I Feel Bad About My Neck

Posted by Lou. The time is 6.15pm here in London, UK.


(I do, by the way (feel bad about my neck (but because it hurts, not because it's ageing)).)

As you will know from my gushing over Julie & Julia, I'm a fan of Nora Ephron - she's smart, witty and extremely interesting. This collection of essays is a perfect demonstration - ranging from laugh-out-loud funny to poignant to flippant, and always with a healthy does of self-deprecation. As the essays were written over a wide time period (many having been previously published in magazines) they vary in style and subject - but are united by being first and foremost the work of a woman in her 60s, sharing with other women wisdom, reflection, sentimentality and a lamentation of the years gone and going by.

My favourite is an absolutely stunning piece of writing - "The Story of My Life in 3500 Words or Less". It alone is worth the price of the book, pulling together a marvellous set of anecdotes of the highs and the lows and the cathartic moments of her life, each clearly speaking for themselves. I read this essay twice - seeing how somebody of her age and life and career defines their life is a lesson in itself on how to live.

I think this epitomises what is so fantastic about this book for women - whilst the target audience is more overtly women in their middle-age and more who can empathise directly with what she is saying, it also provides great insight for those of us on a younger end of the scale by providing insight into how we might feel 30 years down the line before it's too late. The title is a great example - Ephron longs for the neck of her youth, defining 46 as the year it disappears and becomes the neck of an ageing woman. For the next 17 years I'm going to love and appreciate my smooth, taut neck.