I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman 
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.
The woman who brought us When Harry Met Sally . . . , Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and Bewitched, and the author of best sellers Heartburn, Scribble Scribble, and Crazy Salad, discusses everything—from how much she hates her purse to how much time she spends attempting to stop the clock: the hair dye, the treadmill, the lotions and creams that promise to slow the aging process but never do. Oh, and she can’t stand the way her neck looks. But her dermatologist tells her there’s no quick fix for that.
Ephron chronicles her life as an obsessed cook, passionate city dweller, and hapless parent. She recounts her anything-but-glamorous days as a White House intern during the JFK years (“I am probably the only young woman who ever worked in the Kennedy White House that the President did not make a pass at”) and shares how she fell in and out of love with Bill Clinton—from a distance, of course. But mostly she speaks frankly and uproariously about life as a woman of a certain age.
Utterly courageous, wickedly funny, and unexpectedly moving in its truth telling, I Feel Bad About My Neck is a book of wisdom, advice, and laugh-out-loud moments, a scrumptious, irresistible treat.
Reviews
The book did contain a few chapters that seemed a bit lengthy in their thoughts on issues that probably do not relate to the typical average woman; however, with Nora's writing style they are quite entertaining if not informative. Even with Ms. Ephron's apparent affluence I was able to compare myself to one of her quirks, that being to evaluate the high cost of something you buy with the cost of a certain number of lattes which therefore justifies your purchase.
My favorite chapter was that on purses with one comment certainly hitting home. Her statement "any bag that hangs stiffly on your arm (instead of your shoulder) tends to add 10 years to your age" helped me realize I'm not the only one with that opinion. I think of that every time I contemplate buying a bag without a shoulder strap. It makes me think of my little old Norwegian aunts who always carried their pocketbooks with such determination - fist or elbow clenched around the handle and arm extended just slightly to keep the purse from slapping against their side as they marched off in their Scandinavian gait. With all due respect to my heritage, I don't want to look the part and Nora "says" I don't have to.
Nora Ephron's last chapter reminds us that life is not everlasting. She reminds us that we need to appreciate what we have. And, she reminds us that regardless of lifestyle or financial capacity, none of us are immune to the issues of getting older, and despite all attempts at finding the fountain of youth, humor is indeed the best remedy..... I have just ordered some new lotion, I hope it makes me feel good about my neck!
Rayna Gangi, author, "Forget The Cures, Find The Cause."