Throwback Thursday: I Feel Bad about My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron

Author: Nora Ephron
First published in 2006 by 

The woman who brought us "When Harry Met Sally . . ., Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail, "and" Bewitched, " and the author of best sellers "Heartburn, Scribble Scribble, " and "Crazy Salad, " discusses everything--from how much she hates her purse to how much time she spends attempting to stop the clock: the hair dye, the treadmill, the lotions and creams that promise to slow the aging process but never do. Oh, and she can't stand the way her neck looks. But her dermatologist tells her there's no quick fix for that. 
Ephron chronicles her life as an obsessed cook, passionate city dweller, and hapless parent. She recounts her anything-but-glamorous days as a White House intern during the JFK years ("I am probably the only young woman who ever worked in the Kennedy White House that the President did not make a pass at") and shares how she fell in and out of love with Bill Clinton--from a distance, of course. But mostly she speaks frankly and uproariously about life as a woman of a certain age. 


I'm sorry to say that I didn't finish listening to this audiobook.  I know that Nora Ephron is loved by many people. When she passed away in 2012, the literary world felt the loss greatly.  She gave us wonderful movies and I'm sure other great books, but I just wasn't feeling it with this one. I was looking forward to reading I Feel Bad about My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman.  I was hoping for funny commentary on what is was like to get older; but I felt like all I was getting was either a lecture of complaining.  

This is the first set of essays I have read by Ms. Ephron, but I find I prefer Erma Bombeck's offerings a lot more.  I really didn't find much amusing in the essays that I did listen to.  Not even the essay on "Parenting" was enough to make me want to keep listening.  It wasn't funny. Instead I felt like the parents of today were being chided for taking active interests in their kids activities and lives.  I think I will stick with watching Ms. Ephron's movies.