Apparently I'm not the only one that is having a hard time wrapping my head around the death of Nora Ephron. I just read this really lovely piece from Richard Cohen of the Washington Post titled, "When Richard met Nora: A friendship out of the movies." Isn't that a great title? A great title that seems perfectly suited to Nora Ephron.
But the piece even gets better. Cohen starts out saying, "Nora Ephron and I started out as enemies. I had written something about her, something she didn't like, and so when we met some time later, she turned on me with a cold fury and to a friend standing nearby spit out every one of my offending words -- one after another, precisely as I had typed them. I was awe-struck, also intimidated, and so some months later when she came to my door with her new boyfriend, Carl Bernstein, she coyly said, "This is going to be like the movies. We start as enemies and end as friends." She extended her hand. I took it and never let it go."
I love that she remembered everything he wrote, don't you? It could have been such an awkward exchange but instead she transformed and the two were obviously able to build a friendship that way.
You really should read the entire essay because it is beautiful. He ends it by saying, "Her friends are all at a loss; we float, unmoored. We could never believe our good fortune. We cannot comprehend our loss. I reach for the phone. I have an idea. I've read something. Did you know . . . ? Of course you did.
I will never let go of her hand."
My eyes instantly teared up as a read that. I think we're all familiar with that lost feeling with someone we love, a dear friend who has shaped our world, is gone. Reaching for the phone to share an idea and then realizing with a pang of sadness that the friend you love isn't there anymore.
Related: Nora Ephron's Legacy on Female Friendship | Gift Ideas for Your Best Friend