In Memoriam: Nora Ephron, 1941-2012

Only Nora Ephron could come up with a line like, “Sometimes I think that not having to worry about your hair anymore is the secret upside of death.” Over the course of four decades, Nora’s intimate, dry, big-hearted humor kept us laughing, both in her movies (“When Harry Met Sally,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “Julie and Julia”) and in her books (Crazy Salad, Scribble Scribble, Heartburn, I Feel Bad About My Neck, I Remember Nothing). She was our idea of perfection, neck and all, and it’s fair to say that no one in our industry engendered more affection.

Nora was a great friend to all of us. She was kind and generous and a stalwart supporter of other writers, often working behind the scenes to bring them the recognition they deserved. She loved her work, and brought joy to readers around the world. She said (more than once) that “reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something, learned something, become a better person.” Of her many essays, there’s one that seems particularly appropriate to mark her passing. It’s simply titled, What I Will Miss:

My kids
Nick
Spring
Fall
Waffles
The concept of waffles
Bacon
A walk in the park
The idea of a walk in the park
The park
Shakespeare in the Park
The bed
Reading in bed
Fireworks
Laughs
The view out the window
Twinkle lights
Butter
Dinner at home just the two of us
Dinner with friends
Dinner with friends in cities where none of us lives
Paris
Next year in Istanbul
Pride and Prejudice
The Christmas tree
Thanksgiving dinner
One for the table
The dogwood
Taking a bath
Coming over the bridge to Manhattan
Pie

. . . . .

NORA EPHRON
May 19, 1941 – June 26, 2012

Listen to Nora read from her RH Audiobook, I Feel Bad About My Neck