Here’s why:

1. There is profound truth in her words. Well, it may not be truth to everybody, but clearly Nora and  me are on the same wavelength. I get her, and if we’d ever had a chance to sit down for a drink and a chat, I’m pretty sure she would have got me.
2. She makes me laugh. She does this in so many ways, but often when she picks on something I already know (see next line).
3. She is wise. So much of what she writes is what I’ve experienced. When I read her stuff, I think, yeah! Why didn’t I think to write that myself. Reading Nora is like remembering. Also why what she writes is so funny (it’s because we’ve been there, and have seen the humour first hand).
4. She is courageous. How many writers can be that candid about their lives? How many writers can open their hearts to their readers, yet do so in such a dignified manner?
5. She is self-aware. However, she was not unrealistically humble. Nora was a confident, successful and talented woman, and she knew it. She was not unused to blowing her own trumpet. Yet in some moments, Nora could shine a torch on herself and expose her flaws without flinching. I have no doubt that writing about herself was a form of therapy for her.
6. She followed her heart. In her writing, and in her life, Nora followed her heart. How can anyone not admire that? She was true to herself, and in turn, she was true to others. Clearly, I cannot speak from personal experience; only from the way in which she wrote about other people – either significant or merely acquaintances.
7. She had an easy to read, flowing style; a unique, fresh voice. Reading her meant disappearing into a totally engrossing narrative that made one forget time and place. Nora could produce the ultimate page turner. The story flies past you, and you realise you’re at the end when you’ve reached the last page; much too soon, and leaving you longing for more.
8. She could encapsulate so much about life and relationships with sharp, snappy dialogue that delivers the message express. Who could forget the Surrey with the fringe on top, or the Wagon wheel coffee table scenes in When Harry Met Sally? (see clip below – why men and women cannot be friends)
9. She was a great storyteller. You wanted to know what would happen next even if you could pretty much guess.
10. The worlds she built were worlds that made you feel cosy, where happy endings weren’t guaranteed, and if they did come about, they were delivered in unexpected ways: a diamond inside a rotten egg.