If you are a Baby Boomer who has found yourself wondering whether your memory has gone south like the rest of your anatomy, then read Nora Ephron’s hilarious book, I Remember Nothing and Other Reflections. It may not lessen your disdain for age-related memory lapses, aka senior moments, but it will certainly give you a lift – pun intended – by injecting you with a healthy dose of comic relief.
Born in 1941, Ephron arrived five years too soon to be counted in the Census Bureau demographic study that would qualify her as a bona fide Baby Boomer. However, since I found her book so entertaining, I am designating her on my blog, as an honorary Boomer. A screenwriter, director, and brilliant author, Ephron has written numerous books, but her most recent publication is a side-splitting hardback that pokes fun at the forgetfulness that accompanies aging. Have you ever had someone to tell you a tale and then say “You have to have been there”? Well, although anyone with an ounce of humor can relate to the material in her book, Baby Boomers — who are there — can definitely identify with many of Ephron’s witticisms and wisdoms.
The author is a clever wordsmith whose vignettes keep the reader smiling as she spins yarns about various periods of her development from childhood to her adult years; leaving you anxiously awaiting the punch line. Her humor elicits chuckles in nearly every section of the book, but I found myself laughing aloud and reluctantly agreeing with the truth of some of her profound statements such as, “It is my experience that no one, but your closest friends care anything about your children.” Or my absolute favorite, “You always think that a bolt of lightning is going to strike, and your parents will magically change into the people you wish they were, or back into the people they used to be, but they are never going to, and even though you know they are never going to you still hope that they will. “
Epron makes fun of herself as she candidly expresses her thoughts on organized religion, truth in journalism and — the recurring theme — memory loss. The book contains about 140 pages and is a fast read. I found it so enjoyable that I read it three times. Want to get your laugh on? When you are not reading this blog, read I Remember Nothing and Other Reflections – if you can remember to do so.