The Lost Daughter: A Memoir
Williams was a child of Black Panther–era Oakland, with its countercultural challenges to the racial status quo. Her father was a Panther who served time in prison, her mother eventually succumbed to drinking and withdrew from family life, and her sister died a violent death. Traumatized by poverty and neglect at 16, Williams took the opportunity to flee to Santa Monica to live with Jane Fonda, whom she’d known for several years through a summer arts camp. What followed was an extraordinary life of wealth and privilege as she was incorporated into the lives and families of Jane Fonda and Ted Turner. An adventurer and idealist, Williams went on to travel to Africa, start a foundation to benefit the Lost Boys of Sudan, hike the Appalachian Trail, and work for six months in Antarctica, all the while testing herself. But her greatest challenge awaited her back in Oakland. Could she ever reconcile with her biological family and somehow blend them into her eclectic life? Williams’ memoir explores both broad social dichotomies and the longing for the closeness of family ties. --Vanessa Bush