Why Molly Jong-Fast wrote about the sex life of her famous mother, Erica Jong
Jong-Fast has written about growing up as the daughter of the famed novelist
An American author has spoken about why she felt compelled to write about the sex life of her parents, one of whom is famed novelist Erica Jong.
"I wouldn't have written about it if it didn't feel so particularly hilarious, and strange and 1970s-ish," said Molly Jong-Fast, a writer herself, who has published two novels and a memoir.
It also helped, she told The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti, that her mother was "terrible at keeping secrets."
She remembers her mother once revealing she and her father had "a ménage à trois."
She said her mother refused to tell her who the third partner was, saying "I can never tell, I will never betray the trust of…" — and then promptly told her.
This woman is so unattractive ... why are you having sex with this terrible-looking person?- Molly Jong-Fast
Jong-Fast wasn't surprised at the threesome, but she was surprised by who was involved — a woman who she said looked like rapper MC Hammer.
"I was like, this woman is so unattractive ... why are you having sex with this terrible-looking person?," she told Tremonti, adding that she made fun of her parents for it.
Jong-Fast's mother wrote the 1973 multi-million copy bestseller Fear of Flying, a book that became a touchstone of the sexual liberation movement. It also made Jong a very public symbol of that time, whose own life and loves became fodder for the gossip pages.
A lonely childhood
As the only child to "a super successful, same-sex parent who really belonged to the world," Jong-Fast's childhood was lonely.
It was a confusing way to grow up.- Molly Jong-Fast
Her parents divorced when she was young, and growing up, Jong-Fast remembers women flocking to her mother when they would go out. Jong-Fast said the women seemed to know things about her life, and would ask her if she knew what her mother's book had done for them.
"It was a confusing way to grow up," she said.
Now, with three kids of her own, Jong-Fast said she tries not to bring her own childhood into how she raises them.
"I look at them a lot and I think about my childhood, and I think about what it's like to grow up, how different it is," said Jong-Fast. "It's good that I'm able to … sort of stop some of these patterns."
Click 'listen' near the top of this page to hear the full conversation.
Produced by Howard Goldenthal.