Molly Jong-Fast with Taffy Brodesser-Akner: How to Lose Your Mother

Political writer and podcaster Molly Jong-Fast joins Taffy Brodesser-Akner, author of Fleischman is in Trouble, for a deeply personal conversation about mothers and daughters, fame, mortality, and Jong-Fast’s new book, How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter’s Memoir.

The only child writer Erica Jong, whose sensational book Fear of Flying launched her into literary stardom in the 1970s, Molly Jong-Fast grew up yearning for a connection with her glamorous mother, who always seemed to be just out of reach. When, in 2023, Erica was diagnosed with dementia just as Molly’s husband discovered he had a rare cancer, Jong-Fast was catapulted into a transformative year. Funny, moving, angry, and wise, How to Lose Your Mother tells the story of an intense mother-daughter relationship — a story of loss alongside the story of a singular woman’s literary life.

In a special conversation with Taffy Brodesser-Akner in celebration of the memoir’s launch, join Jong-Fast for a frank, funny, candid look inside “the mess, terror, loneliness and glory of familial love, in all its riveting complexity” (Claire Messud) — a mother-daughter relationship that is at once utterly relatable and extraordinary.

“Beautiful and painful at the same time, just like real life.” — Anne Lamott

“Jong-Fast pours her heart and soul into this memoir of losing her famous mother … She fights her way through the grief and rage with sharp self-awareness and a sense of humor that never deserts her. You think you’ve got aging parent problems? Let Jong-Fast tell you a story.” — Oprah Daily

“A gripping memoir about mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, loss and healing, and what it means to finally accept your past and become an adult.” — Lori Gottlieb

“Resisting tidy sentiment or easy answers, Jong-Fast dives headfirst into the often-difficult ambiguities of parent-child bonds. The results are stunning.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)