Michelle Law and Jenny Phang
Plenty of writer Michelle Law's work features frank and hilarious accounts of her life, which makes you wonder: How does her mother, Jenny Phang, feel about appearing in print? Before The Weekly can pose the question, the conversation veers to a bawdy account of Michelle's birth. The physician, Jenny announces proudly, was named Dr. Dick.
“Dr. Dick delivered Michelle at 3 am, so the hospital staff had to wake him up. Maybe he might be in the middle of sex?” She laughs, providing an answer.
“Mum's just a really funny person,” Michelle says. “I don't think I realized until I got older that our mum's particularly quirky and open-minded. She'll joke about everything in a light-hearted manner. Because she's been through so much in her life, I think laughter has always been a great way for her to handle things and see light in the darkness."
She adds that she, of course, shows Jenny everything she writes about her before sending it to her editor, but Jenny never censors her. “She's always been quite open and lovely about that stuff. I think she would be an awesome talk-show host. She just has a real knack for conversation and learning about people quickly and making friends easily.”
Michelle grew up on the Gold Coast, the youngest of five children. Jenny had migrated to Queensland from Hong Kong in the 1970s. She was 36 when she had Michelle and likes to remind her daughter that, according to the Chinese zodiac, they are both horses - strong, creative and iron-willed.
“We have that in common for sure,” says Michelle.
"Mother horse gave birth to a baby horse,” Jenny says affectionately.
この記事は The Australian Women's Weekly の May 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Australian Women's Weekly の May 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes - could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
Take me to the river
With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.
The last act
When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.
Growing happiness
Through drought flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jennr's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy
"Thank God we make each other laugh"
A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.
Budget dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
