I didn't finish this book. I only listened for a little bit and I think that later in life I may really benefit from this book, but for right now it's just not what I need. I'm the wrong age to appreciate her words and shared feelings in her book.

I didn't finish this book. I only listened for a little bit and I think that later in life I may really benefit from this book, but for right now it's just not what I need. I'm the wrong age to appreciate her words and shared feelings in her book.

I turn to LaMott's non-fiction works when I forget how to breathe. It's calming to laugh and relate to so much of what she writes; gut level wisdom and honesty about the craziness all around. Bird by Bird is still the best. This volume is a collection of essays written for Salon.com and deals, to a large extent, with the raising (re: coping) of her teenage son. ( )

I like Anne Lamott's honesty and her recognition that life isn't all peaches and cream or a linear path of progress for those who are walking the Christian path. Though we haven't shared the same addictions and I cringe at every "f" word, I also feel a kinship to her as another seeker and lover of Jesus. ( )

This book, the second book by this author that I have read, is a book of essays. They are great! She talks about a variety of topics, but her son Sam pops up in many of them, and her abiding faith is prominent throughout. I find LaMott's writing to provide very pleasant interludes. It's the kind of writing that can be picked up at different times and does not need to be read straight through. She makes me laugh, and she tells it like it is. I enjoys the lessons of life that come shining through her work. ( )

I love her combination of irreverence and sincere faith. Her down to earth and no punches pulled descriptions of daily life really spoke to me. ( )

Shut up about your kid! Otherwise ok. ( )

That I chose to read this book is a minor miracle, based on the title, as my thoughts on faith and religion are both deeply private and non-negotiable, and I loathe preachiness. As it turns out, Anne Lamott's thoughts on faith and life are so human and so well written, conversational even, that I was hooked after a few pages. I found much common ground in her very real struggles and triumphs. I found her New Age Jesus Freak approach to life interesting, and I appreciate bridging another gap in human understanding. Mostly I appreciate her sharing deeply personal events - addiction, love, loss, friendship and death - that everyone can relate to, but few can describe with such humor and eloquence. I inhaled this book, I laughed and I cried and I immediately bought Travelling Mercies. ( )

I almost stopped "reading" it from the beginning because of her Bush bashing, but kept with it. She is a bit too liberal for me, but apart from the foul language, she's a pretty good writer. ( )

I was disappointed in this. I don't know why I expected something different, but the religion seemed very Jesus-Freaky to me, and the points were scattered.

Many say this, but I wholeheartedly agree in saying that Ms. Lamott is a breath of fresh air into the conversation of those with the Christian faith. I really appreciate her honest approach of her faith and also her lack of using a language that only makes sense to a certain group of people. Her stories are without need of translation and speak to the core of many different types of people simply because she is quite open with her thought processes. I am quite thankful for her perspective even if we might not see eye to eye on everything ( )

I was really disappointed in this book. I expected it to be funny, but I found it rather boring. The book was very repetitive. ( )

I like Anne Lamott. This isn't my favorite book by her, but I always find something in her books that I love.

Equisitely written magazine articles brought together in one book. Questions of Faith and Race and other big issues are dealt with with incredible honesty and truth. I love the way she writes. If you devour it too quickly, it can feel a bit samey, but if you read it slowly, take a break between chapters, it is indeed a soul refreshing draught of water. I got it from the library and immediately went out and bought a copy. That's how much a keeper it is. :) ( )

I found the book itself to be weak. However i did like the epigrah at the begining of the book.

Doctor, you say there are no haloes
around the streetlights in Paris
and what I see is an aberration
caused by old age, an affliction.
I tell you it has taken me all my life
to arrive at the vision of gas lamps as angels,
to soften and blur and finally banish
the edges you regret I don't see,
to learn that the line I called the horizon
does not exist and sky and water,
so long apart, are the same state of being.
Fifty-four years before I could see
Rouen cathedral is built
of parallel shafts of sun,
and now you want to restore
my youthful errors…..

Except from Lisel Mueller - Monet Refuses The Operation
The epigraph to Plan B, by Anne Lamontt

David Perrings ( )

Anne Lamott's voice is so conversational and true, I forget she's not my best friend across the street. This 'sequel' to Traveling Mercies discusses her life beyond 50 as the single mother of a teenager. Her reflections are brilliant, though thoroughly human, and she continuously reminds me that although our Christian journey is not without trials, it can still be fun. ( )

Anne provides further antidotes on life experiences, faith and how they interplay with each other. She has a very much down to earth way of looking at religion and faith, definitely isn’t a blind church follower. Her writing as always is enjoyable, funny and interesting. Take a star away if you don’t like her style of writing. ( )

I soaked this book. I usually take about a month to read anything, and I read this one in about 48 hours. Practically nothing else got done this weekend. ( )

Lamott's thoughts (in essay) on Progressive Christianity in the face of the 2004 election. ( )

One of the finest writing teachers ever shares her thoughts on faith, life, love. ( )

With unexpected wit and an ample dash of irreverence, Lamott, a single mom, mulls over the influence of her deep Christian faith on her often messy life in an engaging series of essays. Ultimately a thought-provoking celebration of the sloppy, muddled, yet exhilarating ride we call the human experience.

Spent a good part of the last day or so reading these wise and funny essays about parenting, faith (and isn't there a lot of that involved in parenting?), politics, and love. I really like Lamott's style. And her politics. And her particular brand of Christianity (in one part of the book she talks about how God will definitely allow her friend's Jewish sisters into Heaven; I promised my son that God will have Legos in Heaven). Anyway, it was a pure delight to read.

Some of my favorite bits.

From "red cords" in which she's complaining about George W. Bush bringing about the end of the world:

"Sometimes I feel like the big possum who has been coming into our driveway lately, worried and waddly. I hear that the stress hormones possums produce are off the charts. Possums live only a few years in the wild. I suppose that if I had two penises and still fainted a lot, I'd be stressed to the max, too."

From "holy of holies 101" about starting up a Sunday School class for kids:

"One secret of life is that the reason life works at all is that not everyone in your tribe is nuts on the same day. Another secret is that laughter is carbonated holiness."

"We did not exclude anyone because Jesus didn't. On bad days, I could not imagine what he had been thinking."

From "good friday world":

"In a library, you can find small miracles and truth, and you might find something that will make you laugh so hard that you will get shushed, in the friendliest way. I have found sanctuary in libraries my whole life, and there is sanctuary there now, from the war, from the storms of our families and our own minds. Libraries are like mountains or meadows or creeks: sacred space."

From "untitled":

"I'm decades past my salad days, and even past the main course: maybe I'm in my cheese days--sitting atop the lettuce leaves on the table for a while now with all the other cheese balls, but with much nutrition to offer, and still delicious."

From "sam's brother":

"I tell you, when God is not being cryptic and silent, He or She is so obvious."

From "cruise ship":

"Once again: If Jesus was right, these are all my brothers and sisters. And they are so letting themselves go." ( )

For all those struggling to retain hope for the future under the current administration, this book is for you. Full of the usual Lamottian humor and wisdom. ( )

Lamott is a sweet insightful screwed up person that I can relate to in a deep and personal way. This book spoke to me. I cannot relate to her deeply personal God speaks to you faith, but I can relate to her practice. Beautiful prose. ( )

Lamott is a breezy observational poet who has made her living writing non-fiction. She does this though a prose that is full of image and metaphor that rings really true. Her thoughts about the reality of God are not the same sa mine, I have to say that she personalizes God too much for my own sense of the divine, but she does a wonderful job of describing the reality of her own life and faith. ( )