Finding My Way: A Memoir of Family, Identity, and Political Ambition (Hardcover)
Staff Reviews
Finding My Way is a book about a strong, resilient woman who must find her way in the world with little support or guidance. I read this memoir by local author Robin Schepper because I have known Robin since she moved to Steamboat, and I wanted to support her in the publishing of her memoir. I am recommending the book, however, because it captivated me from the first chapter. Raised in the 1960s in New York City, Robin’s memoir recounts her untraditional upbringing by her single mother and brothel-owning grandmother, who had a dysfunctional and hostile relationship. Young Robin must grow up quickly as she is often forced to be the adult in many situations. Although her childhood is untraditional, parts of Robin’s story are unfortunately all too familiar. Robin shares how she was sexually abused by multiple men throughout her life. I commend Robin for talking openly and honestly about difficult topics such as sexual abuse, abortion, rape, and infidelity.
Never knowing her biological father, Robin spends a lifetime trying to find him. Her ache for a father figure is raw and real throughout the book as she contemplates whether this is why she falls victim to abuse and struggles with relationships. Although Robin also shares many stories of her life working in politics for Michelle Obama and other famous politicians, I am much more drawn to the story of how she got to the White House than the stories from the White House. Robin will be reading from her book and signing copies at Off the Beaten Path Bookstore at 6:30 pm on May 11th. Please join us for an evening with this remarkable woman.
-Danielle
— From Mesmerizing May Staff Picks
Description
A deeply personal memoir about finding family and belonging from White House staffer Robin F. Schepper. Growing up torn between her single Pan Am-stewardess mom and brothel-owning grandmother in 1960s New York City, Robin F. Schepper never imagined that she'd one day have an office in the East Wing of the White House. Her childhood in a German American neighborhood on the Upper East Side was peppered with half-truths, from the family secrets surrounding her grandmother's immigration to deceptions about her biological father. In a world of self-absorbed adults, Robin largely raised herself: she secured a scholarship to a prestigious private school and worked several jobs as a teenager to pay her own living expenses before finally escaping to California for college. Street-smart and undeniably driven, once in the professional world Robin quickly ascended in the male-dominated political sphere, traveling the globe while being subjected to sexual harassment and assaults that echoed obstacles her mother and grandmother had faced. Through it all, Robin searched for her biological father. She felt that if she could understand why he abandoned her, she could free herself from secrets, lies, and shame. Robin eventually rose to work for the First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama and, in the meantime, created her own family by adopting two sons from Kazakhstan. Intimate and captivating, Finding My Way follows an ambitious woman who reached the highest pinnacles of a political career while simultaneously fulfilling her own quest to heal from family trauma and discover her true identity.
