Molly Jong-Fast

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Molly Jong-Fast (born August 19, 1978)[1] is an American writer, journalist, author, political commentator, and podcaster.

Early life

Jong-Fast was born on August 19, 1978 in Stamford, Connecticut,[2] to novelist Erica Jong[3] and author Jonathan Fast, and is the granddaughter of writer Howard Fast.[4] She was raised in a Jewish family, though she has mentioned that her nanny "raised [her] Catholic," despite not partaking in the sacraments.[5] Her parents divorced during her childhood, and she was raised as an only child.[6] Jong-Fast struggled with substance abuse as a teenager, becoming alcoholic and addicted to cocaine. After going to rehab at age 19, she has remained sober for 27 years as of May 2025.[7]

Jong-Fast graduated from the Riverdale Country School and attended Barnard College before earning a Master of Fine Arts degree from Bennington College in 2004.[8]

Career

Jong-Fast is the author of two novels, Normal Girl[9] and The Social Climber's Handbook,[10] and three memoirs, Girl [Maladjusted],[10] The Sex Doctors in the Basement,[11][12] and How to Lose Your Mother.[13]

After the 2016 election, Jong-Fast began focusing her writing on politics.[14] She became a regular contributor to The Forward,[15] The Bulwark,[16] Playboy,[17] Glamour,[18] and Vogue.[19]

In December 2019, Jong-Fast became an editor-at-large at The Daily Beast, hosting the podcast The New Abnormal.[20] In November 2021, she became a contributing writer at The Atlantic,[21] and the writer of its Wait, What? newsletter.[22] In 2022, she joined Vanity Fair as a special correspondent and began hosting the Fast Politics iHeart Media podcast. In January 2024, she joined MSNBC as a political analyst.[23]

Critical acclaim

In 2025, Viking Books published Jong-Fast's third memoir, How to Lose Your Mother, about the writer's relationship with her mother, Erica Jong, and the latter's struggles with dementia.

How to Lose Your Mother became a New York Times Bestseller within three weeks,[24] with The New York Times describing the memoir as a "score-settling marathon at times, but also like a loving elegy."[25] The Washington Post praised How to Lose Your Mother as a "transformative work of alchemy" with "lines so good you won't just want to underline them, you will want to cut them out to share."[26] Oprah Magazine called How to Lose Your Mother "hilarious and heartbreaking" and "the story of a singular mother-daughter relationship that will resonate with anyone who grew up playing second fiddle to a parent’s passions."[27]

Personal life

In 2003, Jong-Fast married CUNY professor Matthew Adlai Greenfield.[28][29] [30] They have three children.[31] Jong-Fast is a cousin of Lebanese-American political strategist Peter Daou[32] and has written about her experience with Alcoholics Anonymous.[33]

Publications

  • Normal Girl (2000). Template:ISBN
  • The Sex Doctors in the Basement: True Stories from a Semi-Celebrity Childhood (2005). Template:ISBN.
  • Girl [Maladjusted]: True Stories from a Semi-Celebrity Childhood (2006). Template:ISBN
  • The Social Climber's Handbook: A novel (2011). Template:ISBN
  • How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir (2025). Template:ISBN

References

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Further reading

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External links

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