Operating Instructions (eBook)

Description

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It seems no mother of a newborn has ever been more hilarious, more honest, or more touching than Ann Lamott is in OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS. A single parent whose baby's father is out of the picture, Lamott struggles not only to support her little family by her wits and her writing, but to stay sober at the same time. Faith in God helps; so does her loyal band of helpers, from her childless best friend Pammy to her mother and "Aunt Dudu" to the folks at the La Leche League hotline. And between colic, wheat-free diets, and the triumph of solid food, Lamott learns that blessings and losses come together, and that as our capacity for joy increases, so does our capacity for grief.
"An enormous triumph . . . Charming . . . Powerful . . . A gracious book, with dozens of lovingly drawn characters and a deep, infectious religiosity throughout. It is also funny." -- San Francisco Chronicle
"Smart, funny and comforting . . . Lamott has a conversational style that perfectly conveys her friendly, self-deprecating humor." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review


From the Trade Paperback edition.

About the Author

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Anne Lamott is the bestselling author of Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith, and Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith, as well as six novels, including Rosie and Crooked Little Heart. Her column in Salon magazine was voted Best of the Web by Newsweek. A past recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Lamott lives in northern California.

Praise for Operating Instructions…

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“An enormous triumph. . . . Charming. . . . Powerful. . . . Funny.” –San Francisco Chronicle

“A funny, self-mocking, vivid account.” –The Washington Post

“Smart, funny, and comforting. . . . Lamott has a conversational style that perfectly conveys her friendly, self-deprecating humor.” –Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Lamott is a wonderfully lithe writer. . . . Anyone who has ever had a hard time facing a perfectly ordinary day will identify.” –Chicago Tribune

“First class all the way. . . . Lamott, along with her novelist’s eye and often poetic prose, has a terrifically black sense of humor. . . . Deeply honest.” –The Detroit News

“Wonderfully candid. . . . Even non-parents will enjoy this glowing work.” –Publishers Weekly

“Lamott here shares her humor, faith, friendships, and irreverence. . . . Operating Instructions is enhanced by Lamott’s colorful and expressive language, her philosophical reflections, and her descriptions of many eccentric friends.” –Library Journal

“One need not be a new parent to appreciate Lamott’s glib and gritty good humor in the face of annihilating weariness. She’ll nourish fans with her entries, and give birth to new ones as well.” –Kirkus Reviews

“Painfully honest, laced with humor and poetry and moments of profound insight. It captures the intense fluctuations of feeling, the rapid alternation of exhilaration and fury, love and despair, that characterizes new parenthood.” –San Francisco Examiner