Latest news with #FearofFlying
Gulf Weekly
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gulf Weekly
Maternal musings
NON-FICTION book How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter's Memoir by Molly Jong-Fast is set to hit the shelves on June 10. In it, the author dives into the complicated relationship she always had with her mother, Erica Jong, a famous American novelist and poet. She also describes how watching her mother 'slipping away' due to memory loss has been affecting her; Erica, who was diagnosed with dementia, is currently residing in a retirement home. Erica Jong is best known for her 1973 novel Fear of Flying, which resonated with women who felt stuck in unfulfilling marriages and helped start a feminist movement. According to Molly, Erica never got over being famous, elaborating that she was never able to process drifting away from the public consciousness after once being an inescapable name in the media, which made her 'inaccessible'. 'I wish I had asked her why, if she loved me so much, she didn't ever want to spend time with me, but there was no way she would have ever given me a straight answer. And besides, in her view, she did spend time with me — in her head, in her writing, in the world she inhabited,' Molly said in an interview. Following in her mother's footsteps, Molly is also a writer and journalist who holds a Master's degree in Fine Arts and is the author of two novels, Normal Girl (2000) and The Social Climber's Handbook (2011).
5 days ago
- Entertainment
Molly Jong-Fast talks new memoir, 'How to Lose Your Mother'
The writer opens up about her memoir, which chronicles life as the daughter of Erica Jong, the author of the groundbreaking 1973 novel "Fear of Flying."
The Age
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
If I could interview Donald Trump, this is what I'd ask him
This story is part of the June 1 edition of Sunday Life. See all 14 stories. Writer Molly Jong-Fast is best known for being a commentator on US politics. She is also the daughter of Erica Jong, the author of the 1970s feminist tome Fear of Flying. Here, the 46-year-old discusses the important men in her life, including her grandfather, Howard Fast, who wrote Spartacus. My paternal grandfather, Howard Fast, wrote Spartacus as well as 80 other published books. One of my favourite things about him was that he was smart and disciplined. He would wake up at 5am and you'd hear the typewriter going. He was very much a product of the Charles Dickens' paid-by-the-word kind of writing. He went to prison for three months in 1950 for his communist beliefs. In his memoir, he said everything that was bad about him – like cheating on my grandmother, Bette, a sculptor, with whom I was very close – was not in his FBI file. My father Jonathan, a writer and later a social-work professor, and my mother Erica Jong [author of Fear of Flying ], were introduced by my grandfather. They moved from California to Connecticut, where I was born. When I was three, they had a bad divorce. My mother moved out and left me with the nanny. After that, I'd see Dad every other weekend. Then, a year later, I went to live with Mom in New York. I am like my father as we both have red hair. We both get motion sickness and both have big feet. I was a bad teenager and very entitled. Drugs, drinking and blacking out were my focus at high school in the Bronx. I got along with boys OK. I wasn't uncomfortable, but I wasn't super comfortable either. My first celebrity crush was Jay McInerney. I was in that generation that thought he and the literary brat-pack that also included Bret Easton Ellis were the coolest. Mom married four times and had numerous fiancés. She looked for someone to save her, and to get her out of her own head. I kept meeting these men and thinking they were going to be my father and then they were not. I liked some of them better than the ones she ended up with. I am the daughter and granddaughter of alcoholics. But I am so different to my mom because I got sober when I was 19, and so I didn't ever have to be, or didn't want to be, her.
Sydney Morning Herald
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
If I could interview Donald Trump, this is what I'd ask him
This story is part of the June 1 edition of Sunday Life. See all 14 stories. Writer Molly Jong-Fast is best known for being a commentator on US politics. She is also the daughter of Erica Jong, the author of the 1970s feminist tome Fear of Flying. Here, the 46-year-old discusses the important men in her life, including her grandfather, Howard Fast, who wrote Spartacus. My paternal grandfather, Howard Fast, wrote Spartacus as well as 80 other published books. One of my favourite things about him was that he was smart and disciplined. He would wake up at 5am and you'd hear the typewriter going. He was very much a product of the Charles Dickens' paid-by-the-word kind of writing. He went to prison for three months in 1950 for his communist beliefs. In his memoir, he said everything that was bad about him – like cheating on my grandmother, Bette, a sculptor, with whom I was very close – was not in his FBI file. My father Jonathan, a writer and later a social-work professor, and my mother Erica Jong [author of Fear of Flying ], were introduced by my grandfather. They moved from California to Connecticut, where I was born. When I was three, they had a bad divorce. My mother moved out and left me with the nanny. After that, I'd see Dad every other weekend. Then, a year later, I went to live with Mom in New York. I am like my father as we both have red hair. We both get motion sickness and both have big feet. I was a bad teenager and very entitled. Drugs, drinking and blacking out were my focus at high school in the Bronx. I got along with boys OK. I wasn't uncomfortable, but I wasn't super comfortable either. My first celebrity crush was Jay McInerney. I was in that generation that thought he and the literary brat-pack that also included Bret Easton Ellis were the coolest. Mom married four times and had numerous fiancés. She looked for someone to save her, and to get her out of her own head. I kept meeting these men and thinking they were going to be my father and then they were not. I liked some of them better than the ones she ended up with. I am the daughter and granddaughter of alcoholics. But I am so different to my mom because I got sober when I was 19, and so I didn't ever have to be, or didn't want to be, her.
Buzz Feed
27-04-2025
- Buzz Feed
Jennifer Aniston And I Share A Fear Of Flying. Experts Gave Me The Same Two Tips To Get Over It
Speaking to Travel + Leisure earlier this April, Friends star Jennifer Aniston admitted: 'I have an extreme fear of flying.' Up to 40% of us may have a similar phobia (I'm definitely one of them). Jennifer had an interesting approach to dealing with the issue in the past – she says she used to tap the outside of the plane with her right palm before stepping onto it with her right foot. Now, though, she says, 'I have been doing some hypnosis lately, and one of the requirements is to remove all of those superstitions... it's shockingly good.' So, we spoke to psychologist and anxiety treatment expert Dr Hannah Holmes of Holmes Psychology, and travel expert Andy Marsh, founder of Polar Escapes, about how they recommend handling pre-flight nerves. 'Check the facts' Dr Holmes told us that 'With any fear, it's important to evaluate whether it's grounded in reality.' Those afraid of flying might be reassured by reading how safe the mode of travel is, she adds. 'Find the facts and then use that information to challenge unrealistic thoughts that cause you fear.' Marsh agrees, saying: 'Before a flight, avoid seeking out negative information such as news articles and plane crash documentaries. It's a habit I was guilty of, and it only reinforces my fear of flying. ″ Flying is the safest mode of transport according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which found that the risk of fatality for flyers is one in 13.7 million passengers. That tiny risk goes down by 7% yearly, too. Each expert also independently suggested 'exposure therapy' for nervous flyers. 'One of the keys to getting over fears is exposure,' Dr Holmes shares, advising we 'Start small, and work your way up' – even if that means 'Watching movies that involve flying. 'Once that no longer produces anxiety, move on to another challenge, like visiting an airport.' Marsh writes, 'The more you fly, the less anxious you become. Making yourself get on that first flight is the first step to overcoming your fear of flying.' He also recommended a technique Jennifer herself swears by – plain ol' distraction – alongside picking a seat you'll feel comfortable in ahead of the flight. What if that doesn't cut it? If your fears remain, Dr Holmes advises, 'Consider reaching out to a mental health provider who offers exposure therapy for fears and phobias. 'We know from decades of research that it is safe and effective.' The NHS shares that Easyjet, British Airways, and Virgin Atlantic all offer Fear of Flying courses, which they say 'are more effective than drugs and have none of the side effects.'
