I Tried to Become My Mother and Ended Up Becoming Myself

Ms. Jong-Fast is a contributing Opinion writer.

Most people inevitably wind up becoming a version of their mother, often despite their best efforts. Even if you think your mother was not a very good mother to you, you realize how hard it is to fully escape your past. Sometimes you long to become like your mother, and you don’t measure up. This is probably easier to navigate if your mother isn’t famous and a famous egotist. Mine is the writer Erica Jong, who happens to be both.

It’s an understatement to say my mother and I are close — or were close. It’s also impossible for me to say whether we are now, because of her........

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