Rating: 
Summary: Funny, Inspiring, Comforting
Review: Most other books on faith or spirituality that I've read are solemn, dull, and seem to lecture the reader about how "deep" and "meaningful" life is and how seriously we must always regard it. What a breath of fresh, hilarious air Traveling Mercies is! Anne Lamott expertly delves into the complexity of the human condition in a way that is accessible to everyone and shows us how "deep" and "meaningful" life really is without preaching at us. I love the way she uses her own life to illustrate what it means to just be human. Many readers may not have had problems with alcohol or drugs as she did but her point is, who among us can say they have never struggled with jealousies, resentments, insecurities about their bodies or creativity, or pain and doubt in their personal relationships? Each chapter ended so neatly and gracefully, skillfully tying up all the strands she had laid out. Her lessons in how one can live by small, personal acts of faith and connections to fellow humans, rather than traditional, sanctimonious, grand(iose!)gestures of spirituality was so inspiring! I have been astounded by reviewers who apparently missed her point entirely and seemed to resent reading about faith from a very personal perspective. To my mind, there is no better way to understand and learn about it, as each of us has to develop our own personal sense of faith in order to survive and prosper in this world. I hope many more people read this amazing book (and "get" the message!).
Rating:
Summary: The Spirit of Christianity Alive and Well
Review: Reading Anne Lamott's Traveling Mercies can shock a Christian at first. The irreverence is astounding! But then, driven along by the need to learn what events got Anne to this point in her life--bestselling author, devoted mother--it is hard not to appreciate the stark honesty shown here. Annie is amazing. She must have been aware of the kind of criticism she would face, yet she didn't let that censor her. Folks, the things that happened to Annie on her way to faith happen to many people in the real world. God did happen to have a special plan for her, as He does for all of us, but her road just had a few extra twists in it. Don't criticize her for admitting it. Instead, enjoy her fabulous humor in recounting these very serious problems. Enjoy her power of description. Enjoy seeing her transformed gradually into a Christian--Oh, the C word! Anything but trite, Annie gives us a genuine perspective on faith missing in much of Christian literature today. I've seen them--I work in a book store--pithy volumes of sage advice and empty platitudes. You always get the feeling that those authors have no idea what life is like without God in their lives. Say what you will about Annie, but she knows what that is like, and she is able to impart that knowledge to her readers in her own honest, uproarious way. I've bought this book for a friend, my mother, and my sister. Give a copy to someone you love. And God bless you, Annie.
Rating:
Summary: I laughed and I cried
Review: I too was concerned that this book might be a little too religious for my liking but, instead, it was so down to earth, so real, so everyman. I could MAYBE (maybe) understand why someone might say gen-xers might not like it as much because many of her jokes related to things or people that someone in their mid-forties would readily recognize. I admit, I am 38 and that might have made the reading experience more enjoyable for me. And yet, her writing just sucks you in. I didn't put it down until I finished the book.
Rating:
Summary: the vulnerability of those who believe
Review: Anne Lamott has done a wonderful job of capturing a spiritual journey in a human and humble and truthful voice. This voice is what makes her story so identifiable. We can all relate to the daily, sometimes harrowing, sometimes mundane, challenges of life, the spiritual journey of searching for meaning, for a God who can relate to us. This is the journey you will find in this book....well written to boot.
Rating: 
Summary: Entirely Expendable
Review: First of all let me state I'm a fan of Lamott and will continue to take an interest in everything she produces. But while Annie Lamott makes a very personal case for her faith and honestly depicts her experiences, I was not moved by this book as I was by BIRD BY BIRD, which, unencumbered by the "baggage" of religion, is filled with compassion, understanding and tenderness toward the human condition. TRAVELING MERCIES is much more self-indulgent, trite and unconsidered - okay if there's nothing else around to read, but hardly "essential reading"!
Rating:
Summary: We laughed, we cried...
Review: My women's sprirituality group read "Traveling Mercies" last fall and we loved it! Anne Lamott is a woman who writes about life, love, sprituality and God in a way that's inclusive and applicable to everyday living. Can't we all relate to the author's prayer to God the day her old Volkswagon breaks down in the middle of a storm, or the fight she has with her son in the morning and how she feels guilty all day until she can see him and apologize? Every member of my sprituality group was moved by this book, no matter our age, background or occupation. My only complaint was that the book ended too soon! Read this book, you'll love it!
Rating:
Summary: Pilgrim's Progress for the Modern Neurotic
Review: This book is a gem. Anne Lamott is a Christian who has the courage to be a real human being. . ..a rare combination in today's church, and sorely needed. Pick this book up for yourself, get a copy for your friends. Lamott's honesty and faith will shock and inspire you to love God, by way of learning how to love yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully written
Review: I was wary of this book when I saw the title, but found that it was not an in your face account of spirituality in which religion is shoved down the reader's throat, but instead an honest look at one woman's struggles to find God. I found the book inspiring. I also found LaMott's prose to be some of the best I have ever read. I read each sentence slowly and carefully, not wanting to miss a single word. I also disagree with the reviewer who said gen-xers would not enjoy this book. I am 28 and think it is one of the best books I have ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: I really wanted to like this.
Review: I really wanted to like this book. I had heard good things about it and read lots of reviews of people liking it. To me though - it seemed like it was just a look of reflections on the author's life without much direction. There seemed to be very little about her faith and how that had helped. I apparently just missed the point.
Rating: 
Summary: Writer mistakes cloying self-absorption with spirituality
Review: I have read and enjoyed other nonfiction by Anne Lamott (she certainly is no writer of fiction), but I found this book shallow, poorly written, and exploitative. The writer is endlessly amused with herself and so narcissistic as to believe that God exists mainly to do what she refuses to, which is take care of herself and her son while she hammers out her essays. We learn, for example, that she---middle-class, educated, and capable of self-support---accepts money from the fixed-income women at her church and calls this the work of God. We're treated to an essay "on forgiveness" in which she learns to forgive the woman who rescues her son when Lamott forgets to pick him up at school or teach him to read. Oh, right, and then Lamott has to forgive herself for not realizing sooner that she's the one who's been the schmuck. And this was worth an essay? I'm sorry, but this collection left me feeling completely uncharitable, the opposite of what I expected from a book on spirituality.
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