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Nora Ephron: A Biography
Nora Ephron was one of the most popular, accomplished, and beloved writers in American journalism and film.
Nora A Biography is the first comprehensive portrait of the Manhattan-born girl who forged a path of her own, earning accolades and adoration from critics and fans alike. Author Kristin Marguerite Doidge explores the tremendous successes and disappointing failures Ephron sustained in her career as a popular essayist turned screenwriter turned film director. She redefined the modern rom-com genre with bestselling books such as Heartburn and hit movies including When Harry Met Sally , Sleepless in Seattle , and Julie & Julia . Doidge also examines the private life Ephron tried to keep in balance with her insatiable ambition.
Based on rare archival research and numerous interviews with some of Ephron's closest friends, collaborators, and award-winning colleagues including actors Tom Hanks and Caroline Aaron, comedian Martin Short, composer George Fenton, and lifelong friends from Wellesley to New York to Hollywood—as well as interviews Ephron herself gave throughout her career—award-winning journalist and cultural critic Doidge has written a captivating story of the life of a creative writer whose passion for the perfect one-liner and ferocious drive to succeed revolutionized journalism, comedy, and film.
The first in-depth biography to explore the complex themes that ran through Ephron's work and to examine why so many of them still grab our attention today.
Nora A Biography is the first comprehensive portrait of the Manhattan-born girl who forged a path of her own, earning accolades and adoration from critics and fans alike. Author Kristin Marguerite Doidge explores the tremendous successes and disappointing failures Ephron sustained in her career as a popular essayist turned screenwriter turned film director. She redefined the modern rom-com genre with bestselling books such as Heartburn and hit movies including When Harry Met Sally , Sleepless in Seattle , and Julie & Julia . Doidge also examines the private life Ephron tried to keep in balance with her insatiable ambition.
Based on rare archival research and numerous interviews with some of Ephron's closest friends, collaborators, and award-winning colleagues including actors Tom Hanks and Caroline Aaron, comedian Martin Short, composer George Fenton, and lifelong friends from Wellesley to New York to Hollywood—as well as interviews Ephron herself gave throughout her career—award-winning journalist and cultural critic Doidge has written a captivating story of the life of a creative writer whose passion for the perfect one-liner and ferocious drive to succeed revolutionized journalism, comedy, and film.
The first in-depth biography to explore the complex themes that ran through Ephron's work and to examine why so many of them still grab our attention today.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published June 7, 2022
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September 17, 2025
Kristin Doidge, an award winning journalist delves into the 5-decade career of Nora Ephron, one of the most beloved essayist-turned director and screen writer in entertainment. Conducting personal interviews with the likes of Tom Hanks, Martin Short, composer George Fenton and her lifelong friends from New York, to Hollywood and Wellesley College, she takes the reader on a journey unlike most. I confess I rarely read biographies, but Nora captured my heart when watching the film "Heartburn" which had been adapted from her novel. From there I hunted for "I Remember Nothing" and "I Feel Bad About My Neck" and found that her essays equally humorous and engaging.
Unless you've been living in a cave, or feign viewing movies, films such as "When Harry met Sally", "Sleepless in Seattle", "You've Got Mail" and "Julie & Julia" touched the hearts of millions globally, as have her 'woman oriented' essays. And while a man, I appreciate anyone who breaks the mold with creativity, humor and uniqueness and Nora was one-of-a-kind.
Born in NYC in 1941 to Henry and Phoebe Ephron, Nora 'learned to write in the womb' and was fierce, strong and fearless except when it came to showing vulnerability. Perhaps her biggest secret was a fear of losing control or crying. If she told a story it could be funny; if she controlled the narrative, she could be a hero. Nora's parents began as successful playwrights. Receiving accolades for their characters and plots, movie studios approached them to write screenplays during the Golden Years of Hollywood. Visual storytelling is a craft that many aspire towards though few succeed and the Ephron duo was formidable. Growing up in Beverly Hills, Nora's childhood would be considered normal if your parents were movie stars, producers, screen writers or directors; summer camp experiences identical.
Ms. Doidge does a marvelous job providing unknown details of her family, relationships, script ideas, location shoots and quirks of which many were personalized in her characters. Being blessed with a mentor like Mike Nichols, whose writing and direction awards include "Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, The Graduate, Silkwood, The Birdcage, Carnal Knowledge" to name a few, her abilities grew as did her popularity. Similar to her mother, Nora loved everything food; her humor like a side dish, her joy limitless and her knack for writing and direction incomparable.
As with most creative artists, her career and marriages were a roller coaster. A magazine and news print journalist in her early years, she fell for Carl Bernstein, the Washington Post journalist who partnered with Bob Woodward to uncover Watergate. Nora was a die-hard New Yorker so having to commute back and forth to D.C. took its toll as did her womanizing husband. Years after giving birth to their fist child Max, she learned of Carl's cheating ways after having their second child and moved in with her father in NY. The story formed the basis for "Heartburn" which was adapted to screen in a film that starred Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson, and directed by Mike Nichols. When "Julie & Julia" was about to be released, a private screening for the Obamas was held at the White House. Not the sort of thing you hear about with other film directors.
Needless to say, sharing the nuances, details and events of Nora's life in a review is nonsensical. Highlights and low points alike, this is a well crafted 'insider' view of one of the most treasured beings in life. Nora's ground breaking approach to romantic storytelling formed the foundation for today's rom-com. But there's no getting around that lines of dialog such as "I'll have what she's having" are rare. She passed away in 2012 from MDS, a rare blood disease that effects bone marrow cells and kept it secret for years. Her friends and colleagues threw "A Gathering for Nora" at her funeral where hundreds attended the tribute to a remarkable woman.
If you enjoyed her films, you'll love the bio. Highly recommended for all.
Unless you've been living in a cave, or feign viewing movies, films such as "When Harry met Sally", "Sleepless in Seattle", "You've Got Mail" and "Julie & Julia" touched the hearts of millions globally, as have her 'woman oriented' essays. And while a man, I appreciate anyone who breaks the mold with creativity, humor and uniqueness and Nora was one-of-a-kind.
Born in NYC in 1941 to Henry and Phoebe Ephron, Nora 'learned to write in the womb' and was fierce, strong and fearless except when it came to showing vulnerability. Perhaps her biggest secret was a fear of losing control or crying. If she told a story it could be funny; if she controlled the narrative, she could be a hero. Nora's parents began as successful playwrights. Receiving accolades for their characters and plots, movie studios approached them to write screenplays during the Golden Years of Hollywood. Visual storytelling is a craft that many aspire towards though few succeed and the Ephron duo was formidable. Growing up in Beverly Hills, Nora's childhood would be considered normal if your parents were movie stars, producers, screen writers or directors; summer camp experiences identical.
Ms. Doidge does a marvelous job providing unknown details of her family, relationships, script ideas, location shoots and quirks of which many were personalized in her characters. Being blessed with a mentor like Mike Nichols, whose writing and direction awards include "Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, The Graduate, Silkwood, The Birdcage, Carnal Knowledge" to name a few, her abilities grew as did her popularity. Similar to her mother, Nora loved everything food; her humor like a side dish, her joy limitless and her knack for writing and direction incomparable.
As with most creative artists, her career and marriages were a roller coaster. A magazine and news print journalist in her early years, she fell for Carl Bernstein, the Washington Post journalist who partnered with Bob Woodward to uncover Watergate. Nora was a die-hard New Yorker so having to commute back and forth to D.C. took its toll as did her womanizing husband. Years after giving birth to their fist child Max, she learned of Carl's cheating ways after having their second child and moved in with her father in NY. The story formed the basis for "Heartburn" which was adapted to screen in a film that starred Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson, and directed by Mike Nichols. When "Julie & Julia" was about to be released, a private screening for the Obamas was held at the White House. Not the sort of thing you hear about with other film directors.
Needless to say, sharing the nuances, details and events of Nora's life in a review is nonsensical. Highlights and low points alike, this is a well crafted 'insider' view of one of the most treasured beings in life. Nora's ground breaking approach to romantic storytelling formed the foundation for today's rom-com. But there's no getting around that lines of dialog such as "I'll have what she's having" are rare. She passed away in 2012 from MDS, a rare blood disease that effects bone marrow cells and kept it secret for years. Her friends and colleagues threw "A Gathering for Nora" at her funeral where hundreds attended the tribute to a remarkable woman.
If you enjoyed her films, you'll love the bio. Highly recommended for all.
December 31, 2022
Prior to this biography I was only vaguely aware of who Nora Ephron was. I had somehow missed the Dick Cavett and Barbara Walters interviews and had completely ignored HBO’s Everything is Copy - Nora Ephron: Scripted & Unscripted, I had, however, watched many of her films.
Nora Ephron was not just one thing. She was a Wellesley wunderkind who briefly interned in the administration of JFK. She was a “mail girl” turned litigant at Newsweek at a time when the magazine refused to hire women as writers. She was both a reporter for The New York Post and a columnist for Esquire. She was even, incidentally for a four year stretch, the wife of famed Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein.
In 1983 Ephron co-wrote the screenplay for Silkwood, a true story about a whistleblower in a Oklahoma nuclear facility who died under mysterious circumstances. That screenplay garnered Ephron an Oscar nomination which, in turn, helped launch a very successful career in films.
I can’t say I was a fan of every movie Ephron helped create but her résumé as a writer, producer and director is impressive. It includes: Silkwood, Heartburn, When Harry Met Sally, My Blue Heaven, Michael, Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and Julie & Julia - just to name a few.
Kristin Doidge paints a portrait of Ephron that is nuanced without being leading or judgmental (not everyone in Nora’s circle of influence was a fan—some for good reason!). I found this to be a fascinating study in human perseverance and achievement. Nora Ephron was a filmmaker whom studios sought, actors admired, audiences loved and craft services feared. She was an extraordinary raconteur and a (perhaps reluctant) feminist icon. This is a heartwarming life history I won’t soon forget.
Nora Ephron was not just one thing. She was a Wellesley wunderkind who briefly interned in the administration of JFK. She was a “mail girl” turned litigant at Newsweek at a time when the magazine refused to hire women as writers. She was both a reporter for The New York Post and a columnist for Esquire. She was even, incidentally for a four year stretch, the wife of famed Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein.
In 1983 Ephron co-wrote the screenplay for Silkwood, a true story about a whistleblower in a Oklahoma nuclear facility who died under mysterious circumstances. That screenplay garnered Ephron an Oscar nomination which, in turn, helped launch a very successful career in films.
I can’t say I was a fan of every movie Ephron helped create but her résumé as a writer, producer and director is impressive. It includes: Silkwood, Heartburn, When Harry Met Sally, My Blue Heaven, Michael, Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and Julie & Julia - just to name a few.
Kristin Doidge paints a portrait of Ephron that is nuanced without being leading or judgmental (not everyone in Nora’s circle of influence was a fan—some for good reason!). I found this to be a fascinating study in human perseverance and achievement. Nora Ephron was a filmmaker whom studios sought, actors admired, audiences loved and craft services feared. She was an extraordinary raconteur and a (perhaps reluctant) feminist icon. This is a heartwarming life history I won’t soon forget.
June 27, 2022
As a 40-something woman, Nora Ephron lives in my periphery as someone I wanted to know more about. I read her I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman in my 30s and loved her witty observations and the friendly heads-up. As a young person, I loved some of her movies, especially When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail. After reading Kristin Marguerite Doidge's Nora Ephron: A Biography, I feel that now know more about her, but was missing an emotional connection that comes from reading a window-to-the-soul type of biography. Maybe this connection can only be evoked by a memoir, my usual nonfiction choice for life stories, but I came away feeling I still had only surface view.
Doidge does a great job of retelling the story of Nora, her family life, and the transformation from journalist to writer to director. She recounts each of her career moves and movies with observations from those in her inner circle, and previously published quotes from Nora herself. I learned about her parents, both alcoholics who worked as playwrights and screen writers in Hollywood. In particular her complicated relationship with her mother, Phoebe Ephron, who was a legend in her own right. I learned about her three husbands, and the family dynamics between Nora and her sister, Delia. And I learned about her role as a feminist and friend, her warm side and also the prickly, honest side of her that sometimes got her into conflicts with others.
However the chapters were mostly a chronology of each of her movies and the circle of people involved in making them. There were a lot of names of people who, maybe meant more to those in Nora's generation, but to me it got tedious after awhile. The thought, who cares, kept creeping up.
I don't want to discredit the work Doidge obviously put into this book. It was thorough and well-written. I just felt that, either due to age or the disconnection to the biography genre, this was one I wasn't sorry to finish. I would recommend it to fans of Nora's work, maybe in their sixties or seventies, who are familiar with the names, films and social complexities of the time.
Thank you to Goodreads and Chicago Review Press for the free copy of this book.
Doidge does a great job of retelling the story of Nora, her family life, and the transformation from journalist to writer to director. She recounts each of her career moves and movies with observations from those in her inner circle, and previously published quotes from Nora herself. I learned about her parents, both alcoholics who worked as playwrights and screen writers in Hollywood. In particular her complicated relationship with her mother, Phoebe Ephron, who was a legend in her own right. I learned about her three husbands, and the family dynamics between Nora and her sister, Delia. And I learned about her role as a feminist and friend, her warm side and also the prickly, honest side of her that sometimes got her into conflicts with others.
However the chapters were mostly a chronology of each of her movies and the circle of people involved in making them. There were a lot of names of people who, maybe meant more to those in Nora's generation, but to me it got tedious after awhile. The thought, who cares, kept creeping up.
I don't want to discredit the work Doidge obviously put into this book. It was thorough and well-written. I just felt that, either due to age or the disconnection to the biography genre, this was one I wasn't sorry to finish. I would recommend it to fans of Nora's work, maybe in their sixties or seventies, who are familiar with the names, films and social complexities of the time.
Thank you to Goodreads and Chicago Review Press for the free copy of this book.
August 30, 2022
Very disappointing. The book isn't well written. Rather difficult to follow at times. Found several small errors. Too many cliches. After reading Delia's, Sister, Mother, Husband, Dog, it was a huge disappointment. You might want to read She Made Me Laugh by Richard Cohen as well.
June 20, 2022
I feel like I just read a slightly fleshed out Wikipedia page. Doidge's main source seems to have been the (excellent) documentary by Ephron's son - "Everything is Copy." Watch that instead. You'll have a better experience and the same information. Not to mention the writing is incredibly clumsy...
One of the major thrills of biographies (for me at least) are those five or six glossy pages in the middle filled with photos you could never find on Google. Alas, no such luck here. I did learn a handful of interesting anecdotes and I of course enjoyed being immersed in the (spark notes version) life of one of my favorite writers, but this book was a disappointment.
One of the major thrills of biographies (for me at least) are those five or six glossy pages in the middle filled with photos you could never find on Google. Alas, no such luck here. I did learn a handful of interesting anecdotes and I of course enjoyed being immersed in the (spark notes version) life of one of my favorite writers, but this book was a disappointment.
August 23, 2022
I have always enjoyed reading Nora Ephron and really cried when she passed away all too soon - my family are habitually users of sarcastic & pointed humor so she seemed like a friend I would have liked to have. This biography was interesting, not only about her life and background but the influences on her writing, moving from articles to books to screenplays and on to directing films. I foresee a Nora Ephron orgy in my future, rereading her books and watching her films.
August 17, 2022
Nora ephron a biography was a good book. The book examines the life and career of Nora ephron. It tells the story of her upbringing and her marriages and her career.
June 23, 2022
As someone with a journalism degree who has been writing and reporting in one form or another since I was about 11 years old, who started her career as a newspaper and magazine reporter, and has moved into the world of television -- of course Nora Ephron has been a big inspiration, always. But this was such an illuminating and captivating look at her life with insights from some of her closest loved ones, who shared such charming, laughable, and honest anecdotes with the legend, I felt like I was somehow in their circle. And holy cow, so much I didn't even know! I thought I had a good grasp of her work, but I was so wrong. To realize the scope of this woman's career, the impact she made during and after her life, and the legacy she left -- it really is awe-striking.
Additionally, the narrator for the Audible version was wonderful! She never droned on -- she was lively and easy to listen to, which isn't always easy to achieve when narrating biographies! Well done.
Additionally, the narrator for the Audible version was wonderful! She never droned on -- she was lively and easy to listen to, which isn't always easy to achieve when narrating biographies! Well done.
August 4, 2022
I loved Nora Ephron.
She deserved better than this disjointed, not particularly well written book.
Nora had charm, smarts, warmth, wit, and grit. There is too little of that to be found here.
For a livelier, more coherent, and more insightful take, just watch “Everything is Copy”, the documentary by her son, Jacob Bernstein.
She deserved better than this disjointed, not particularly well written book.
Nora had charm, smarts, warmth, wit, and grit. There is too little of that to be found here.
For a livelier, more coherent, and more insightful take, just watch “Everything is Copy”, the documentary by her son, Jacob Bernstein.
April 23, 2023
This book gives a lot of info on someone I have long admired, with details I didn't know. It also doesn't gloss over some parts of her that are less than stellar. I admired her going into this book and maybe even more so after reading it.
June 28, 2022
Always great to be in the presence of Nora and her wisdom. For Nora fans, not a lot is new in this book but there is a lot to love in reliving and reminiscing.
November 11, 2024
Growing up, Nora Ephron played a huge part in my life without me (or her probably lol) knowing. Some of her - and her sister's - movies are to this day some of my favourites and what shaped a lot of who I am as a woman and a person. I would watch a movie, fall in love and find out that of course, Nora or Delia were involved in this. And later on when I found out she's also a journalist and a writer, something I have always been in love with and led me to studying journalism, I felt like somehow this is someone who I need to know and absorb more from.
This book did a very good job of widening the horizon on who Nora was beyond fan favourites such as you've got mail and sleepless in Seattle. It dove - not too deeply - into Nora's life beyond the scenes and showed us how Nora beyond the scenes was very much most of her on-screen and on paper characters dearly loved. And while I LOVED hearing about Nora and her life and the behind the scenes of most of her projects, I arrived at a conclusion that perhaps me and Nora wouldn't have agreed on a lot of things in a conversation and that was a funny finding.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed hearing more about her as a person, a writer and a filmmaker. And maybe the next time I feel down and turn to you've got mail for comfort, I will remember Nora and her sisters with fondness and appreciation much like I did as a young girl.
This book did a very good job of widening the horizon on who Nora was beyond fan favourites such as you've got mail and sleepless in Seattle. It dove - not too deeply - into Nora's life beyond the scenes and showed us how Nora beyond the scenes was very much most of her on-screen and on paper characters dearly loved. And while I LOVED hearing about Nora and her life and the behind the scenes of most of her projects, I arrived at a conclusion that perhaps me and Nora wouldn't have agreed on a lot of things in a conversation and that was a funny finding.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed hearing more about her as a person, a writer and a filmmaker. And maybe the next time I feel down and turn to you've got mail for comfort, I will remember Nora and her sisters with fondness and appreciation much like I did as a young girl.
November 4, 2022
J’ADORE nora ephron !!!!
Read
January 22, 2023Beautiful woman, beautiful life.
April 10, 2024
I’m a Nora Ephron fan. Now I want to go back and reread her essays. Love her romantic comedies.
July 19, 2022
Her movies remain some of my favorites (Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally), and there are a few uncovered gems that I have yet to discover (Michael, Silkwood, Heartburn).
September 8, 2022
This was an expansion of the author's dissertation, and it shows. It lacks original material and is padded out with quotes from Nora's work, and interviews with and about her.
Wish I'd skipped this and spent the time re-reading Nora's books.
Wish I'd skipped this and spent the time re-reading Nora's books.
August 12, 2022
Anything about Nora Ephron is Five Stars!
January 26, 2022
IN the past few years we have lost relatively young and excessively talented celebrities., the loss of Nora Ephron and Carrie Fisher were two of the greatest losses. These two women had unique voices that challenged the patrimony that was, and still is, Hollywood.
If you are a true Nora Ephron fan (that means you own The Most of Nora Ephron in hardcover), much of the biographical information in this book is not new or surprising. The eldest child of a theatrical writing team, Phoebe and Henry Ephron. It is from alcoholic , Phoebe that Nora got the central theme of her life: Everything is copy: Heartburn (divorce from Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein);When Harry Met Sally with all of Nora's neuroses on displays, Sleepless in Seattle; and her love affair with food, Julie and Julia. Her portfolio is much, much larger than these movies, but these are the movies she will be most remembered for.
The one thing that I found is that I immediately started searching for other titles that are mentioned in the book to rewatch and try to figure out Nora-sized hits. There is a great deal of behind the scenes description of life on a Nora Ephron movie set. In short, the director is exacting but encouraged actors to have a voice; the craft table was beyond reproach, and Nora did what she wanted exactly as she wanted it. She was a perfectionist which usually worked for her.
This part of the book is fine. This is the Nora you didn't always see on the talk shows. She had a bad case of oldest child bossiness, but those that loved her loved her despite her shortcomings.
The last part of the book, IMO, fell apart. You really need a graphic presentation of the people she mentored and how her mentoring was reflected in their work. It is confusing and I suspect Nora, herself, would have taken a red pencil to that entire sequence.
Despite this unnecessary detour, Nora Ephron: A Biography, is not a really original look at the life and work of this, pioneering larger than life , birdlike woman.
However, you will find yourself saying,out loud, "Oh, I didn't know she wrote/directed that." You will have to pay rental fees because many of the lesser known are older (nineties and 2000s, her most productive time).
i had hoped for something new and definitive. This book is fine, but I didn't learn much that was new.
If you are a true Nora Ephron fan (that means you own The Most of Nora Ephron in hardcover), much of the biographical information in this book is not new or surprising. The eldest child of a theatrical writing team, Phoebe and Henry Ephron. It is from alcoholic , Phoebe that Nora got the central theme of her life: Everything is copy: Heartburn (divorce from Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein);When Harry Met Sally with all of Nora's neuroses on displays, Sleepless in Seattle; and her love affair with food, Julie and Julia. Her portfolio is much, much larger than these movies, but these are the movies she will be most remembered for.
The one thing that I found is that I immediately started searching for other titles that are mentioned in the book to rewatch and try to figure out Nora-sized hits. There is a great deal of behind the scenes description of life on a Nora Ephron movie set. In short, the director is exacting but encouraged actors to have a voice; the craft table was beyond reproach, and Nora did what she wanted exactly as she wanted it. She was a perfectionist which usually worked for her.
This part of the book is fine. This is the Nora you didn't always see on the talk shows. She had a bad case of oldest child bossiness, but those that loved her loved her despite her shortcomings.
The last part of the book, IMO, fell apart. You really need a graphic presentation of the people she mentored and how her mentoring was reflected in their work. It is confusing and I suspect Nora, herself, would have taken a red pencil to that entire sequence.
Despite this unnecessary detour, Nora Ephron: A Biography, is not a really original look at the life and work of this, pioneering larger than life , birdlike woman.
However, you will find yourself saying,out loud, "Oh, I didn't know she wrote/directed that." You will have to pay rental fees because many of the lesser known are older (nineties and 2000s, her most productive time).
i had hoped for something new and definitive. This book is fine, but I didn't learn much that was new.
June 29, 2022
An insightful, if not a little short, insight into the incredible life of Nora Ephron and her work. BRB, putting in my pre-order for the new edition of 'The Most of Nora Ephron'.
August 17, 2022
Disappointing biography. Most of the information gathered in this book was taken from previous articles and interviews either written by or given by Nora Ephron. There was some new information gathered from interviews but it was clear after a few chapters that Nora’s family (husband, sisters, children) did not participate or provide any new details about Nora’s life.
June 16, 2022
I absolutely love Nora Ephron and consider her to be one of my favorite writers. This is a delightful biography that weaves through Ephron's life and gives us insight into the woman behind some of the best romantic comedies in Hollywood history, the brilliant essayist, and one of the most significant writers of the past several decades.
For anyone who watches When Harry Met Sally..., Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail again and again a hundred times (like myself), you will enjoy this story of the life of Nora Ephron.
For anyone who watches When Harry Met Sally..., Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail again and again a hundred times (like myself), you will enjoy this story of the life of Nora Ephron.
September 7, 2022
This was not a satisfying biography. Too often it read like an article in a gossipy Hollywood magazine and even the gossip wasn’t particularly juicy; for example, we never really learn why Ephron divorced her first husband. There is little psychological and artistic insight into Nora – beyond discussing her parents and upbringing it’s hard to understand what formed her as a person or an artist, or what kind of mother she was or even what her weaknesses were. The writer seems to be utterly awed by her subject and see her from remove, from up there on a pedestal. But I still enjoyed learning about various films Nora did and their legacy. (I only wish there was similar attention to Nora’s writing too – research was imbalanced, tilted towards film and stage.)
October 17, 2022
If you know A LOT about Nora Ephron, this book is not a good use of your time. I gave it a 3 because if you don't know much about her, it would spark your interest. I wasn't surprised in the notes at the back to learn that book came from a dissertation, because that's what it feels like. A lot of citation to existing publications etc. She was a private person so I was expecting any earthshaking new revelations, but it was kind of meh.
When I finished it, I went back and read her wiki bio, her obits and various friends tributes after she died and they basically did a more personal job of walking through her life. I'm also interested in reading her long form pieces from the 60s and 70s.
When I finished it, I went back and read her wiki bio, her obits and various friends tributes after she died and they basically did a more personal job of walking through her life. I'm also interested in reading her long form pieces from the 60s and 70s.
January 19, 2024
I did enjoy reading about the making of When Harry Met Sally…and how much of Nora Ephron’s life and personality became a part of that movie. But this was a mess of a biography. The author has taken tidbits from interviews and articles by and about Ephron, then just cobbled them together in chronological order. It was not well written. Very jumpy and disjointed and tried too hard to explain away any negative criticism of her subject. She also threw in a lot of extra information, that should have been in footnotes so I could have skipped over it.
January 16, 2023
A bland, emotionless recount about a hero who wrote about flawed heroes — all while glossing over any negative traits our hero may have had. I spotted a disappointing amount of grammar mistakes (not even solely in the quotes) and an inconsistent, patchy voice that seems only concerned with name-dropping on Nora Ephron’s behalf. It reads like a doting fan who was too excited by the subject matter to have the gumption to flesh the hard parts out. Ultimately, it is hard for me to believe this was written by a fellow journalist.
September 19, 2022
This book featured one of the most ridiculous sentences in any book I’ve ever read:
“The experience of making Sally [the leading character in ‘When Harry Met Sally’, NM] provided a renewed joie-de-vivre vis-à-vis a new raison d’être.’
Still, I quite liked this enthusiastic biography about the brilliant Nora Ephron; it made me crave a re-watch and re-read of her work asap.
“The experience of making Sally [the leading character in ‘When Harry Met Sally’, NM] provided a renewed joie-de-vivre vis-à-vis a new raison d’être.’
Still, I quite liked this enthusiastic biography about the brilliant Nora Ephron; it made me crave a re-watch and re-read of her work asap.
September 20, 2022
As other reviewers have noted, the writing is the biggest problem with the book. I add that the author lacks a sufficient background in classic Hollywood, Broadway, and American midcentury culture for the task she took on. A biographer of Ephron should at least be somewhere close to the same level of sophistication as her subject. This one is not.
January 24, 2023
Just awful. What a shame to make reading about Nora Ephron's life boring. The book read like a thesis or as if one had googled her on Wikipedia. Laborious, prosaic and monotonous. I had just finished a biography of Mike Nichols that was brilliant and hard to put down. I'm now reading Norman Lear's autobiography -- well-written, entertaining, intelligent, fun, meaningful and very readable.
July 21, 2022
Writer and filmmaker Nora Ephron’s works have spanned decades and a wide variety of mediums. Her writing has appeared in newspapers and magazines, in film and in the theater, and in bestselling books. She has made us laugh, made us cry, and made us fall in love. She has opened herself up and shared her joys and her heartbreaks, her frustrations and her recipes. She changed the modern romantic comedy, and made us all better humans in the process.
In Nora Ephron: A Biography, Kristin Marguerite Doidge has put together a comprehensive look at the life of Nora Ephron, from her childhood through her highest grossing film. But it’s more than just the story of her life. This book is filled with quotes from her friends and family—and even from her own writings—to show the impact that she had on those closest to her.
Nora was deeply influenced by her parents, who were screenwriters in Hollywood and, eventually, alcoholics. She has three younger sisters, who she helped raise until it was time for her to go to Wellesley. She got an internship in John F. Kennedy’s White House and worked in newspapers before finding her voice and her place in the New Journalism of the 1960s/1970s, writing personal essays that many women could relate to. When her marriage to famed Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein blew up, she wrote Heartburn (first the novel, then the film) to help find her way back to hope.
As a young mother (she and Carl had two young sons), Nora didn’t want to travel, so instead of going back to journalism, she turned to screenwriting. She wrote the script for Silkwood with her writing partner Alice Arlen, and then the screenplay for Heartburn, and then When Harry Met Sally…, based on conversations with friend Rob Reiner. But getting to spend time on the set with directors like Reiner and Mike Nichols made Nora hungry for more. She wanted to direct, and those who knew her best knew tat she could nail it.
She started with This Is My Life, based on a novel by Meg Wolitzer, before moving on to Sleepless in Seattle, Mixed Nuts, Michael, and You’ve Got Mail. By that point, she’d already left a lasting impression on the film industry and those like me who loved to watch a good story in the theater or at home on the sofa. But she still went on to create Julie & Julia, her final film.
Many of these scripts she wrote with her sister Delia, whose novel and script for Hanging Up created a rift between the sisters (or just illuminated the rift between the sisters) that caused the sisters to stop talking to each other for a long time. They did make up, and eventually they cowrite the play Love, Loss, and What I Wore, based on the novel by Ilene Beckerman.
Throughout all of her work, Nora stayed true to herself—she wrote funny, moving, personal stories. She won our hearts and reminded us how healing a good meal or a piece of pie can be. She was smart and generous, and she helped make the world more open to the voices of women. She continues to be an important part of popular culture, and Nora Ephron: A Biography underlines just how much impact she’s had on our hearts and our minds.
Author Doidge has done a great deal of research on Ephron, her work, her family, and her friends to pack this book with information and memories. She offers a different perspective on Nora’s life, putting her work into historical, cultural, and family perspective while also offering insights and stories that add so much richness to her work. Hearing about how she chartered a bus to take the cast and crew of a movie to a deli for her favorite pastrami sandwich, or how Rob Reiner’s questions about dating after his divorce ended up both in When Harry Met Sally… and Sleepless in Seattle, or how both she and her husband Nick Pileggi used Henry Hill’s memoir about life in the mob to write a screenplay (he wrote Goodfellas; she wrote My Blue Heaven) made me love her more and see her as an amazing friend and leader as well as the talented writer I knew her to be. Doidge brings Nora Ephron to life and celebrates her words and her work so everyone can get to know Nora on a more personal level.
I listened to the audio book for Nora Ephron: A Biography, and I loved the narration from Hillary Huber. There were points of the book that got a little repetitive as if Doidge expects readers to jump around to different sections of the book (and they might), so reading it from start to finish was a little awkward at times (like when she explains what the film Silkwood was about in the Epilogue, as if she hadn’t talked about it several times throughout the book). But overall, I learned so much about Nora and her work, and I know I will never read her books or watch her films the same way again. I definitely recommend this one to all Nora fans.
Egalleys for Nora Ephron: A Biography were provided by a publicist, but the audio version was included with my Audible subscription, so I listened to the book through the Audible app.
In Nora Ephron: A Biography, Kristin Marguerite Doidge has put together a comprehensive look at the life of Nora Ephron, from her childhood through her highest grossing film. But it’s more than just the story of her life. This book is filled with quotes from her friends and family—and even from her own writings—to show the impact that she had on those closest to her.
Nora was deeply influenced by her parents, who were screenwriters in Hollywood and, eventually, alcoholics. She has three younger sisters, who she helped raise until it was time for her to go to Wellesley. She got an internship in John F. Kennedy’s White House and worked in newspapers before finding her voice and her place in the New Journalism of the 1960s/1970s, writing personal essays that many women could relate to. When her marriage to famed Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein blew up, she wrote Heartburn (first the novel, then the film) to help find her way back to hope.
As a young mother (she and Carl had two young sons), Nora didn’t want to travel, so instead of going back to journalism, she turned to screenwriting. She wrote the script for Silkwood with her writing partner Alice Arlen, and then the screenplay for Heartburn, and then When Harry Met Sally…, based on conversations with friend Rob Reiner. But getting to spend time on the set with directors like Reiner and Mike Nichols made Nora hungry for more. She wanted to direct, and those who knew her best knew tat she could nail it.
She started with This Is My Life, based on a novel by Meg Wolitzer, before moving on to Sleepless in Seattle, Mixed Nuts, Michael, and You’ve Got Mail. By that point, she’d already left a lasting impression on the film industry and those like me who loved to watch a good story in the theater or at home on the sofa. But she still went on to create Julie & Julia, her final film.
Many of these scripts she wrote with her sister Delia, whose novel and script for Hanging Up created a rift between the sisters (or just illuminated the rift between the sisters) that caused the sisters to stop talking to each other for a long time. They did make up, and eventually they cowrite the play Love, Loss, and What I Wore, based on the novel by Ilene Beckerman.
Throughout all of her work, Nora stayed true to herself—she wrote funny, moving, personal stories. She won our hearts and reminded us how healing a good meal or a piece of pie can be. She was smart and generous, and she helped make the world more open to the voices of women. She continues to be an important part of popular culture, and Nora Ephron: A Biography underlines just how much impact she’s had on our hearts and our minds.
Author Doidge has done a great deal of research on Ephron, her work, her family, and her friends to pack this book with information and memories. She offers a different perspective on Nora’s life, putting her work into historical, cultural, and family perspective while also offering insights and stories that add so much richness to her work. Hearing about how she chartered a bus to take the cast and crew of a movie to a deli for her favorite pastrami sandwich, or how Rob Reiner’s questions about dating after his divorce ended up both in When Harry Met Sally… and Sleepless in Seattle, or how both she and her husband Nick Pileggi used Henry Hill’s memoir about life in the mob to write a screenplay (he wrote Goodfellas; she wrote My Blue Heaven) made me love her more and see her as an amazing friend and leader as well as the talented writer I knew her to be. Doidge brings Nora Ephron to life and celebrates her words and her work so everyone can get to know Nora on a more personal level.
I listened to the audio book for Nora Ephron: A Biography, and I loved the narration from Hillary Huber. There were points of the book that got a little repetitive as if Doidge expects readers to jump around to different sections of the book (and they might), so reading it from start to finish was a little awkward at times (like when she explains what the film Silkwood was about in the Epilogue, as if she hadn’t talked about it several times throughout the book). But overall, I learned so much about Nora and her work, and I know I will never read her books or watch her films the same way again. I definitely recommend this one to all Nora fans.
Egalleys for Nora Ephron: A Biography were provided by a publicist, but the audio version was included with my Audible subscription, so I listened to the book through the Audible app.
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