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Molly Jong-Fast

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Molly Jong-Fast
Jong-Fast in 2023
BornAugust 1978 (age 48)
Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.
EducationBennington College (MFA)
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • novelist
  • political commentator
Spouse
Matthew Greenfield
​
(m. 2003)​
Children3
Parents
Relatives

Molly Jong-Fast (born 1978[1][2]) is an American journalist, novelist, and political commentator.[3][4][5][6]

Early life and education

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Jong-Fast was born in August 1978 in Stamford, Connecticut,[7] to novelist Erica Jong and author Jonathan Fast.[1][8] She is the granddaughter of writer Howard Fast.[1] Her parents divorced during her childhood, and she was raised an only child[9] in Manhattan,[10] by a nanny whom Jong-Fast says essentially raised her as Catholic.[11] Her family is Jewish.[12]

Jong-Fast struggled with substance abuse as a teenager, spending a month in a drug rehabilitation facility at age 19.[2] She graduated from the Riverdale Country School and later attended Wesleyan University, Barnard College, and New York University, but did not graduate.[13] She obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree from Bennington College in 2004.[1]

Career

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Jong-Fast is the author of two novels, Normal Girl[14][1][15] and The Social Climber's Handbook,[16] and three memoirs, Girl [Maladjusted],[17] The Sex Doctors in the Basement,[18][1][19][20] and How to Lose Your Mother.[21]

After the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Jong-Fast began focusing her writing on politics,[22] becoming a prominent left-wing political commentator during the first presidency of Donald Trump.[2] She became a regular contributor to The Forward,[23] The Bulwark,[24] Playboy,[25] Glamour,[26] and Vogue.[27] She has written for The New York Times, W, Cosmopolitan, Mademoiselle, Marie Claire, the Times of London, Elle, Modern Bride, and The Forward.[1]

In December 2019, Jong-Fast became an editor-at-large at The Daily Beast, hosting the podcast The New Abnormal.[28] In November 2021, she became a contributing writer at The Atlantic,[29] and the writer of its Wait, What? newsletter.[30] In 2022, she joined Vanity Fair as a special correspondent and began hosting the Fast Politics iHeartMedia podcast. In January 2024, she joined MSNBC as a political analyst.[31]

In 2025, Viking Books published Jong-Fast's third memoir, How to Lose Your Mother,[32] which became a New York Times Bestseller within three weeks.[33] A reviewer for The New York Times describes the book as "read[ing] like a score-settling marathon at times, but also like a loving elegy".[2] Novelist Martha McPhee wrote for The Washington Post that How to Lose Your Mother was 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".[3] 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."[34]

Publications

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  • Normal Girl[14]
  • The Sex Doctors in the Basement: True Stories from a Semi-Celebrity Childhood[18]
  • Girl [Maladjusted]: True Stories from a Semi-Celebrity Childhood[17]
  • The Social Climber's Handbook: A novel[16]
  • How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir[32]


Personal life

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In 2003, Jong-Fast married CUNY professor Matthew Adlai Greenfield.[35][36][37] They have three children.[38] She has written about her experience with Alcoholics Anonymous.[39]

Jong-Fast is a cousin of Lebanese-American political strategist Peter Daou.[40] As of 2007, she lives on the Upper East Side of New York City with her family.[10]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
    • "Molly Jong-Fast". Contemporary Authors. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale. October 18, 2005. ISBN 978-0-7876-3995-2. Born 1978; daughter of Erica Jong (a novelist) and Jonathan Fast (a novelist and screenwriter)
    • "Jong-Fast, Molly 1978–". Contemporary Authors. Encyclopedia.com. n.d. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Alter, Alexandra (May 31, 2025). "The Devastating Book Erica Jong Always Knew Her Daughter Would Write". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2025. When Ms. Jong-Fast was born in 1978, Erica Jong was at the height of her fame.
    Appears in print as: "Erica Jong Knew to Expect This". The New York Times (late edition). June 5, 2025. p. D1. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 3215685837.
  3. 1 2 McPhee, Martha (May 28, 2025). "Molly Jong-Fast's Memoir About Her Famous Mom is Sad, Dishy and Relatable". The Washington Post (book review). ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  4. ↑ Jong-Fast, Molly (June 5, 2026). "It's No Wonder Grads Are Booing Their Commencement Speakers". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ De Armas, Carolina (June 7, 2025). "Molly Jong-Fast". Air Mail.
  6. ↑ Pengelly, Martin (March 7, 2021). "'Talk to me': Molly Jong-Fast on podcasting in the new abnormal". The Guardian.
  7. ↑ Jong-Fast, Molly (June 8, 2025). "My Mother Was a Famous Feminist Writer Known for Her Candour and Wit. But She Was Also a Fantasist Who Couldn't Be Bothered to Spend Time Raising Me". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 3, 2025. In August 1978, I was born in a hospital in Stamford, Connecticut.
  8. ↑ Pressler, Jessica (June 3, 2011). "Fear of Talking About Sex". Intelligencer. New York Magazine. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Why Molly Jong-fast Wrote About the Sex Life of Her Famous Mother, Erica Jong". The Current. CBC Radio. March 6, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  10. 1 2 Abelson, Max (December 12, 2007). "Sold! 'Schlumpy' Molly Jong-Fast Drops $5 M. for Ritzy East Side Co-Op, Calls New Neighbors 'Plankton'". The New York Observer. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  11. ↑ Jong-Fast, Molly (2025). How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir. New York: Viking. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-593-65647-1.
  12. ↑ Jong-Fast, Molly (2006). "Tell Me About Your Mother". In Ellenson, Ruth Andrew (ed.). The Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt. New York: Plume. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-452-28748-8. I guess I should give you a little family history. We are Jews.
  13. ↑ Roug, Louise (September 10, 2001). "She's Her Mother's Daughter, but Her Life's Plot Is All Her Own". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  14. 1 2 Normal Girl (2000). ISBN 0-37-575759-7
  15. ↑ Rosenfeld, Lucinda (July 16, 2000). "Sex, Drugs, Etc.". The New York Times Book Review. p. 7.15. ISSN 0028-7806. ProQuest 217280439.
  16. 1 2 The Social Climber's Handbook: A novel (2011) ISBN 0-34-550189-6
  17. 1 2 Girl [Maladjusted]: True Stories from a Semi-Celebrity Childhood (2006) ISBN 0-81-297074-8
  18. 1 2 The Sex Doctors in the Basement: True Stories from a Semi-Celebrity Childhood (2005) ISBN 1-40-006144-X
  19. ↑ "Nonfiction Book Review: The Sex Doctors in the Basement: True Stories from a Semi-Celebrity Childhood by Molly Jong-Fast". Publishers Weekly. April 1, 2005. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  20. ↑ "The Sex Doctors in the Basement". Kirkus Reviews. January 1, 2005. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  21. ↑ Kay, Katty (June 11, 2025). "'Life, Amidst Death, Has to Continue': Molly Jong-fast on Her New Book and Watching Her Mother Fade Away". BBC. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  22. ↑ Grynbaum, Michael M. (November 6, 2022). "How Molly Jong-Fast Tweeted Her Way to Liberal Media Stardom". The New York Times.
  23. ↑ "Molly Jong-Fast". The Forward. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Articles by Molly Jong-Fast". The Bulwark. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Molly Jong-Fast: Playboy Contributing Editor". Playboy. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Molly Jong-Fast". Glamour. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  27. ↑ "Molly Jong-Fast". Vogue. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  28. ↑ "'The New Abnormal' Hosts Molly Jong-Fast & Andy Levy Ask and Answer 20 Stupid Questions". The Daily Beast. December 26, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Molly Jong-Fast". The Atlantic. October 21, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Wait, What?". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  31. ↑ "MSNBC Author Molly Jong-Fast". MSNBC.
  32. 1 2 The Social Climber's Handbook: A novel (2025) ISBN 0-59-365647-4
  33. ↑ "Molly Jong-Fast's "How to Lose Your Mother" Lands on NYT Bestseller List". APB Speakers. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  34. ↑ "Feeling Alone This Mother's Day? These 15 Books Can Help". Oprah Daily. April 28, 2025. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  35. ↑ Grossman, Anna Jane (March 3, 2003). "Countdown to Bliss: Matthew Greenfield and Molly Jong-Fast". The New York Observer. ISSN 1052-2948. Retrieved March 3, 2003.
  36. ↑ "Weddings/Celebrations; Molly Jong-Fast, Matthew Greenfield". The New York Times. November 2, 2003. Section 9, p. 13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 2, 2003.
  37. ↑ Jong-Fast, Molly (June 3, 2025). "Molly Jong-Fast on Human Frailty and Unlearning Erica Jong's Lessons". Lit Hub. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  38. ↑ Richardson, Davis (June 6, 2019). "Molly Jong-Fast Throws the Perfect Dinner Party for Political Operatives, Pundits, and Upper East Side Princesses". Interview. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  39. ↑ Jong-Fast, Molly (August 26, 2020). "I Won't Drink Today, and I Won't Get the Virus Today". The Atlantic. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  40. ↑ Klion, David (December 3, 2019). "What Happened to Peter Daou?". The New Republic. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
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