Latest news with #Jong-Fast
San Francisco Chronicle
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Dementia and ‘the virus of fame': Erica Jong's daughter maps mother's decline
Novelist and poet Erica Jong helped bring unvarnished female sexual desire into the literary mainstream. Now her daughter, writer Molly Jong-Fast, is mapping her mother's decline. 'How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir,' published by Viking on Tuesday, June 3, is about Jong's dementia and how Jong-Fast has cared for her 83-year-old mother, the author of 'Fear of Flying,' 'How to Save Your Own Life' and 'Parachutes and Kisses.' The book comes amid a wave of so-called nepo baby memoirs from Tom Hanks' daughter, Prince Harry and Lena Dunham, among others. Jong-Fast acknowledges her place in the trend. 'It is a huge advantage to be the child of a famous writer,' she told Vogue. At the same time, she continued, 'mostly the world doesn't necessarily want you to succeed. You just have to work super-hard and you have to be incredibly kind to everyone, which sometimes I do, and occasionally I fail (at).' In the book, excerpted in Vanity Fair, Jong-Fast reveals how fame warped her mother. 'Even years after people stopped coming up to us in stores, even years after she slipped from the public consciousness, the virus of fame had made her someone different. Becoming normal like the rest of us, the journey to unfamousness, was for her an event so strange and stressful, so damaging to her ego, that she was never able to process it,' Jong-Fast writes. She saw her grandfather, the novelist Howard Fast, suffer a similar fate. 'I never knew my mother or grandfather in the height of their respective fames, but I did know them at the end, when they were desperately trying to claw fame back from the writers who, they believed, had taken it from them,' she says in the book. Jong-Fast's previous books include two novels, 'Normal Girl' and 'The Social Climber's Handbook' as well as another memoir, 'The Sex Doctors in the Basement: True Stories from a Semi-Celebrity Childhood.' She's also a journalist, podcaster and political commentator.
Sydney Morning Herald
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Erica Jong is a feminist icon, but to her daughter she's ‘an alcoholic narcissist'
MEMOIR How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir Molly Jong-Fast Picador, $36.99 Molly Jong-Fast is the 'only child of an alcoholic narcissist'. As it turns out, that narcissist is a second-wave feminist icon: American author Erica Jong. In 1973, Jong published Fear of Flying, a daring novel celebrating female desire and sexual pleasure through one woman's libertine search for herself. The freedom the protagonist finds in casual sex even led to the coinage of a term: the 'zipless f--k'. It would eventually sell more than 37 million copies. But behind the self-possessed image Jong projected was a mother whose addiction to fame and alcohol – in equal measure – fractured her relationship to her only child. How to Lose Your Mother retraces Jong-Fast's annus horribilis, the year her husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and her mother's mind was undone by dementia. The political commentator recounts a childhood relegated to the sidelines as her mother tried vainly to keep the spotlight shining after her book fell off the bestsellers list. Taking inspiration from Fear of Flying 's heroine, Jong would disappear into a hazy world of fleeting relationships, alcohol abuse and a fickle search for public attention while her daughter was parented by others. Jong would occasionally resurface to mine motherhood for writing material, often with comical and damning results. As a teenager, Jong-Fast is told by her mother to be careful driving on the icy roads as she doesn't want to have a dead daughter – at Christmas time. 'I would wonder if it was possible … my mother sort of wanted me to drive off the road,' Jong-Fast writes. Years later, when Jong-Fast almost dies giving birth, her agonising experience is retold as a delusion in her mother's new novel: 'Imagine that the worst thing that's ever happened to you is portrayed as a figment of your own imagination. By your own mother.' It's unsurprising then to hear that the same woman called Jong-Fast 'overdramatic' for wanting to go to rehab as a teenager abusing alcohol. (Jong-Fast is now 26 years sober.) With a loved one ravaged by dementia, levity is the relief-valve Jong-Fast must often pull to both blunt the torture of her new daily reality and the pain of thinking back to the years of neglect. When visiting her mother's New York apartment one day, it's the only comfort possible when she finds her sitting half-naked, reeking of urine and leafing happily through a newspaper.
The Age
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Erica Jong is a feminist icon, but to her daughter she's ‘an alcoholic narcissist'
MEMOIR How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir Molly Jong-Fast Picador, $36.99 Molly Jong-Fast is the 'only child of an alcoholic narcissist'. As it turns out, that narcissist is a second-wave feminist icon: American author Erica Jong. In 1973, Jong published Fear of Flying, a daring novel celebrating female desire and sexual pleasure through one woman's libertine search for herself. The freedom the protagonist finds in casual sex even led to the coinage of a term: the 'zipless f--k'. It would eventually sell more than 37 million copies. But behind the self-possessed image Jong projected was a mother whose addiction to fame and alcohol – in equal measure – fractured her relationship to her only child. How to Lose Your Mother retraces Jong-Fast's annus horribilis, the year her husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and her mother's mind was undone by dementia. The political commentator recounts a childhood relegated to the sidelines as her mother tried vainly to keep the spotlight shining after her book fell off the bestsellers list. Taking inspiration from Fear of Flying 's heroine, Jong would disappear into a hazy world of fleeting relationships, alcohol abuse and a fickle search for public attention while her daughter was parented by others. Jong would occasionally resurface to mine motherhood for writing material, often with comical and damning results. As a teenager, Jong-Fast is told by her mother to be careful driving on the icy roads as she doesn't want to have a dead daughter – at Christmas time. 'I would wonder if it was possible … my mother sort of wanted me to drive off the road,' Jong-Fast writes. Years later, when Jong-Fast almost dies giving birth, her agonising experience is retold as a delusion in her mother's new novel: 'Imagine that the worst thing that's ever happened to you is portrayed as a figment of your own imagination. By your own mother.' It's unsurprising then to hear that the same woman called Jong-Fast 'overdramatic' for wanting to go to rehab as a teenager abusing alcohol. (Jong-Fast is now 26 years sober.) With a loved one ravaged by dementia, levity is the relief-valve Jong-Fast must often pull to both blunt the torture of her new daily reality and the pain of thinking back to the years of neglect. When visiting her mother's New York apartment one day, it's the only comfort possible when she finds her sitting half-naked, reeking of urine and leafing happily through a newspaper.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Molly Jong-Fast is thinking about challenging Jerry Nadler
NEW YORK — Novelist turned political journalist Molly Jong-Fast wants somebody 'serious' to run against Rep. Jerry Nadler in 2026 — so she doesn't have to do it herself. The Vanity Fair correspondent and podcast host has been talking to political consultants about a run against the 77-year-old Manhattan Democrat. But Jong-Fast told POLITICO she's 'still really on the fence.' 'If someone who is a good communicator and a serious Democrat will run for that seat,' Jong-Fast said in a phone call Friday, 'then I absolutely will not. If there's someone who's an AOC or a Maxwell Frost — if there's someone like that who will run — then I will just be delighted.' Nadler's profile could hardly be more different than Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Frost, the 28-year-old Florida Democrat. The dean of New York's congressional delegation, Nadler has held the office for 32 years, since 1992. But in December he was pushed out of his role as the top Democrat on the powerful Judiciary Committee by Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who another member told Punchbowl has 'reenergized' the committee. 'It's not about their age, it's about their ability,' Jong-Fast said. 'And clearly the fact that Jerry has been removed from his committee means that leadership does not have faith in him. If leadership does not have faith in him, then the voters should not have faith in him.' Nadler has already filed to run for reelection. In fact, he told New York magazine last year he could run for another five terms. His chief of staff, Robert Gottheim, noted that Nadler easily beat veteran Rep. Carolyn Maloney in a competitive primary in 2022 and didn't even face a primary in 2024 before getting reelected in November with 80 percent of the vote. 'He'll put his over 30-year record of accomplishments against anyone,' Gottheim said. 'The district seems pretty happy with his representation and work in Congress. He takes every election at a time and he intends to run for reelection.' Time will tell if the first midterm election of President Donald Trump's second term results in the same fed-up-with-the-old-guard energy that helped Ocasio-Cortez topple longtime Rep. Joe Crowley in 2018 — and if so, whether a 46-year-old Upper East Sider who's about to release a book about being the daughter of feminist author Erica Jong, is the one to seize it. Jong-Fast understands that and put the odds of a campaign at 80 percent not running, 20 percent running — down from 50-50 at the start of the interview. Nadler may already have a well-known challenger in Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen, who has become an unlikely 'resistance' hero for testifying against the president. Cohen decided against taking on Nadler last cycle, but then told New York mag he'd announce a 2026 run the day after Election Day. That day has come and gone with no announcement, but Cohen told POLITICO Friday he is still planning to run. There are also a handful of Manhattan elected officials who would be eager to jump in the minute Nadler gets out of the race. Among the names in the mix are Assemblymembers Micah Lasher, Alex Bores and Rebecca Seawright, City Council Members Erik Bottcher and Julie Menin and state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal. 'Jerry has godlike status in the district,' Lasher said.
Politico
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Molly Jong-Fast is thinking about challenging Jerry Nadler
NEW YORK — Novelist turned political journalist Molly Jong-Fast wants somebody 'serious' to run against Rep. Jerry Nadler in 2026 — so she doesn't have to do it herself. The Vanity Fair correspondent and podcast host has been talking to political consultants about a run against the 77-year-old Manhattan Democrat. But Jong-Fast told POLITICO she's 'still really on the fence.' 'If someone who is a good communicator and a serious Democrat will run for that seat,' Jong-Fast said in a phone call Friday, 'then I absolutely will not. If there's someone who's an AOC or a Maxwell Frost — if there's someone like that who will run — then I will just be delighted.' Nadler's profile could hardly be more different than Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Frost, the 28-year-old Florida Democrat. The dean of New York's congressional delegation, Nadler has held the office for 32 years, since 1992. But in December he was pushed out of his role as the top Democrat on the powerful Judiciary Committee by Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who another member told Punchbowl has 'reenergized' the committee. 'It's not about their age, it's about their ability,' Jong-Fast said. 'And clearly the fact that Jerry has been removed from his committee means that leadership does not have faith in him. If leadership does not have faith in him, then the voters should not have faith in him.' Nadler has already filed to run for reelection. In fact, he told New York magazine last year he could run for another five terms. His chief of staff, Robert Gottheim, noted that Nadler easily beat veteran Rep. Carolyn Maloney in a competitive primary in 2022 and didn't even face a primary in 2024 before getting reelected in November with 80 percent of the vote. 'He'll put his over 30-year record of accomplishments against anyone,' Gottheim said. 'The district seems pretty happy with his representation and work in Congress. He takes every election at a time and he intends to run for reelection.' Time will tell if the first midterm election of President Donald Trump's second term results in the same fed-up-with-the-old-guard energy that helped Ocasio-Cortez topple longtime Rep. Joe Crowley in 2018 — and if so, whether a 46-year-old Upper East Sider who's about to release a book about being the daughter of feminist author Erica Jong, is the one to seize it. Jong-Fast understands that and put the odds of a campaign at 80 percent not running, 20 percent running — down from 50-50 at the start of the interview. Nadler may already have a well-known challenger in Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen, who has become an unlikely 'resistance' hero for testifying against the president. Cohen decided against taking on Nadler last cycle, but then told New York mag he'd announce a 2026 run the day after Election Day. That day has come and gone with no announcement, but Cohen told POLITICO Friday he is still planning to run. There are also a handful of Manhattan elected officials who would be eager to jump in the minute Nadler gets out of the race. Among the names in the mix are Assemblymembers Micah Lasher, Alex Bores and Rebecca Seawright, City Council Members Erik Bottcher and Julie Menin and state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal. 'Jerry has godlike status in the district,' Lasher said.
