The Impostor’s Daughter 

The cover of The Impostor's Daughter could not have been chosen any better. Her sentiments and experience (as well as her sentiments regarding her experiences) are very much summarized by this cover of the book. A woman whom we can surmise is Sandell because she has her same style of hair and she is wearing orange (Sandell is always wearing orange throughout the book, except for when she is naked of course) is holding up a Polaroid of her father. He is cloaked with his military garb and she holds this in front of her face. On the Polaroid it says, “ A (insert carrot) true memoir. Now why the need to insert that “True” part or hold the Polaroid in front of your face so that it hides it? Many of these answers can be found through a careful analysis of her memoir.

The Impostor's Daughter is very much a coming of age memoir. It follows Sandell from her early memories as a child until what we can assume is present day-ish. Sandell’s transformation into womanhood is shaped and characterized by her relationship with her father. In simplistic terms, she begins as a young girl, clinging to and believing in every word her father utters, to a more self-assured, confident woman who unfortunately has learned that very little truth surrounds her father and his life as a whole. Her life and growth was of course riddled with sexual experimentation (and perhaps liberation), career lows and highs, an Ambien addiction, rehab and ups and downs within a relationship. As Sandell seems to “come to grips” with the lies surrounding her father, her journey is marked by conflict and struggles. Yet, as time goes on and she lets go of some of her guilt for anonymously writing a tell-all about her father and when she begins to accept that she may never hear the truth from either of her parents, her life takes a healthier turn and it appears she becomes more at peace with herself, her life, her family and her relationship.

So how does this all relate to the cover? Well, it’s everything! First, as I stated in the previous paragraph, Sandell’s life, development and growth is utterly influence and at times defined by her relationship, or lack thereof with her father. Many of Sandell’s coping and skills when interacting with people (whether positive or negative) are attributed to her father; Furthermore, in many of her interviews with celebrities, such as on page 108, she talks about how her father’s story was becoming her story. Although she is not her father, she seems to feel and live as if his story shadows her own, thus her face behind his picture on the cover. She is in someway shadowed by his story and apparent grandiose-ness. Yet on the other hand, his life, characteristics and perhaps just the simple fact that he is her father has all contributed to who she has become (personally and to be honest career-wise). Although she seems to hide behind his photograph, she also seems to be accepting of this contribution: that however it may be, she is in some ways made up of some of him.

The need to insert a carrot and the word, “true” on the Polaroid seems utterly striking to me. Some might say this is a slight dig at her father. To say and insert the word “true” in such an obvious manner sends me as a reader a message that perhaps she inserts this because of the opposition and disbelief she has received from her family and/or critics. Perhaps even still, because it is right below her father she is saying that her story is true, as opposed to the “false” memoir she received from the many interviews and lifetime with her father. Either way, or perhaps even a little of both, this insertion was in no way, shape or form, arbitrarily chosen. She is sending a swift and concise message to all that come across her memoir and it is very much reflective of her overall sentiments regarding her father and his lies.

To conclude, although the cover, the words and illustrations throughout The Impostor's Daughter seem to be simplistic, the truth is very much the opposite. Sandell is very selective and concise with her illustrations and word choice. Her panels, just as her cover does, send a powerful and often complex message. Sometimes words and illustrations are wrought with conflict and contradiction but they somehow contribute to the message as a whole: that her relationship and sentiments regarding her father and her life are not simplistic in any form, rather it can be at times, messy and complicated.