I’m not usually sad when a public figure dies, because ultimately, I don’t give a shit. But I was heartbroken when I heard that Nora Ephron passed earlier this week. As an aspiring woman (writer), she’s always been a role model to me.
One time, I went to a private event hosted by Ephron as part of the New Yorker festival. I was with another writer friend, and we were both enraptured by everything she said. Not only was she funny, she was also warm and charismatic. You felt like you could actually become her friend, not just dream about it.
After giving a cooking lesson in which she advised that you don’t serve your guests any food until an hour after they’ve arrived, so that they get so drunk off of cocktails that they can’t taste anything (a tactic I’ve used on more than one occasion since), she came over to speak to each individual guest. Hannah and I gushed over her, and she made us feel like we were her equals. Or at the very least, that she was a benevolent family friend who would make an introduction to someone important looking for an assistant.
RIP Nora Ephron. I can’t believe that you died so suddenly. There’s so much more of you that I would have loved to read.Â
And, I haven’t read this, but Diablo Cody might have written something interesting in homage, in case you’re looking for something to do this morning. It’s 85 degrees and sunny in Savannah, and I’m headed off to some tiny islands to go swimming.
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