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“I now believe what my mother meant when she said ‘Everything is copy’ is this:  When you slip on a banana peel, people laugh at you; but when you tell people you slipped on a banana peel, it’s your laugh.  So you become the hero rather than the victim of the joke.”
-Nora Ephron, I Feel Bad About My Neck

This was a free book I picked up on the hotel bookcase while in Kauai last year.  While sitting poolside on the first morning, I read it cover to cover within a couple hours.  It was that funny and engaging.  I appreciated Ephron’s anecdotes, but the book’s takeaway message that I still remember is:  “Everything is copy.”   I think she is encouraging each of us to own the brilliant stories that piece our lives together, or maybe reminding us that the first banana slip is always the harshest, or maybe telling us to learn from the experiences of the past while taking on the wisdom inherent in others’ stories.  I do like all three interpretations.