Reading, other than on an I-phone, it's important but becoming old fashioned; here, I talk books, novels, memoirs, autobiographies, non-fiction books or stories, which I do at ad nauseam

I read Molly Jong-Fast's memoir about her mother because my Kindle said I should, because I had a mom who had Alzheimer's disease (of course it did, to borrow from the author's writing style, which I loved). The author is funny, heartfelt, yearning for answers, and largely conflicted about her upbringing. Her mother is THE ERICA JONG. I was an English major in college in the 1980s, I may be almost 20 years older than Molly. I have always liked her on MSNBC, now MSNOW. Did I ever read "Fear of Flying"? [I am now] I have my own fear of flying. I absolutely know of her mother, but never the details Molly puts into her book.

This was a really interesting read for me. I felt so sorry for Molly, but despite everything she was saying I recognized a strong human being in her. My mom had Alzheimers and she and my dad denied it also. A couple of months before my mom died, my sister thankfully stepped in to help me when she finallly believed that our father didn't have it under control, that he hadn't understood that my Mom actually had Alzheimers and we better do something about it. Despite my telling my sister that our dad just wasn't getting it, she truly believed he knew and was protecting "us", his kids. Of course he was not. Then, our mother was placed in a hospital during Covid-19 in 2020 because of a possible urinary tract infection and because she was becoming obviously psychotic, there was a switch in objective -- to assist her with her pyschosis. I was worried about a crowded hospital setting before vaccines (I think we were still washing our grocery bags before emptying them at that point) and diving off walking paths when someone came along). Our mother would not wear a mask. Our father was not understanding that "dementia" is a terminal disease. Sadly, my mother did die alone in a hospital during Covid 19 shortly thereafter.

So, of course, while reading Molly's book, I could connect. I thought Molly was too hard on herself. She took care of her Mom and step-dad, they listened to her, she was strong, she got them care, she cared, she was not a bad daughter, she took care of things. People listened to her. I had failed; despite having good grades and being reliable, I had failed. No one listened to a word I had to say, except maybe the doctors on the Zoom calls.

Molly's writing is wonderful to read. In her other endeavors, she's instructive while listening to her about politics on Morning Joe, and on other segments of MSNOW. In her memoir, she shares her thoughts about the book industry and where we are now. She recognizes that celebrity, and maybe authorship, is fleeting. I am really appreciative of her book and that my Kindle had suggested I read it. The book is called, How to Lose Your Mother.

I lost my mother, too, and it also felt weird, like Molly felt afterward. She seemed to be more forgiving toward her mom and step-dad for denying the disease than I ever was--a kinder human being I think than me. I was moved by her husband's cancer dilemma [is that a strong enough word?!] and that situation also kept me reading--to see how he'd do.

How to Lose Your Mother is a wonderful emotional read. I highly recommend it.