Reading is the unbelievably healthy way _x000D_ my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. _x000D_ Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to _x000D_ make contact with reality after a day of making things up.
Maybe young women don't wonder whether they can have it all any longer, but in case any of you are wondering, of course you can have it all. It will be a little messy, but embrace the mess. It will be complicated, but rejoice in the complications. It will not be anything like what you think it will be like, but surprises are good for you. And don't be frightened: you can always change your mind. I know: I've had four careers and three husbands.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the possibility of achieving everything you desire, despite the challenges and unpredictability involved.
Nora Ephron's quote speaks to the modern woman's experience regarding ambition and fulfillment. It acknowledges that while pursuing one's dreams may be chaotic and the outcome may not align with initial expectations, embracing these messy and complicated experiences can lead to personal growth and satisfaction. The message encourages women to be open to change and adventure, stating that it’s okay to shift paths and redefine success throughout their lives.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech at a women's conference, this quote can inspire attendees to pursue their dreams without fear.
More from Nora Ephron
All quotes →Reading makes me feel I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. ... Reading is bliss.
I just want to go on making movies, and some of them will be completely meaningless, except, of course, to me.
Every so often I would look at my women friends who were happily married and didn't cook, and I would always find myself wondering how they did it. Would anyone love me if I couldn't cook? I always thought cooking was part of the package: Step right up, it's Rachel Samstat, she's bright, she's funny and she can cook!
Marriages come and go, but divorce is forever.
What I love about cooking is that after a hard day, there is something comforting about the fact that if you melt butter and add flour and then hot stock, it will get thick! It's a sure thing! It's a sure thing in a world where nothing is sure; it has a mathematical certainty in a world where those of us who long for some kind of certainty are forced to settle for crossword puzzles.
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There's been this strange irony to my whole life. All my original bandmates have died, when I was the most wild and most reckless of us all. But I'm still here.
Like madness, is the glory of this life.
Here, with whitened hair, desires failing, strength ebbing out of him, with the sun gone down and with only the serenity and the calm warning of the evening star left to him, he drank to Life, to all it had been, to what it was, to what it would be. Hurrah!
there's time for laughing and there's time for crying— for hoping for despair for peace for longing —a time for growing and a time for dying: a night for silence and a day for singing but more than all(as all your more than eyes tell me)there is a time for timelessness
When you don't have much money, cooking can be incredibly reassuring. You feel like you're doing meaningful work.
Life's not breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away.