Rating: Summary: One of the All-Time Best Review: No one is better at describing real life as a flawed but spiritual person than Anne Lamott. Her book is filled with humorous and sometimes painful tales of walking along the path of life with only enough light to see the current day (and sometimes not even that far ahead...)
Rating: Summary: I loved it; not everyone will Review: This is a powerful, emotional memoir of the author's struggles through life and with faith. It is not neat and linear; and it can be petty and bitchy sometimes. While I embraced this honesty and loved this book, others might very well hate it. I'm sure there are those who won't like when she admits how she's jealous of her son's friend's mother, or how much she used to drink, or how angry she got at her young son. So if you're looking for a book about a messed up person who's gotten better and writes about it with skill, humor and insight, this one is great. If you're inclined to dislike judgmental, irresponsible people even if they get their act together on a semi-regular basis, then you should probably give this one a miss.
Rating: Summary: WOW! Review: This book is so amazing. I am a junior in high school, and i am reading this with my religion class. We all love it so much. she is just so honest and open about her life, and proves that God loves her and anyone else, no matter what. She is my hero and I really want to meet her some day!
Rating: Summary: An unedited, simplistic journey of faith Review: Anne Lamott shares with us her haphazard stumble upon faith. A simplistic honest example of her struggle with her own self-reliance and eventually her release of her life to God. She points out that the beauty in life is also found in the most unexpected of places. "There are two things in life that pierce the human heart: beauty and affliction." You can't experience one without the other. A great exploration of the human soul.
Rating: Summary: A conversion like no other. Review: Since the time of my own conversion experience - at age 38 - I have had a special place in my heart for others with similar experiences and Lamott's is one of the most beautifully described conversions I have ever read. A week after an abortion she finds herself one night, drunk and losing lots of blood. She's terrified and when the bleeding finally stops she turns off the light and tries to go to sleep only to become aware of someone in the room with her - first assuming it was her [dead] father. She turns on the light to find, of course, no one in the room. "But after a while in the dark again, I knew beyond any doubt it was Jesus. ... And I was appalled. I thought about my life and my brillant hilarious progressive friends. I thought about what everyone would think of me if I became a Christian, and it seemed an utterly impossible thing that simply could not be allowed to happen. I turned to the wall and said out loud, 'I would rather die.' I felt him sitting there on his haunches in the corner of my sleeping loft, watching me with patience and love, and I squinched my eyes shut, but that didn't help because that's not what I was seeing him with."Thanks be to God.
Rating: Summary: Only for those with a wry sense of humor Review: I can't fault this book, only praise it. For who else has written in such a unique way about a faith journey? Lamott makes it real (for someone of her age [middle-aged] and from a definitely Californian point of view.) But, her observations and the way she writes about them are universal. And funny. If you can't laugh at yourself, your foibles, and even at God, don't read this--you'll start feeling self-righteous and will be quickly entering a "how dare she?" review. You will, of course, have totally missed the point. Everyone can learn something about the way LIFE has a sneaky way of surfacing painful and joyous memories and feelings. These emotions are triggered by life's details, which Lamott expertly captures. She finds the most unassuming triggers to release a flood of feelings about various topics. The stories she tells are God-given, precious moments. Perhaps we don't "see" these moments and reflect on them enough in our lives. Is that why Lamott touches us? Thankfully, she remind us that they are there. Read and savor this book, if you are open to what makes someone an imperfect person--and a Christian.
Rating: Summary: Conflicted Review: This book has some amazingly well written passages, especially the one that describes her father's condition at the end of his life. I am a writer and a follower of Christ, so this book left me conflicted as to what to think of it because of how flippant she is with the name of Jesus. At one point she talks about wondering if Jesus would want to drink a bottle of gin, and although there are probably a lot of you reading this who think "So what?", it really angered me that she claimed to be a follower of Christ but then threw his name around in disregard. She also says that she supports abortion theoretically and politically, and again if she is a true follower of Christ she would know how much he loves children and would never want to harm them, no matter how young they may be. There were several passages in this book that really inspired me to write, but all in all in this book she really is centered on herself to a fault.
Rating: Summary: Faith - A Thing of Beauty, Often Unrecognized Review: Anne Lamotte has given us a book about faith that is greater than any I've ever read. She shows us how her faith grew through the drawing into a community of an alcoholic and drug addicted young lady with dreadlocks. She shows us that people of faith are humans with all the flaws of humans, and that there is not "miraculous event" that occurs to "cure" all out ills or our sinful nature and actions. As a person suffering from depression and alcohol addiction recovery, and struggling with my faith and my relation to God and his or her relation to me, I find myself seeing visions though the words of this wonderful woman that I've never seen before. Those visions are helping me to find my way back to a path of emotional and faithful contentment. Thank you Anne Lamotte for your ragged and blatent honesty! If more people would be so honest, the world and the church would be a better place.
Rating: Summary: Far Under Par Review: I was told by a classmate that this book was inspirational, funny, and a great read. Also, former raving reviews caused me to buy it. However, I was very disappointed and did not even finish the whole text because I couldn't stand one more cheesy metaphor about her haphazardous life.
Rating: Summary: more than we deserve to know about Anne Lamott Review: In this quirky insightful memoir, Lamott reveals a remarkable range of emotional aptitude. Ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime, her spiritual flounderings might be amusing were it not for the deeply painful or exuberantly gratifying circumstances under which her understanding of her place in the universe steadily evolves. Anne Lamott is a mother who prays. She says, "Here are the two best prayers I know:"Help me, help me, help me," and "Thank you, thank you, thank you." She then tells us that ,"A woman I know says, for her morning prayer, "Whatever," and then for the evening, "Oh, well,".........When all of the theology and dogma are rinsed from the muddied waters of religion, those four prayers (help me, thank you, whatever, and oh, well) will be visible in the sands below for anyone snorkeling by to celebrate. Funky faith stories whose author courageously tells us more than we deserve to know about Anne Lamott will continue to circulate this book from one spiritual seeker to another.
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