You probably recognize the name. It’s hard not to. But Elizabeth Ann Hanks—who writes under the name E.A. Hanks—is a lot more than just the daughter of America's favorite dad. For years, she was the "quiet" one. While her brothers were making headlines for acting or music, she was grinding away in newsrooms like Vanity Fair and The Huffington Post.
Honestly, it’s refreshing.
In April 2025, she finally stepped out from the background with a book that actually has something to say. It’s called The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road. And look, if you’re expecting a glossy, "life is great with Tom Hanks" kind of story, you’re in for a massive shock. This isn't that. It’s a gritty, beautiful, and sometimes deeply painful look at a childhood that most of us never knew existed.
What Most People Get Wrong About tom hanks daughter book
People assume that being a "Hanks" means a life of pure Hollywood magic. But E.A. Hanks blows that narrative apart pretty quickly. Basically, the book centers on a massive road trip she took in 2019. She got into a minivan she named "Minnie" and drove across Interstate 10, stretching from Los Angeles all the way to Palatka, Florida.
Why Florida?
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Because that’s where the ghosts were.
The book is a heavy-duty investigation into her late mother, Susan Dillingham (who used the stage name Samantha Lewes). If you follow the family history, you know Susan was Tom’s first wife. They were college sweethearts who had Elizabeth and her brother Colin before things fell apart in the mid-80s.
Elizabeth is brutally honest about what happened next. She describes a life in Sacramento that was, in her words, "filled with confusion, violence, deprivation, and love." That's a hell of a combination. She talks about a house that smelled like smoke, refrigerators full of expired food, and a mother struggling with what Elizabeth believes was undiagnosed bipolar disorder.
It’s a far cry from the red carpets.
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The Road Trip That Changed Everything
The core of The 10 is this 2019 journey. E.A. Hanks used her mother's old diaries as a literal map. She wanted to understand the woman she lost to bone cancer in 2002. It’s part travelogue, part true crime (she even looks into whether her maternal grandfather was a murderer—yeah, it gets that intense), and part therapy session.
She writes about the Southwest deserts, the swamps of the Florida panhandle, and the strange people you meet at gas stations when you’re alone with your thoughts.
Why This Book Hits Differently
- It’s not a "Nepo Baby" fluff piece. Elizabeth spent ten years working on this. It failed as a magazine pitch. It failed as a podcast. She fought with her editors for five years. That’s real work.
- The "Two Worlds" dynamic. She captures the weirdness of being a "Sacramento girl" during the week and visiting her famous dad and stepmother, Rita Wilson, on the weekends.
- Raw honesty about mental health. She doesn't sugarcoat her mother's "paranoia and delusion."
Tom Hanks himself actually showed up at the 92nd Street Y in New York in 2025 to discuss the book with her. He called her a "knockout" and praised her for being "incredibly honest" about things that were clearly hard for the whole family to revisit. That says a lot.
What You’ll Actually Learn From the Memoir
If you’re a fan of Joan Didion or memoirs that feel like a "knockdown, drag-out fight" for the truth, you've gotta read this. It explores how we inherit the traumas of our parents. It’s about how the places we grow up in—even the ones we hate—stay in our bones.
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Sorta makes you think about your own family secrets, doesn't it?
Elizabeth proves she’s a masterful storyteller in her own right. She’s not just "Tom’s daughter" anymore. She’s a writer who survived a chaotic childhood and had the guts to put it on paper.
Actionable Takeaways for Readers
If you’re interested in diving into E.A. Hanks’ world, here is how to get the most out of the experience:
- Read the excerpt first. People magazine published a pretty raw excerpt that covers her move from L.A. to Sacramento. It’s a good litmus test to see if you’re ready for the book's emotional weight.
- Watch the 92NY interview. Seeing Tom and Elizabeth talk about the book together adds a whole other layer of context to their relationship.
- Check out her earlier work. Before the memoir, she wrote some great culture pieces for The Guardian and The New York Times. It helps you see the journalist's eye she brings to her personal story.
- Buy the "Ocean Teal" edition. If you're a collector, there are some beautiful special editions out there that include extra photos from her 2019 road trip.
Basically, The 10 is a reminder that everyone is carrying something heavy, regardless of their last name. It’s a book about finding your own identity when you’ve spent your life in the shadow of giants.