You know you’re in for an unusual memoir when you read how at just seven years old and preparing to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion, our author, Robin F. Schepper, the future director of one of Michelle Obama’s White House programs, had her hair dyed blonde. It was, said Robin’s mother, Trudy, time to get back to her natural color. “Natural color?” thought Robin, “wasn’t my hair its natural color already?” But she had no choice. From then on, Finding My Way: A Memoir of Family, Identify, and Political Ambition offers a riveting life story as our author navigates through a chaotic childhood, family secrets about her biological father, and living in world where she never got the answers about her family she craved.
Mother and daughter, she writes, barely got by on her mother’s “meager salary,” but in the 1960’s, they were living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, with her equally secretive “Nana” living not far away. But after a sudden visit by the police, with an unfounded accusation of child abuse, the two were on their way to Florida. And not long after, the two were headed back to New York after Robin’s mother met Lars, the man who would eventually become – albeit, some seven years later — the man Robin would call Dad.
There were calm times, too, when our author sat with her mother, a former Pan Am flight attendant, and heard stories of her global adventures. On one occasion while the two were going through Trudy’s photo album, she shared stories of her trips, and the people she met and the places she’s visited. Pictures of her in the airline’s “beauty pageants,” or meeting politicians and heads of state. That occasion gave then thirteen-year-old Robin the inspiration to see the world herself, maybe as a photojournalist, she thought. And the only way to make that happen would be to keep up her studies and obtain a scholarship to attend a private school, “my ticket to any kind of life outside our little apartment.” After doing her research and sending in application after application, she made that first goal a reality.
Throughout the book, Robin’s curiosity about her father persisted. When Trudy gave the details about her daughter’s birth, there was never a mention of him. The only connection was their shared last name, which she saw on her birth certificate. What was he like? Why did he leave? Learning in school that a child raised by a single mother was considered a “bastard,” she would refuse to let that define her and it fueled the desire to prove to her mother “and the world that I was worthy of being alive and worthy of the hardship she went through.” However, any bits of information about the past her mother offered created more confusion, and more determination to learn more.
The family’s move to Washington, D.C. became the jumping-off point for Robin to be in the perfect environment to start her climb up the ladder. Taking advantage of every opportunity that came her way, she heard that there was a job to be an assistant at the McLaughlin Report, a popular Sunday morning political talk show. Her introductions to politician after politician paved her way to the White House and the meeting with Michelle Obama to work with the “Let’s Move!” initiative.
What readers will note that Robin’s story is not focused on the prestigious positions she’s held or the prominent people she’s met, it’s about finding her identity, working through trauma, and searching for her family’s story. It’s about the desire to know as much about her own DNA. “I hope this book inspires others to tell their stories and live a life of transparency and authenticity,” she writes. “The more we are honest about our life, the more we can accept that life is not a straight line.”
Finding My Way: A Memoir of Family, Identity, and Political Ambition
Robin Schepper
First time author, Robin Schepper’s memoir has received three book awards recognizing the authentic and personal story she tells about finding family and belonging. For more information, go to her website.
Robin Schepper’s photo by Beau Bella photography
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