Rating: 
Summary: This one lives on my bedside table
Review: Super, super, super.
I can't say it any better than many of the other reviews I've read of this book, so I'm just going to second all the five star reviews in this collection.
Anne Lamott did me the supreme honor of offering to write a cover blurb for my own book, so I owe her big time. But even if she'd not done me, a first time author, this supreme honor, I would kiss her toes and paint them with sparkle glitter green polish for having written this nitty-gritty, HONEST, shining and quirky book about her own journey to faith.
I have to share my favorite line (paraphrasing, cuz I can't find it right this minute...): I'm not going to tell you what I really thought of that woman in her Lycra bicycle shorts, because if I did, it'd make Jesus drink gin straight out of the cat's dish.
You've gotta love her. I just wish she lived next door.
Rating:
Summary: This book captures and reveals the inner landscape of faith.
Review: Traveling Mercies is a revelation that strikes a deep chord in the heart. Anne Lamott has put her finger on our struggles to find meaning and to believe God has something to do with it. Her situations (like bad hair or the "aunties") are the same ones we deal with every day. How wonderful to confirm that this is where we find God--in our everyday acts. No pious platitudes or preaching here. What a joy! It is one of the realest books I have ever read, while at the same time laugh-out-loud funny and sometimes touching to the point of tears. Because it is so real, it is deeply believable. Thank you, Anne, for living it and writing it.
Rating:
Summary: WILDLY BEAUTIFUL AND INSPIRING
Review: A must read and must have for every mom, this is more than just profound reading - it is a reference book on parenting and faith. Anne Lamott examines the fragile bonds of family, the demands of faith and the fallibility of humans with generosity, humor and stark honesty. Undoubtedly the most valuable book I have read.
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Summary: Yes, we Christians sometimes use naughty words.
Review: If I were inclined to buy some billboard space, the first thing I would do would be to spread the letters of Anne Lamott's name and her Traveling Mercies title as joyously as if I were paving the staircase to Heaven with my two hands. Anne Lamott allows her personal history, a newly-found and budding faith, and personal experiences to collide in Traveling Mercies, without letting her personality slip out the back door. She writes on topics we all know: family. Loss of loved ones. The joys and perils of parenthood. And, of course, her "aunties": the thighs that follow her around like a pair of loving aunts. After reading Traveling Mercies, I was amazed at the clarity of a point she makes: Christians can screw up. (Gasp!) Yes, believers have their doubts occasionally. And some of us repeat the same sins and the same mistakes countless times. Anne Lamott is willing to admit it. What a breath of fresh air. And that isn't the only breeze blowing through Lamott's text. She's witty, insightful, sarcastic, and blatantly honest. Finally. Someone who's willing to admit their faults, credit their faith with guiding them through life, and occasionally spout -- unapologetically, nonetheless -- the ever-universal F word. If you're looking for a book to satisfy a craving for entertainment, Traveling Mercies gives a heaping helping -- with a little dose of faith instruction on the side. Three cheers for Anne Lamott! Now, about that billboard . . .
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read
Review: "Traveling Mercies" is a book about both humanity and spirituality. It is also about accepting with grace the idea that we are all have an "E Ticket" on an unpredictable rollercoaster ride. Lamott finds that it is only faith that's gives her an anchor and a point of reference as "life happens".Anne Lamott walks us through her own amazing story complete with pain, glory, revelation, heartache, serendipity, tragedy, self-loathing, tiny-but-profound personal victories and the eventual peace of self-acceptance (sort of.) Sound familiar? That's because we are seeing the reflection of our own lives in Annie's mirror. What do I have in common with the author? We are both humans. Beyond that, not much. I am not female, liberal, a recovering addict, a former atheist or have I suffered from bad hair. But I'm betting most readers see glimpses of their own personal photo albums throughout this remarkable book. It's just that all of our pictures are a little different. The difference is perspective. It's amusing to see some of the reviews in which readers are badly missing the point. Lamott writes willingly (and ironically) about her about her obsessions, self-destructiveness and compulsive/addictive behavior. She has achieved a truce with her shortcomings -- and, implicitly, is suggesting all of us accept our own imperfections (and those of others). If we wait for "perfect", we'll be waiting a long time. That's why it's ironic to read reviews in which a few readers complain that she exposes her faults on the pages of the book. And seems obsessive about it .... Hello, fellow reviewers? Anybody home? By the way, the book is also laugh-out-loud hilarious from time to time. Read slowly, let it sink in and enjoy. Travelling mercies to you, too, Anne.
Rating: 
Summary: Self-centered to the core
Review: There are some great stories in this book but for the most part it is a testament to the author's complete self-centeredness.
Rating: 
Summary: Great memoir writer
Review: All of Anne Lamott's memoirs make me laugh and warm my heart. This one is no exception. I read it two years ago and plan to revisit it soon. This book is full of humor and wonder about life and spirituality as Lamott takes us through her tragedies, better days and everydays. For her, every moment is worth writing about and she always has a way of keeping you interested with her observations of the cotidian.
Rating:
Summary: A fabulous read
Review: I took this book with me during a weekend away by myself earlier this year and found I couldn't put it down. It was funny and yet the kind of book that makes you think about experiences in your own life when your own faith was challenged to the max -- when you made mistakes that hurt people near and dear to you or when you experienced grief for the first time. It's a book you will want to share with other people, so either be prepared to lend your copy out or purchase more than one copy.
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Summary: Irreverantly Entertaining
Review: Overall, this book is entertaining and engaging. I echo the opinions of other reviewers in saying that Anne Lamott's honesty and transparency in her descriptions of her internal and external life are refreshing and endearing. I also understand the sentiments of some of the reviewers who found her irreverance, well, too irreverant. She is a self-proclaimed "drama queen" and lives up to that title and then some. Usually her "drama queeniness" is hilarious, because you can tell that her supposed self-centeredness comes from a constant need to prove herself (as she herself admits). She says that she has a superiority complex rooted in an inferiority complex. People who have trouble with this book are wanting to make Anne Lamott a role model instead of a story teller. We can certainly learn from the authenticity and self-awareness shown in the way she tells her stories in this book. She does not shy away from the less flashy aspects of faith--doubt, sin, suffering, etc. and that is what makes this book realistic and honest. She is not writing a story about how we should live our lives, and it is wrong to take that book in this way. But in the end it is a real and engaging story of love and relationships; between her and God, her son, friends, the church, family, and life. It is greatly entertaining, and a refreshing look into someone's life who is as open with her blemishes as with her crowns.
Rating:
Summary: An honest and moving description of faith and grace.
Review: Anne Lamott speaks to my heart, soul, and beliefs as she talks of becoming and remaining a Christian. I began this book on a day when the hairs of my soul were rubbed backward. As I read her words, my heart was soothed as I was reminded of what truly is important. It is difficult to remain a liberal, intellectual Christian at times. Lamott reminds us, in an irreverent way that I love, that we are in this boat together. The love of Jesus and our higher calling supersede all of the grumbling here below. The chapter on forgiveness and the "perfect mother" is one that I will turn to often when the feelings that I am in competition return.
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