Nora Ephron Dies of Leukemia at 71

I just heard Ms. Ephron passed away. I’ve always been such a great admirer of Nora’s. Being that we are gunning to launch our full website here at SevenPonds, I will offer some of my favorite quotes of hers in lieu of an obit:

“I don’t think any day is worth living without thinking about what you’re going to eat next at all times.”

“My mother wanted us to understand that the tragedies of your life one day have the potential to be the comic stories the next.”

“There is something called the rapture of the deep, and it refers to what happens when a deep-sea diver spends too much time at the bottom of the ocean and can’t tell which way is up. When he surfaces, he’s liable to have a condition called the bends, where the body can’t adapt to the oxygen levels in the atmosphere. All of this happens to me when I surface from a great book.”

“I look as young as a person can look given how old I am.”

“As Harry puts it, men and women can never be friends because ‘the sex part always gets in the way.” (When Harry Met Sally)

“Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life – well, valuable, but small – and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven’t been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn’t it be the other way around? I don’t really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void.” (You’ve Got Mail)

“[W]hen you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your love life to start as soon as possible.”

We’ll miss you, Nora.

Related articles

• Playwright and Filmmaker Nora Ephron Dies at 71 (broadwayworld.com)
• Screenwriter Nora Ephron Is ‘Gravely Ill’ (mtv.com)
• Life Lessons From Nora Ephron (huffingtonpost.com)