Molly Jong-Fast, author of 'How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir' and Vanity Fair correspondent, opens up about her complex relationship with her iconic mother, Erica Jong. She dives into the emotional turmoil of caregiving amid her mother's dementia, exploring themes of love, regret, and family dynamics. Molly reflects on the struggles of growing up with a famous parent, challenges of addiction, and the burden of legacy. Through heartfelt storytelling, she reveals the intricacies of navigating conflicting emotions and the significance of connection in family life.
57:47
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Fame's Impact on Identity
Fame can profoundly warp a person's identity like a disease alters cells.
Erica Jong struggled with the aftermath of early, intense fame from just one big hit book.
insights INSIGHT
The Trouble with Early Fame
Early fame, especially for one major success, intensifies challenges for individuals.
The inability to replicate that success often haunts those who become famous young.
insights INSIGHT
Complex Love for Mother
Despite pain and neglect, Molly feels deeply connected and grateful toward her mother.
The legacy and qualities inherited from her mother shape her own identity.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
In 'The Year of Magical Thinking,' Joan Didion recounts the year after her husband's sudden death, delving into the intense and often irrational nature of grief. The book is a raw and unflinching account of her emotional journey, detailing her 'magical thinking' – the belief that her husband would return. Didion also navigates her daughter's severe health crises and grapples with the fragility of life. The memoir blends personal narrative with investigative journalism, citing medical literature and psychological studies to understand the grieving process. It is a powerful exploration of loss, memory, and the human experience of mourning[1][3][5].
Fear of flying
Erica Jong
Published in 1973, 'Fear of Flying' is a novel that follows Isadora Wing, a Jewish journalist and erotic poet, as she navigates her marriage, sexual desires, and professional ambitions. The story begins with Isadora traveling to Vienna with her husband to attend a psychoanalytic congress, where she meets a Laingian analyst named Adrian Goodlove and embarks on a hedonistic journey across Europe. This journey is not just about her sexual adventures but also a deep exploration of her own identity, the systemic oppression of women, and her quest for autonomy and self-acceptance. The novel is known for its candid and provocative portrayal of women's desires and its impact on the feminist movement of the time.
How to Lose Your Mother
Normal Girl Inc
Molly Jong-Fast
“As much as I love my mother, I’ve often found myself regarding her with feelings that are somewhat closer to the opposite of love,” writes political analyst Molly Jong-Fast. The mother of which she writes is feminist icon Erica Jong, whose 1973 debut novel “Fear of Flying,” jetted Jong to a level of fame that she spent the rest of her life grasping on to. In 2023, her mother’s declining health and diagnosis for dementia forced Jong-Fast to reconcile her feelings about her mother: Was Jong a good mother? Probably not. Was Jong-Fast a good daughter? She herself is not sure. We talk to Jong-Fast about her book, “How To Lose Your Mother: A Daughter’s Memoir.”
Guests:
Molly Jong-Fast, author, "How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir"; host of the podcast "Fast Politics"; special correspondent, Vanity Fair
KQED's Forum 
