I remember sitting in my car years ago, waiting for my child to finish another Bar Mitzvah lesson. It was always a tedious hour, for him and for me.
Until one day he discovered there actually was meaning tucked deeply behind all those Hebrew words.
And he started to enjoy them.
And I discovered Nora Ephron.
And fell totally in love with her words.
I devoured all her books while waiting in that car.
I Remember Nothing.
I Feel Bad About My Neck.
Crazy Salad.
When Harry Met Sally.
Silkwood.
And Heartburn.
My son got through his Bar Mitzvah which turned out to be an astonishing experience for him. I got through it too, with Nora’s help. She was witty, funny, brilliantly acerbic, and more than anything, very bloody honest.
She died in 2012. Leukemia. Age 71 – young.
Last nightI saw the documentary ‘Everything is Copy’ made by her son, about her life and her death. It’s fantastic and sad and funny and really worth seeing.
Nora Ephron was attractive, but not in a classic way and definitely not in a Hollywood way. But she had such a brightness about her, such an amazing personality, that she oozed sex appeal. There was no plastic surgery for her, definitely no botox and no daily sessions at the gym.
It was all about confidence. Intelligence. And honesty.
My son grew hugely in confidence during his lessons.
And I think I did too.
This documentary reminded me that life is not about beauty. But it is about being real. Self assured. Aware.
And about being brutally honest. When the time is right.
Seek out the documentary. It’s worth seeing. Even in death, Nora can still teach us a lot.
Especially about the importance of moisturiser.
And not giving a fuck about your neck.
I’ll have to watch this. I love When Harry Met Sally and this is a pretty glowing endorsement!
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And read ‘I feel bad about my neck’ which is hilarious. All of them, actually…
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I enjoy watching biographies – always learn something new about the person. You made me chuckle on the neck thing.
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well really I don’t like my neck but I’m trying hard to accept it!
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I have really enjoyed her screenplays, but have never read any of her books. But, I’ll be on the lookout for both the documentary and “I feel bad about my neck” now. Figure that’s the best book to start with since I kinda do. 😬
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I think once you start you won’t be able to put it down.
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Isn’t it strange how books, films etc seem to emerge from the ether just when you need them. Life has thrown some hurdles at me recently and was feeling really in need of a lift. Have ordered ‘I feel bad about my neck…’ and am cheered at the thought of reading it later today so thank you for sharing your experience and insight.
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OH I am so glad, hope you love it!
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I think it’s great that you and your son both found something very worthwhile in what started out almost as a chore. I have also spent many hours sitting in a car waiting for my girls. I read many books and came to enjoy the quiet time it afforded in the day.
I have enjoyed lots of Nora Ephron’s movies too. 🙂
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