a lack of medical care, and worse. Stephanie knew little about her mother's past, who was in and out of jails and psych wards. This changed when shocking revelations forced Stephanie to revisit her tortured past and revise her understanding of her childhood. American Daughter is the extraordinary true story of a girl growing up on the wrong side of the American Dream, living in crowded apartments, in the back seat of a car, and watching her mother closely for love and harm. It's a moving account of a troubled mother-daughter relationship, resilience, transcendence, and redemption.