#290 | Great Literary Quotes #2: Nora Ephron on Gratitude, Humor, and Dying
Quick SUMMARY:
Douglas Vigliotti revisits Nora Ephron’s “I Remember Nothing” from episode 162, focusing on her poignant final entry, “What I Will Miss”, written while she battled leukemia but not revealing it publicly. Vigliotti reflects on the power of appreciating life’s simple and often mundane moments, urging listeners not to lose sight of what truly matters amid daily chaos, and encouraging everyone to cherish small joys and little things they love doing daily—the things they would miss.
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TOPICS COVERED IN THE EPISODE:
Introduction & Newsletter Reminder (00:09) - Host introduces the podcast, mentions the literary quote series, and reminds listeners about the companion newsletter.
Nora Ephron & Book Context (01:12) - Explains why Nora Ephron is featured, her illness, and the context of her book "I Remember Nothing."
Ephron’s Final Lists & Literary Legacy (03:39) - Describes Ephron’s final entries, her humor, and lists some of her notable works.
Reading "What I Will Miss" (04:59) - Host reads Ephron’s "What I Will Miss" list, highlighting its simplicity and humanity.
Reflection on Appreciating Life (06:15) - Host reflects on the importance of appreciating small things and not missing the point of life.=
Closing Thoughts & Podcast Info (07:41) - Ends with a favorite Ephron quote, podcast subscription reminder, and contact information.
READ THE TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome back to “Books for Men”, a podcast to inspire more men to read and bring together men who do so. This week, I am turning back to another edition of “Great Literary Quotes”, and it comes from Nora Ephron, who was featured in episode 162 with her book “I Remember Nothing”. So it wasn't a work of fiction. It was a work of creative nonfiction essays, actually, and I will get a little bit more into that just to remind you. Of course, you can go back and listen to the episode. I will link that up in the show notes. And then more specifically, I will share the quote that I wanted to share with you from the work and why I am sharing it with you. Of course, before I do any of that, I did want to just remind new listeners of the companion newsletter that goes with this podcast, and that's just a once-a-month email that rounds up all of the episodes from that month, complete with full book and author information, all of my favorite quotes, episode summaries, and additional book recommendations.
01:12 - So if that sounds like something that you are interested in, or perhaps you want to. Sign up for it, then all you have to do is visit the website BooksforMen.org. All right. Having said that, let me turn to the reason why I'm doing this episode to share with you a passage from the book I” Remember Nothing” by Nora Ephron. But before I do that, I did want to actually mention one of the reasons that led me to wanting to share this excerpt with you is I recently came across an interview on Netflix, some of you probably have seen it, it's pretty popular, with Eric Dane that was filmed before he died to be aired when he passed away. Now, full disclosure, I didn't watch that actual interview, but it reminded me a lot of this book by Nora Ephron, because when she wrote this book, she had already been diagnosed with leukemia, and she was battling it for, I don't know, 4 or 5 years. So she was diagnosed in 2006.
02:19 - And then this book came out in 2010, and she never publicly revealed that she had the disease. And sadly, she passed away at 71, in I think it was 2011 or something like that. During those six years when she knew she had the disease but didn't unveil it to anyone, she continued to work, you know, putting out screenplays and plays and publishing two books of essays. And this was actually her last work called “I Remember Nothing”. And she sort of hinted at having health complications, but again, never really explicitly said it. What makes this so weighty, of course, is the fact that she was dying and knew she was dying. And she ended the book with these two final entries, which are called “What I Won't Miss” and “What I Will Miss”. Knowing the context of this. Of course, it is so heavy and so simple, but specific, and this makes it so heartfelt and humorous, even because she has that humorous streak in her. I mean, if you're not aware, she is the writer of “When Harry Met Sally”, “Sleepless in Seattle”, and “You've Got Mail”.
03:42 - The funny novel that was turned into a movie, “Heartburn”. Other essay collections. Aside from this one, like “I Feel Bad About My Neck”, which is pretty funny. And then I actually want to read more of the ones that I haven't, just because I love her sensibility. But all of that is baked into these two final lists that she writes to close out the book, “I Remember Nothing”, and so I wanted to share with you what I will miss and leave it up to you to go read what I won't miss if you are so compelled to do so. So here is “What I Will Miss” by Nora Ephron.
My kids
Nick
Spring
Fall
Waffles
The concept of waffles
Bacon
A walk in the park
The idea of a walk in the park
The park
Shakespeare in the Park
The bed
Reading in bed
Fireworks
Laughs
The view out the window
Twinkle lights
Butter
Dinner at home just the two of us
Dinner with friends
Dinner with friends in cities where none of us lives
Paris
Next year in Istanbul
Pride and Prejudice
The Christmas tree
Thanksgiving dinner
One for the table
The dogwood
Taking a bath
Coming over the bridge to Manhattan
Pie
05:27 - So the thing I love the most about this is, as I've already alluded to, its simplicity, the fact that it's very small and specific things. And to me, this makes it very human. And I share this not just because of the Eric Dane thing that I saw, but because I think doing something of this nature is an antidote to the chaos we are living in now. So I'm going to swear right now, because it's the only way that I can articulate what I want to say in the emotion that I want to say it. The world is fucking with you, and they are doing so daily, telling you in subtle ways that you're not enough. And if you don't stop and smell the roses, then you miss the point of this entire fucking thing.
06:15 - And this is why I share this excerpt with you, in the hopes that you will stop and think about the things that you will miss. Because if there's one thing that I am absolutely certain of, one day those things will not be there anymore. And this is heavy and sad, and maybe entirely too much for you to think about right now. It doesn't negate the truth of it. Every day, I encounter people missing the point of this entire fucking thing, daily. And I'm talking about smart people, not stupid people, caught up in outcomes and things and all of this stuff that really doesn't matter. And I'm talking smart people, doctors, lawyers who are just so caught up, and I don't exclude myself from this. I have to remind myself constantly. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't be ambitious or have goals. It just means that on the way to all of that stuff that you think matters. Don't miss the fucking point. Have appreciation for the little things that you will miss in your life. Nora Ephron says it best in a quote that is not in this book, but it's one that I love, and I will end this with it.
07:41 - And she says, “If you can't be happy washing dishes, you can't be happy.” All right. That's all I've got. Having said that, I wanted to remind you that if you enjoyed this episode or any of the episodes, the podcast in general, please click subscribe on whatever podcast platform you're listening to this on, because it is the best way for new listeners to find the show and, in return, inspire more men to read. If you want to reach out to me, there are two ways to do so: on Instagram @DouglasVigliotti. It's the only social media that I have or via my website DouglasVigliotti.com. Maybe you want to check out my latest book, “Aristotle for Novelists:14 Timeless Principles on the Art of Story”. In that case, head over to Aristotle for Novelists.com. Last but not least, I wanted to thank you so much for listening and remind you that if you want more information on this podcast specifically, which includes signing up for that newsletter I mentioned at the top of the episode, then all you have to do is visit the website BooksforMen.org.
