You're Too Young to Understand: A Memoir

Memoir Prize for Books Honorable Mention and “2025 Top Notable Indies” from Shelf Unbound.

This family memoir is a vulnerable look at growing up in the shadow of mental
illness—and how somehow, we find our way through it.

“Sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, Sjaastad offers the possibility that even without much in the way of a parental roadmap, we can still find our way to love and forgiveness.”  —Laura Flynn, author of Swallow the Ocean

Liz Fiedorow Sjaastad grew up during the Cold War with a mother with untreated schizophrenia and a turbulent alcoholic father who was a first-generation immigrant from Russia. Growing up in the latchkey kid eighties, Liz and her siblings were left to deal with the daily machinations of their mother's paranoid mind.

Shedding light on the complexities of parental mental health and generational trauma, Liz shares the story of a life led despite the fears of “becoming her parents.”

Giving voice to isolating experiences, Liz illuminates the struggles of caring for aging parents who had struggled to care for her.

A transformative read, You’re Too Young to Understand explores . . .

● end-of-life decisions with difficult parents
● breaking the cycle of generational trauma.
● brain illness and anosognosia.
● refugee parents managing their own PTSD.

Unflinching and heartfelt, Liz chronicles how she confronted the trauma of her past to show up for her parents—and herself—when it was needed most.

“Sjaastad bares her soul in this beautifully written book. How she copes is a lesson for us all.”  —Mindy Greiling, former state legislator

“Sjaastad’s compelling memoir will break your heart, then fill it full of her generosity of spirit.”  —Kate St. Vincent Vogl, author of Lost & Found: A Memoir of Mothers