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 minute.

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.

©2021 Stephanie Thornton Plymale (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

A Haunting and Beautifully Written Memoir

From the first scene of this memoir through the final words, I was immersed in Stephanie's story.Throughout this memoir, I felt like I was listening to beautifully written, poignant novel. Ms. Thorton Plymale and her siblings endured horrific trauma after trauma. They were failed time and again by their mother, who was trapped in her own prison of unresolved childhood trauma, and by the foster-care system. From free-spirited hippie culture, to a foster home that was beautiful on the surface, but pure evil behind closed doors, to a bus by the beach that was its own fairytale-like haven upon entering, I was invested in this story. The glimpse into the author's interior design business and process, was a wonderful surprise which I thoroughly enjoyed. I appreciated Stephanie's honesty about the struggles in her marriage, and with perfectionism, which is anxiety's high-achieving mask. For anyone who has a complicated relationship with their mother, or a family plagued with substance abuse, trauma, and mental illness, this book is for you. If you simply enjoy stories of survival, grit, resilience and forgiveness, this story is for you as well. I highly recommend listening to this book, but please take care. There are stories of child abuse and neglect throughout the book, that will be difficult to hear.

As an added bonus, Mozhan Marno's beautiful narration added to the immersive experience of the audio book. She was the perfect choice for this story.

Loved it!!!

Well written, narration well done. Couldn't help but realize that there are many children in the world today with stories to tell. Amazing story. It would be a recommended read in my library.

Absolutely Amazing!!

This was amazingly written . I loved it, this story is absolutely powerful and gripping clean till the end.I highly recommend listening to this book..

A journey of circumstances

Such a story… I loved the narration and the truth of such a life/lives of people who literally walk amongst us.
Sorrow, bravery, strength, stupidity, I could go on and on, all touching when threaded together in this story. Thank you Stephanie Thornton Plymale and Elissa Wald for giving this book to the world

All the emotions!!

Best audiobook I've found in a while! Trauma can break you to pieces or can make you a strong, caring, successful person like Stephanie. She really broke a terrible cycle and came out on top

Inspiring story, well told

Great narrator. Redemption story. Surprising, intriguing. Wish the author had been more introspective about her own mistakes — way she treated her husband and how she leaned into the flirtation with Owen, especially. She had been a victim of her mother, but she wasn’t the victim of her marriage. It was hard to listen to her talk like she was

WOW!

Such a tragic, yet interesting story. High recommend. Narration was great as well. Stephanie’s story deserves to be documented.

Heart wrenching but SO GOOD!

Rise above what we we are born into without choice. So sad the neglect and in some cases the abuse kids suffered and still suffer in the foster care and DFACS system in this society their mental illness and death are inevitable as a result.

Palpable and poignant

This story is a beautiful tale of the search for truth. I didn't want it to end, and I gained so many insights from reading it. I am grateful.

Reality of children falling between the cracks of society.

Really enjoyed the descriptions of characters and places. Really appreciated the human voice recording versus AI.