Author Delia Ephron on Grief, Hope and Second Chances

Imagine that life dealt you an overwhelming hand at age 72.

First, your beloved sister/collaborator died, your spouse of 33 years passed away three years later, then you were given a second chance at love, were diagnosed with life-threatening cancer … and survived.

This is what happened to bestselling novelist, screenwriter and playwright Delia Ephron, but instead of finding all of this insurmountable, in the end, she turned these bitter, sweet and overwhelming events first into a bestselling memoir and then into her first Broadway play, both called "Left on Tenth." now in production at the James Earl Jones Theatre through Sunday, February 2, 2025.

Best known for writing the now classic romantic comedies "You've Got Mail," "Hanging Up" and "Michael," and producing "Sleepless in Seattle," written and directed by her sister, Nora Ephron, (who passed away at age 71 in June 2012), Delia Ephron is a fighter, a warrior and a survivor all rolled into one.

"I look at the life I had and felt it fit into the world of drama so perfectly," said Ephron, now 80, who explained to Next Avenue how her memoir became a Broadway play, complete with music, tap dancing and two adorable dogs.

"It starts with loss, then it's love again through a whirlwind romance, then this horrible threat and then survival," she said. 'If you asked for a more gorgeous structure, you just couldn't imagine it."

The word "beshert" (the Hebrew word for fate or destiny) comes up often when looking at Ephron's remarkable second act. She and Julianna Margulies, the leading lady of "Left on Tenth," first met while walking their dogs in their Greenwich Village neighborhood.

They had both admired one another's work — Ephron for Margulies' starring role in "The Good Wife" and her book "Sunshine Girl," released in 2021; Margulies had long appreciated Ephron's many romantic comedies and novels.

For Ephron, finding love later in life with her now second husband, whom she married during grueling cancer treatment and who encouraged her every step of the way when she was given a 20% chance of surviving Acute Myeloid Leukemia, (AML), an aggressive form of leukemia, also seemed fated to everyone involved.

The entire Ephron family is known for its legacy of writers that started with their parents, Phoebe and Henry, whose classic movies, "Desk Set" and "Daddy Long Legs" are still beloved decades later. Delia's other two sisters, Hallie and Amy, who proudly attended the opening night of "Left on Tenth" are also writers; all four sisters became part of the family business.

While initially afraid of getting involved after her intense grief following the death of Jerome Kass, her husband of more than three decades, Ephron said when Peter came into her life, "I just couldn't resist falling in love. You know, if you catch a wave and it's right, that's it," she said.

"We started communicating, it was so strange. I had written 'You've Got Mail' (about an online romance) and here I am falling in love over email. There are so many strange things about my story."

But the road to love was never smooth and she admits she was extremely frightened when Peter came into her life. "This is dramatized in the play, and it's in the book; I was extremely scared," she said.

"When you lose a spouse or a partner, the experience is so brutal, and instead of thinking about all the joy that love could bring me, I jumped to the pain — 'what if I lose him or he loses me?' In other words, it negated what the essence of love is, which is this unbelievable, joyful rebirth."

But with Peter, she said, the emotional and physical connection was extremely powerful. "Peter spoke about totality — 'You have to just go through life and understand that it's going to deliver both joy and pain; there's no escape.' And I just flipped for him, so that was part of what it was."

Margulies and Peter Gallagher portray the main characters, Delia and Peter, under the direction of five-time Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Susan Stroman ("The Producers") with everyone embracing the process every step of the way.

"What I love about Delia's story is that it is about more than courage, it is about how transparent and incredibly vulnerably she talks about it," Margulies recently said. 

"What made her memoir, and what will make it so memorable for the audience to see in the play, is her ability to be so raw and at the same time be objective," she added. "I didn't know how she would manage to put every single beat in that play that is in the book. But every roller coaster of emotion is there, from absolute euphoria and romance to absolute devastation and near death; it's just remarkable."

"Left on Tenth" tells the messy, beautiful, true story of a woman discovering how to embrace the unpredictable and open her heart again.

So where did the courage and guts come from, especially after the loss of her beloved sister, Nora, from the same form of aggressive leukemia? In addition to her husband, Peter, she credits her friends and doctors "for their immense love and support in carrying me through."

"This is not something you can go through alone," said Ephron."I had heard so much about bone marrow transplants because Nora was deciding whether she could or couldn't pursue this, and I think when it comes to cancer you wonder if you would have the bravery to face some of these treatments," she explained.

"One of my girlfriends said, 'You just fell in love, how could you not go for it?' So, it was a huge decision because the treatment is brutal, but here I am six years later bouncing around, and I'm on Broadway, so, thank God I did have the courage."

For those who wonder what is in store for Ephron, she revealed that "Left on Tenth" has been sold to the movies, and she is hopeful that it will be made. After all, her romantic comedies are the stuff of legends that many of her admirers watch over and over.

"One of the most wonderful things about a good romantic comedy is that once you're in love, the only place you can ever fall in love again is at the movie," Ephron said. "You watch that movie and there's an emotional quality to those films."

She said she is immensely proud of her legacy, and that she shares it with her sister, Nora. "You want to imagine that you went through your life and left something behind that makes people happy, and that gives them a sense of possibility and joy, which I think is so fraught now in the world we are living in."

When asked what she believes Nora would have thought of the book and Broadway play, "Left on Tenth," Delia did not pause to answer. "Nora taught me so many things and she and my late husband Jerry were brilliant at helping to teach people how to write. Nora was always so proud of me, so I think she would have just said, 'Go, Delia!'"

Ephron says she wants those who attend a performance of "Left on Tenth" to take away a cadre of life lessons. "I hope that they will laugh, and they will cry, and that they will become full of hope about what life's possibilities are," she said.

"I think it's as positive a play as you could ever see. It's about life offering us opportunities and accepting a certain amount of what comes, and then martialing friendship, dogs, and everyone you love." 

Ephron added. "I thought of my friends as warriors, so I hope that I give people some level of bravery."

Ephron is proud of the emails she receives through her website, where she frequently hears from fellow warriors who have battled cancer or other dire diagnoses. "I get these wonderful emails from women, and men, who have gone through this treatment and they are sharing their personal stories of second chances with me. Hearing from people who have been through this and loved and appreciated the show is extremely affirming."

For Ephron, the impact goes beyond cancer. "My play has to do with having bravery in life. It's about getting to a certain point in life when you've got to take a chance again, and how do you do that? Where do you find the nerve? It's about all the good stuff — the new dog, the man or woman you are going to fall in love with, and it's about going for the joy!"

Debra Wallace is a multi-award-winning professional journalist, author, editor, social media/web content provider, and autism advocate with 20+ years of experience. She regularly contributes to Parade.com, Orlando Family Fun, South Jersey, Monsters & Critics, Delaware Today, and several other print and digital publications. Her expertise includes celebrity profiles, entertainment, local heroes, health/wellness, special needs parenting, and autism advocacy. Wallace is a devoted single mother to her 18-year-old son, Adam. Read More