Mon Apr 07 10:00:00 UTC 2025: ## Tom Hanks’ Daughter Details Turbulent Childhood in New Memoir

**LOS ANGELES, CA** – E.A. Hanks, daughter of actor Tom Hanks, unveils a poignant and revealing memoir, “The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road,” detailing a complex childhood marked by her mother’s mental health struggles and a nomadic upbringing. The book, released April 8th, chronicles Hanks’ six-month road trip along Interstate 10, retracing her mother’s steps and seeking answers about her life and untimely death from lung cancer in 2002 at age 49.

Hanks, now 42, describes a childhood fractured by her parents’ divorce when she was young. Raised primarily by her mother, Susan Dillingham (who used the stage name Samantha Lewes), in Sacramento, she recounts a turbulent home life characterized by instability and emotional and eventually physical violence. Hanks reveals her belief that her mother suffered from undiagnosed bipolar disorder, marked by episodes of paranoia and delusion.

The memoir offers a raw and honest account of a childhood spent navigating between two homes, with a custody arrangement that shifted dramatically midway through her adolescence. Significant events included her mother’s sudden move with her and her brother, Colin, leaving Tom Hanks to track them down; periods of deprivation and instability in their Sacramento home; and ultimately, a cross-country trip with her mother in a Winnebago when Hanks was 14.

“The 10” is more than a personal account; it’s a journey of self-discovery, fueled by a daughter’s desire to understand her mother’s complexities and reconcile her own experiences. The book promises a candid look at the challenges of growing up within a high-profile family and the lasting impact of a parent’s struggles with mental illness.

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