New Delhi, June 12 -- Nora Ephron's quote, "Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim," is a powerful reminder that people should not let pain, failure, rejection or unfair circumstances become the only story they tell about themselves. Spoken in her 1996 Wellesley College commencement address, the line is especially meaningful because Ephron built a career on sharp observation, humour, reinvention and women's voices. Her message is not that life will always be fair. It is that even when life is difficult, you must not surrender authorship of your own story.

"Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim."

- Nora Ephron

The quote asks readers to move from helplessness to agency. It does not deny suffering, but it ...