Tom hanks daughter reveals childhood in memoir: Cancels award ceremony,How old is,Fame

A Bold Memoir from the First Marriage

In April 2025, E.A. Hanks—born Elizabeth Anne Hanks on May 17, 1982—published her revealing memoir, The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road. At 43 years old, she steps into the spotlight not as “America’s Dad” Tom Hanks’s daughter, but as a perceptive writer forging her own path 

With writing credits in Vanity Fair, The New York Times, The Guardian, and more, E.A. presents a book that blends travel narrative with personal excavation. Her memoir centers on a transformative six-month road trip along Interstate 10 from Los Angeles to Palatka, Florida—a route she once traveled with her late mother 

2. Childhood: Between Sacramento Shadows and Familial Fracture

E.A.’s childhood was largely shaped in Sacramento, where she and her older brother Colin (b. ~1977) lived with their mother, Susan Dillingham, better known by her stage name, Samantha Lewes. Tom and Susan separated in 1985, finalizing their divorce around 1987 .

E.A. characterizes those years—ages 5 to 14—as filled with “confusion, violence, deprivation, and love.” She paints a picture of a home that once held promise—a white, columned house, a bedroom plastered with horse posters and a backyard with a pool—but descended into neglect. The backyard became strewn with dog waste, the fridge empty or full of expired food, and the house permeated with smoke. Her mother increasingly retreated to a four-poster bed, absorbed in her Bible 

The emotional volatility escalated. A moment that would change everything came when “one night, ‘emotional violence became physical violence.’” In the fallout, at age 14, E.A. moved to Los Angeles to live with her father, stepmother Rita Wilson, and younger half-brothers, only visiting her mother on weekends and summers 

3. Understanding Her Mother’s Struggles

E.A. never heard her mother openly discuss her past or family origins. With time, through journals and retrospective reflection, she recognized indications of undiagnosed bipolar disorder, paranoid delusions, and possibly substance abuse 

One of the most chilling discoveries came from her mother’s red journal, wherein Susan recounted horrific claims—allegations of violent crime by her own father, including rape, murder, and cannibalism. E.A. embarked on her road trip not just to retrace routes, but to uncover the truth behind these haunting memories

4. The Road Trip: Confronting Legacy Through Landscapes

In 2019, nearly two decades after her mother’s death (Susan died in 2002 at 49, after battling lung and bone cancer), E.A. retraced the path of their earlier mother-daughter road trip. Borrowing a van from her father (nicknamed “Minnie,” or cheekily “Shit Box”), she drove across the southern U.S., weaving personal history into the contours of the land 

The journey became a tool for healing and narrative. She explored her mother’s past, the roots of her trauma, and the nature of familial bonds disrupted by instability. The memoir uses this trip both as personal catharsis and a meditation on place and identity in America

5. A Father’s Pride and Public Reaction

Tom Hanks responded to the memoir with visible support and pride. Speaking at the red carpet premiere of The Phoenician Scheme, he praised his daughter’s courage, calling her honest, intellectually bold, and not surprised by her introspection. He reflected that children’s personalities shine early—even from six weeks old 

Media outlets broadly framed E.A.’s experience as starkly contrasting the “America’s Dad” image usually associated with her father, spotlighting how her upbringing diverged drastically from public perception 

6. Award Ceremony Cancellation—Unrelated But Converging Headlines

Separately, West Point’s Association of Graduates canceled the Sylvanus Thayer Award ceremony that was to honor Tom Hanks in September 2025. They cited a desire to refocus on their core military leadership mission amid increased political tensions. Hanks’s support for Democratic causes and involvement in pro-administration efforts have been speculated to be factors, although no explicit reason was confirmed 

While this event made headlines around the same time as the memoir’s release, there’s no direct connection between E.A.’s revelations and the cancellation. The memoir focuses inward—on family, healing, and narrative reclamation—while the award incident highlights broader political divides.

Summary Table (for your quick glance)

Conclusion
E.A. Hanks’s The 10 is a compelling journey of emotional reckoning, narrative reconstruction, and personal resilience. At 43, she lays bare the contradictions of fame, inheritance, and survival—challenging readers to see how memory, place, and legacy converge in forming identity. Tom Hanks’s public pride offers a poignant bookend, affirming that storytelling can be both personal and transformative.

And as for that honor from West Point—canceled in 2025 amid political complexities—it’s a reminder that while public narratives shift, personal truth remains E.A.’s unwavering mission.