Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
As a child whose parent is in the throes of dementia, there was so much to which I could resonate in this book, even though my dad isn't famous or a narcissist. I appreciated the authenticity of the story-teller, her willingness to reflect on those parts of her life that were not wholly positive.
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Molly Jong-Fast’s latest book, How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter’s Memoir, is further evidence of the one conspiracy theory I still believe to be true. That is the group of excellent writers who, in addition to creating magic on the page, read their works, thus producing an entrancing audiobook version.
Like most folks, I know Molly only from her work as a journalist, and as a commentator on MSNBC. This is the first book of hers I’ve read.
It’s hard to explain, thinking of a book that deals with the dementia diagnosis of her mother and stepfather, the cancer diagnosis of her husband, and the eventual passing of her parents, and the past that informed those experiences as laser-focused. However, the far from faint distractions of the other aspects of her life that continued during this time - her children, multiple jobs, including writing and television, and the logistics of life’s daily gauntlet- provide the perspective and proof of her dead-on aim.
One strange aspect of listening to her read her book was that her voice kept reminding me of someone. Just before I finished the book, I realized she sounds like Bernice Fish, Abe Vigoda’s wife on the short-lived Barney Miller spinoff Fish. (Played by actress Florence Stanley.) Although Molly’s generation may remember Florence Stanley as Judge Wilbur from the TV show My Two Dads. At times, Molly’s voice finds the cadence of a small-town evangelical preacher, if that small town were Queens or Yonkers, and the emotion she expresses rises to near poetry.
Like most folks, I know Molly only from her work as a journalist, and as a commentator on MSNBC. This is the first book of hers I’ve read.
It’s hard to explain, thinking of a book that deals with the dementia diagnosis of her mother and stepfather, the cancer diagnosis of her husband, and the eventual passing of her parents, and the past that informed those experiences as laser-focused. However, the far from faint distractions of the other aspects of her life that continued during this time - her children, multiple jobs, including writing and television, and the logistics of life’s daily gauntlet- provide the perspective and proof of her dead-on aim.
One strange aspect of listening to her read her book was that her voice kept reminding me of someone. Just before I finished the book, I realized she sounds like Bernice Fish, Abe Vigoda’s wife on the short-lived Barney Miller spinoff Fish. (Played by actress Florence Stanley.) Although Molly’s generation may remember Florence Stanley as Judge Wilbur from the TV show My Two Dads. At times, Molly’s voice finds the cadence of a small-town evangelical preacher, if that small town were Queens or Yonkers, and the emotion she expresses rises to near poetry.
dark
emotional
fast-paced
A great start quickly derailed into a repetitive and long-winded complaint that would serve a diary better than a memoir.
People’s truths are their truths. Growing up with a distant mother is tough, especially in the haze of celebrity shadows and personal business being fodder for books. But at some point, repeatedly referencing the flaws and fecal matters of one’s loved ones makes the whole affair feel more like an immature TMZish jab at flawed people than a story worth publishing.
People’s truths are their truths. Growing up with a distant mother is tough, especially in the haze of celebrity shadows and personal business being fodder for books. But at some point, repeatedly referencing the flaws and fecal matters of one’s loved ones makes the whole affair feel more like an immature TMZish jab at flawed people than a story worth publishing.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Sometimes this was emotional and relatable as many of us experience difficult mother/daughter/family relationships. Other times this was overly repetitive and a bit "why me". Still an interesting read.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced