I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts On Being a Woman
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- Create Date：2021-04-24 13:55:53
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Nora Ephron
- ISBN：0307276821
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Summary
With her disarming， intimate， completely accessible voice， and dry sense of humor， Nora Ephron shares with us her ups and downs in I Feel Bad About My Neck， a candid， hilarious look at women who are getting older and dealing with the tribulations of maintenance， menopause， empty nests， and life itself。
Ephron chronicles her life as an obsessed cook， passionate city dweller， and hapless parent。 But mostly she speaks frankly and uproariously about life as a woman of a certain age。 Utterly courageous， uproariously funny， and unexpectedly moving in its truth telling， I Feel Bad About My Neck is a scrumptious， irresistible treat of a book， full of truths， laugh out loud moments that will appeal to readers of all ages。
Ephron chronicles her life as an obsessed cook， passionate city dweller， and hapless parent。 But mostly she speaks frankly and uproariously about life as a woman of a certain age。 Utterly courageous， uproariously funny， and unexpectedly moving in its truth telling， I Feel Bad About My Neck is a scrumptious， irresistible treat of a book， full of truths， laugh out loud moments that will appeal to readers of all ages。
Reviews
Les
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Actual Rating: 4。5/5 （Very Good）From my blog post in 2007:I've just surfaced from spending several days in a state of rapture -- with a book。 I loved this book。 I loved every second of it。 I was transported into its world。 I was reminded of all sorts of things in my own life。 I was in anguish over the fate of its characters。 I felt alive， and engaged， and positively brilliant， bursting with ideas， brimming with memories of other books I've loved。 I composed a dozen imaginary letters to the autho Actual Rating: 4。5/5 （Very Good）From my blog post in 2007:I've just surfaced from spending several days in a state of rapture -- with a book。 I loved this book。 I loved every second of it。 I was transported into its world。 I was reminded of all sorts of things in my own life。 I was in anguish over the fate of its characters。 I felt alive， and engaged， and positively brilliant， bursting with ideas， brimming with memories of other books I've loved。 I composed a dozen imaginary letters to the author， letters I'll never write， much less send。 I wrote letters of praise。 I wrote letters relating entirely inappropriate personal information about my own experiences with the author's subject matter。 I even wrote a letter of recrimination when one of the characters died and I was grief-stricken。 But mostly I wrote letters of gratitude: the state of rapture I experience when I read a wonderful book is one of the main reasons I read， but it doesn't happen every time or even every other time， and when it does happen， I'm truly beside myself。 Sound familiar？ It's pretty much how I felt as I read this hilarious book by Nora Ephron。 I absolutely loved it！ And my reaction was so completely unexpected。 When I first picked the book from my stack， I had a vague recollection of a negative review posted on one of my online book groups， but I thought， what the heck， it might not be too bad。 I should've known better than to worry。 I loved Ephron's movies: When Harry Met Sally， Sleepless in Seattle， and You've Got Mail。 And I read Heartburn three years ago and enjoyed it very much， too， although something about it put me in a foul mood for several days。 Perhaps it was too similar to my first marriage and subsequent divorce。I Feel Bad About My Neck hit all the marks of a great read。 It's laugh-out-loud funny， although my husband failed to see the humor， which I couldn't resist sharing with him as I came upon yet another humorous passage。 But then again， he doesn't have to deal with unwanted hair -- he's perfectly happy with his moustache -- doesn't have to worry about the frustrations of carrying a purse， and other female-related issues。 This is the sort of book that I thought about when I wasn't reading， tempting me to call in sick until I'd read the final page （which， no， I did not do！）。 As I read， I thought of several women who would enjoy it as much as I did and had I read it earlier last year， would've bought it for several people on my Christmas list。 Ah！ And the true sign of a great read is all the dog-eared pages， full of quotable passages。 Here is just a small sample:I can't read a word on the menu。 I can't read a word in the weekly television listings。 I can't read a word in the cookbook。 I can't do the puzzle。 I can't read a word in anything at all unless it's written in extremely large type， the larger the better。 The other day， on the computer， I pulled up something I wrote three years ago， and it was written in type so small I can't imagine how I wrote the thing in the first place。 I used to write in twelve-point type; now I am up to sixteen and thinking about going to eighteen or even twenty。 I'm extremely sad about all this。 Mostly I'm sad about just plain reading。 When I pass a bookshelf， I like to pick out a book from it and thumb through it。 When I see a newspaper on the couch， I like to sit down with it。 When the mail arrives， I like to rip it open。 Reading is one of the main things I do。 Reading is everything。 Reading makes me feel like I've accomplished something， learned something， become a better person。 Reading makes me smarter。 Reading gives me something to talk about later on。 Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself。 Reading is escape， and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up， and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real。 Reading is grist。 Reading is bliss。 But my ability to pick something up and read it -- which has gone unchecked all my life up until now -- is now entirely dependent on the whereabouts of my reading glasses。 I look around。 Why aren't they in this room？ I bought six pair of them last week on sale and sprinkled them throughout the house， yet none of them is visible。 Where are they？I hate that I need reading glasses。 I hate that I can't read a word on the map， in the telephone book， on the menu， in the book， or anywhere else without them。 And the pill bottle！ I forgot to mention the pill bottle。 I can't read a word on the pill bottle。 Does it say take two every four hours or take four every two hours？ Does it say "Good until 12/8/07" or "Expired。 Period。 End of Story"？ I have no idea what it says， and this is serious。 I could die from not being able to read the print on the pill bottle。 In fact， the print on the pill bottle is so small I doubt if anyone can read it。 I'm not sure I could read it even when I didn't need reading glasses。 Although who can remember？andIt seemed to me that if I lived in the building for twenty-four years， the fee would amortize out to only a thousand dollars a year， a very small surcharge -- only $2。74 a day， which is less than a cup of cappuccino at Starbucks。 Not that there was a Starbucks back then。 And not that I was planning to live in the Apthorp for twenty-four years。 I was planning to live there forever。 Till death did us part。 So it would probably amortize out to even less。 That's how I figured it。 （I should point out that I don't normally use the word "amortize" unless I'm trying to prove that something I can't really afford is not just a bargain but practically free。 This usually involves dividing the cost of the item I can't afford by the number of years I'm planning to use it， and if that doesn't work， by the number of days or hours or minutes， until I get to a number that is less than the cost of a cup of cappuccino。）OK， so maybe these are funnier when you read them in context with the rest of the book。 I thought they were funny， but now as I type them they seem to have lost that feeling。 You know， that feeling when you nod your head in agreement as you choke on your glass of wine， trying hard not to chortle and spray that delicious Pinot all over the pages and patio furniture？ Maybe that's it。 Maybe this book requires a glass of wine in order for one to fully appreciate its humor。This is the sort of book I tend to categorize as an airplane read。 It's divided into fairly short chapters （really， a collection of essays） and holds the reader's attention， yet doesn't require too much concentration。 Ideal for long layovers or sitting on the tarmac （or helping the pilot keep the plane aloft through sheer force of will）。 Nothing like a few belly laughs to ease the stress of traveling。 Highly recommend！ 。。。more
Anjali
，
Things I will do because I read this book:1。 Stare at my neck in the mirror and admire it2。 Decide where I want to be at when I'm 433。 Visit New York when I can4。 Write more Things I will do because I read this book:1。 Stare at my neck in the mirror and admire it2。 Decide where I want to be at when I'm 433。 Visit New York when I can4。 Write more 。。。more
Traci
，
This was the first work by Nora Ephron I have read。 I really enjoyed the book and how it felt like an advice book from a mother/grandmother to a young woman。 The organization of the different life tales into different categories made for a fun read。 It is a humorous book you can read in spurts as each chapter is a unique insight。
Darlene
，
Award-winning journalist and screenwriter Nora Ephron spills about her daily life， her battle with aging and how she and her friends ward off the passage of time， children and parenting in an age of ever more parental involvement， and other nuggets of wisdom she accumulated along the way。I'm afraid that saying how unrelatable Ephron's daily life is to me is admitting how low-maintenance I really am。 Honestly， I spent this entire book wondering how she ever actually got anything done。 She writes Award-winning journalist and screenwriter Nora Ephron spills about her daily life， her battle with aging and how she and her friends ward off the passage of time， children and parenting in an age of ever more parental involvement， and other nuggets of wisdom she accumulated along the way。I'm afraid that saying how unrelatable Ephron's daily life is to me is admitting how low-maintenance I really am。 Honestly， I spent this entire book wondering how she ever actually got anything done。 She writes candidly about her beauty regimen which seemed to consist of several hours every week at one salon or another in addition to a couple of hours of daily at home with various moisturizers， creams， lotions， and oils。 On top of this， she often spent hours in the kitchen trying the latest cooking fad， and more hours pouring through parenting books and practicing what the current gurus told her she should be doing on that front as well。I was exhausted just reading about her routine。 There were funny moments， but it seemed more sad overall。 I was glad the book was short because I don't think I could have taken more than those 137 pages of the author doggedly following the latest fads for every aspect of her life。 I hope she was exaggerating， but I got the feeling she was not。 I can't help but look at this book as a cautionary tale of how not to live one's life。 。。。more
Deb （Readerbuzz） Nance
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Reread for my book club。 Open it anywhere and you will find humor。 But my favorite chapter was probably the last one in which Ephron talked about death。 She didn't know she only had six more years to live。 I hope she was generous with the bath oil。 Reread for my book club。 Open it anywhere and you will find humor。 But my favorite chapter was probably the last one in which Ephron talked about death。 She didn't know she only had six more years to live。 I hope she was generous with the bath oil。 。。。more
Angela Pineda
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I love and miss Nora Ephron。 This was a nice collection of Nora's thoughts on getting older and tidbits/stories about her life。 Really enjoyed hearing Nora herself read them。 A great little audiobook。 I love and miss Nora Ephron。 This was a nice collection of Nora's thoughts on getting older and tidbits/stories about her life。 Really enjoyed hearing Nora herself read them。 A great little audiobook。 。。。more
Karen
，
4。5 stars。 One of the things I have missed most this past year is meeting up with friends， certainly for birthdays， holidays and celebrations but mostly just to chat （ sorry Zoom happy hour， you are not the same thing）。 This book felt like chats with good friends， my favorite， slightly crazy aunt and my Nan （maternal grandmother）。 And it conbrited to my already very long TBR list。
GoodlyWitch
，
I read I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron in a day， one single day。 It was hard to put down。 I liked her style。 She cut straight to the point， and by the end， I was hoping it was longer。 Nora passed away 6 years after the book was published， and I was a little sad about that， because like her， I send notes to authors whose books I like。 I would have liked to have sent her a note。 I would have liked to tell her I’ll be 59 in December， and I can relate to feeling bad about my double chins。 He I read I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron in a day， one single day。 It was hard to put down。 I liked her style。 She cut straight to the point， and by the end， I was hoping it was longer。 Nora passed away 6 years after the book was published， and I was a little sad about that， because like her， I send notes to authors whose books I like。 I would have liked to have sent her a note。 I would have liked to tell her I’ll be 59 in December， and I can relate to feeling bad about my double chins。 Her horror at looking into rear-view mirrors from the back seat is my horror of looking at myself in a Zoom meeting or while FaceTiming。 I want to try the cabbage strudel she wrote glowingly about。 I was amazed to find out all of the scripts she wrote。 I want to be friends with her， because she seemed like just the sort of person one could enjoy being friends with in her 50’s and 60’s。 Instead， I’ve written this review。 It will have to do。 Thank you， Nora。 。。。more
Angela
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“I can’t understand why anyone would write fiction when what actually happens is so amazing。” With biting witti-criticism Nora Ephron brings her trademark humorous outlook to everything from reading， to living in NYC， to the status quo。 “It’s a story about love。 And all stories about love begin with a certain amount of rationalization。”While some early takeaways seem trite and trivial （commenting on a homeless woman， the fight to keep her rent controlled apartment） they seemed more like a jibe t “I can’t understand why anyone would write fiction when what actually happens is so amazing。” With biting witti-criticism Nora Ephron brings her trademark humorous outlook to everything from reading， to living in NYC， to the status quo。 “It’s a story about love。 And all stories about love begin with a certain amount of rationalization。”While some early takeaways seem trite and trivial （commenting on a homeless woman， the fight to keep her rent controlled apartment） they seemed more like a jibe that didn’t land well， a bit of a punch down。 Her later essays however were well worth the read （getting lost in a book， the search for cabbage strudel， her final essay）。Yet， there is a definite shift in tone as you make your way through each essay so I do encourage those who may be turned off by the first few to continue。 。。。more
Megan
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Oh Nora。 This book was such a companion。 I didn’t always agree with everything she was saying but I could hear her and it felt like we were having a conversation。 Particular favourites were ‘Serial Monogamy: A Memoir’ and ‘Considering the Alternative’。
Katherine Bradshaw
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 "I'm crying hysterically， but I'm thinking， someday this will be a funny story""It's always hard to remember love - years pass and you say to yourself， Was I really in love， or was I just kidding myself？ Was I really in love， or was I just pretending he was the man of my dreams？ Was I really in love， or was I just desperate？"'On Rapture' is such a beautiful essay on the joy reading can bring。 Devouring a good book， just like I devoured this on this cold， grey Sunday in April。 "I'm crying hysterically， but I'm thinking， someday this will be a funny story""It's always hard to remember love - years pass and you say to yourself， Was I really in love， or was I just kidding myself？ Was I really in love， or was I just pretending he was the man of my dreams？ Was I really in love， or was I just desperate？"'On Rapture' is such a beautiful essay on the joy reading can bring。 Devouring a good book， just like I devoured this on this cold， grey Sunday in April。 。。。more
Grace
，
Fun collection of light essays that somehow still tackle the big things。 I enjoy Ephron’s writing， but sometimes when I read it， I find it hard to look past the fact that as recently as 20 years ago people could apparently make a living writing this kind of thing。 Maybe they couldn’t actually make a living; maybe Ephron was paid well because she was a known screenwriter， or maybe she wasn’t paid that well。 But I don’t even know where you’d find this kind of writing nowadays。 Blog posts？ Maybe so Fun collection of light essays that somehow still tackle the big things。 I enjoy Ephron’s writing， but sometimes when I read it， I find it hard to look past the fact that as recently as 20 years ago people could apparently make a living writing this kind of thing。 Maybe they couldn’t actually make a living; maybe Ephron was paid well because she was a known screenwriter， or maybe she wasn’t paid that well。 But I don’t even know where you’d find this kind of writing nowadays。 Blog posts？ Maybe some of the glossy magazines？ But I don’t think much of the content matter here would be deemed “serious enough” even for Cosmopolitan now。Anyway。 The writing。 Fun essays about often light-hearted things that are well written。 I loved the “Moving On，” about the apartment， which I found kind of unique in how unsentimentally she wrote about a time when she was very sentimental about a building。 I also enjoyed “On Maintenance，” about the amount of time women spend taking care of their appearance， and of course， “Considering the Alternative，” in which she talks about aging and death and how it’s very hard for us as humans to anticipate that death could be imminent and that it is certainly ultimately unavoidable。”The Story of My Life in 3，500 Words or Less” and “Parenting in Three Stages” were funny and enjoyable， particularly， I think， for the wry way she approaches the subject matter， and “Me and JFK: Now It Can Be Told” was fun albeit a bit silly - the whole thing was like a bog “wink， wink。”Fun collection of quick essays， easy to pick up and put down again。 Quality writing， but nothing really exceptional here， so I wouldn’t say I highly recommend it （unless you’re one of those people who only reads nonfiction and you are looking for a beach read）。 。。。more
Lola
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I love Nora。 :）A fun audio listen。
Deanna
，
Really funny and witty。 I love Ephrons sense of humor and way of looking at life。 Her observations are just so relatable。
Katharine Rogers
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A sparkling， delightful read！
Francesca
，
A little gem
Aneets
，
This is a delightful collection of essays that I ended up reading in one sitting。 I nodded along with lots of her observations about getting older。 Loved it。 3。5 stars。
Laura
，
True。 There's only so much you can do to stave off old age and most of it is smoke and mirrors。 True。 There's only so much you can do to stave off old age and most of it is smoke and mirrors。 。。。more
Karen ⊰✿
，
These were essentially a collection of short stories about her life， and general musings on the world。 At times funny， sometimes not as interesting， but a lovely legacy。
Monica
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Very Nora Ephron， which is to say very NYC white baby boomer with a dash of Erma Bombeck or something。。。I think I should like this more and maybe I am not being fair because I just watched My Fair Lady， which has made me kind of renew my hate of everything about sexism and classism and racism while loving fashion I can never afford， so I shouldn't take that out on Nora Ephron， but if anyone would understand that take it would be Nora herself。 The last essay got me: got me good， and I cried， so t Very Nora Ephron， which is to say very NYC white baby boomer with a dash of Erma Bombeck or something。。。I think I should like this more and maybe I am not being fair because I just watched My Fair Lady， which has made me kind of renew my hate of everything about sexism and classism and racism while loving fashion I can never afford， so I shouldn't take that out on Nora Ephron， but if anyone would understand that take it would be Nora herself。 The last essay got me: got me good， and I cried， so there is that too （along with everything is copy）。 。。。more
Kay Stephenson
，
I enjoyed Nora's sarcastic wit and share many （but not all） of her opinions about life。 My favorite chapter was her list of "What I wish I'd Known"。 I enjoyed Nora's sarcastic wit and share many （but not all） of her opinions about life。 My favorite chapter was her list of "What I wish I'd Known"。 。。。more
Hanna
，
I love Nora Ephron’s writing style and humor。 When Harry Met Sally is my go to favorite movie。 And this book is just as enjoyable。
Honey De G
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A very quick read of essays by the humorous Nora Ephron。 Whilst I found her essays quite light-hearted and hilarious， I’m more intrigued about the life and heartbreak she lived to tell。
Stephanie
，
Just what I needed to read right now。 It was light， funny， and entertaining。 Nora Ephron is an incredibly insightful person about women's daily life events。 I especially like the chapter on "the purse"。 Just what I needed to read right now。 It was light， funny， and entertaining。 Nora Ephron is an incredibly insightful person about women's daily life events。 I especially like the chapter on "the purse"。 。。。more
Ruth Lemon
，
Sharp， insightful， funny。 Final essay about death/growing old now twinged with sadness。
Marianne McIver
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Light and entertaining
laura
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Chicken sitting again。 What a silly book but a quick read。 Perhaps I'm not a woman after all then！ Chicken sitting again。 What a silly book but a quick read。 Perhaps I'm not a woman after all then！ 。。。more
Mythili
，
This book has been on my to-read list since it was published so I was excited I could finally dig in， but I have to say - this didn't age well。 It wasn't as universal as what I like to think Ephron's films were （When Harry Met Sally is a fave）。 The book also felt very randomly written， which I didn't mind so much， but the chapter on hair as aged particularly badly。 This book has been on my to-read list since it was published so I was excited I could finally dig in， but I have to say - this didn't age well。 It wasn't as universal as what I like to think Ephron's films were （When Harry Met Sally is a fave）。 The book also felt very randomly written， which I didn't mind so much， but the chapter on hair as aged particularly badly。 。。。more
Cathryn Good
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Fun， lighthearted read。Might actually read again one day。
Penelopeann
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