Jacob Bernstein, the son of the beloved Jewish author Nora Ephron who died this past summer from a well-kept secret of leukemia, wrote an article for the New York Times Magazine about his mother’s final days.
The article, titled, “Nora Ephron’s Final Act,” was published today and offers of Ephron’s accomplishments, including writing two books, two plays, 100 blog posts, and directing a movie. Bernstein tells readers how he remained in awe of his mother’s coherent independence throughout her cancer treatments.
Ephron dealt with her illness by writing stories, and writing the story of tabloid journalist Mike McAlary helped her while she struggled with her terminal illness, Bernstein said.
“It occurred to me that part of what she was trying to do by writing about someone else’s death was to understand her own. As she saw him, McAlary was a role model not so much in life, but in death, in the way that he used writing to maintain his sense of purpose and find release from his illness.”
Ephron wrote a Broadway play about the life of McAlary, which premieres on Broadway, April 1.
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