Tom Hanks’ Daughter Opens Up About 'Violence and Deprivation' in Memoir

Tom Hanks’ daughter, E.A. Hanks, is baring her soul with a new memoir that dives into her tumultuous childhood, shaped by her parents’ divorce and a strained relationship with her late mother, Susan Dillingham.

E.A., short for Elizabeth Anne, shares intimate details in her book, "The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road," which chronicles her experiences growing up in the wake of her parents’ separation after five years of marriage. Her mother, whom she describes as Hanks' first "non-famous" wife, held primary custody after the split in 1985.

In an excerpt shared with People, E.A. revealed that her childhood was filled with confusion, emotional turmoil, and even physical violence during her years in Sacramento, where her mother moved the family without informing her father. She recounts an unsettling moment when Hanks, unaware of the relocation, had to track them down after discovering they were missing from school for two weeks.

E.A. paints a vivid picture of her mother’s struggles, describing a house overwhelmed by neglect, with a backyard "so full of dog s--- that you couldn’t walk around it" and a fridge often empty or stocked with expired food. Dillingham, who also went by the stage name Samantha Lewes, reportedly battled undiagnosed bipolar disorder, paranoia, and delusions, retreating to her bedroom to pore over the Bible.

Things came to a head when an episode of emotional abuse turned physical, prompting a custody switch that brought E.A. to Los Angeles to live with her father and stepmother during her seventh-grade year.

Her mother’s health later took a tragic turn. In her high school senior year, Dillingham informed E.A. she was dying. She succumbed to lung cancer in 2002 at the age of 49.

The memoir also delves into a transformative road trip E.A. took in 2019, retracing one of her last journeys with her mother. She recalls traveling across the U.S. at 14 in a lumbering Winnebago, one of her final memories of their time together.

Despite the challenges, E.A. reflects on fleeting moments when her parents came together, including her high school graduation. She humorously notes a photograph of her standing between her parents, with her mother’s wig "slightly askew." It’s these snapshots of bittersweet unity that give her memoir a poignant edge.

Following his divorce from Dillingham, Hanks married actress Rita Wilson in 1988, with whom he shares two sons, Chet and Truman. E.A.’s memoir promises an unflinching look at her family’s complexities, and it hits shelves Tuesday.