Traveling Mercies (by Anne Lamott)

(Amazon UK link)

I don’t recall where I first heard of Anne Lamott, but I had a few of her books on my wishlist. I was given ‘Traveling [sic] Mercies’ nearly a year ago, but have only just got to reading it over the past couple of weeks. 

The subtitle of this book is ‘Some thoughts on faith’, and essentially that’s what this book is.  Much of it is told in autobiographical style, which I found very interesting. It shows the author’s background, with a wide variety of religious (and non-religious) input from family members and friends. 

Lamott begins her story when she’s around five, a free-range child in a small town in Southern California, where she hung out with other children of all ages. Her best friend was Roman Catholic, so she sometimes went to church with her friend, and even at such a young age loved the mystery, the liturgy, the formality of it all. 

Her own family, by contrast, were not religious in any way. They believed in doing good, in helping other people, but not in God. Her mother went once a year to a Christmas service, her father not at all.  So it’s not surprising that young Anne was confused. She was eager to please everyone, longing to fit in. She knew she wasn’t pretty, or conventional, but she could do things people wanted in the hope that they might like her. 

It’s not an autobiography as such; more scenes from the author’s life as they related to her leaps and discoveries about faith. Some of it is revealing, poignant, and stark. As a teenager she experimented with drugs, slept with a lot of different men, and drank far too much. She didn’t look after herself at all; later chapters talk about her developing an eating disorder after trying - and failing - to diet, experimenting with every possible way of eating she could find. 

Fundamentalists would find a lot to argue with. Lamott is not a conventional Christian at all, and while her faith is clearly strong it’s hard to know how she sees God, and what principles she still holds to. She clearly likes to help others - to love her neighbour, to forgive and care for even the most unpleasant people - and she adores her young son Sam, a quirky little boy who, by the time he’s eight, has learned to be quite scathing (even rude) at times. 

On the other hand, it takes her a long time to accept that she is loved and lovable, to care less about her image and more about being who God made her to be. And she continues sleeping with the many different boyfriends she acquires, never finding anyone she wants to spend the rest of her life with. She seems to fall in and out of love with disturbing rapidity. 

Although the topic of faith is certainly covered, here and there, the book felt more like an expose of the author and her life. It’s very honest, quite self-revealing in a way that’s almost uncomfortable at times. Yet I  found it a very readable book. The writing style is unique, if sometimes a bit wordy. The descriptions are excellent, with some unusual metaphors and word pictures that conjured up scenes or voices in my mind. 

There are a few too many expletives for my tastes, but they’re evidently part of the author’s natural conversation. I like the way that much of the book comes across as her talking about personal anecdotes and ideas, as if to a friend. So while I don’t like some of the language, it’s apparently how Anne Lamott speaks - and therefore more acceptable. 

Not everyone will appreciate this book. The forays into faith and leaps in understanding how God works are described well, and unlikely to offend atheists and agnostics. But those of fundamentalist leanings, or strict evangelicals might object to the relaxed, liberal theology that comes across. 

But with those provisos, I would recommend this as a description of one person’s wanderings through unusual pathways, experimenting with several bad ideas, but still ending up believing in God. 

Review copyright 2023 Sue's Book Reviews

Almost Everything (by Anne Lamott)

(Amazon UK link)

I don’t recall where I first came across Anne Lamott. But I was evidently impressed enough by what I saw or read (or perhaps by someone’s recommendation) that I put three of her books on my wishlist nearly a year ago, and was given them for my birthday, back in the spring. I read and very much liked ‘Bird by Bird’, the author’s advice on writing. So it was with enthusiasm that I picked up ‘Almost Everything’ a couple of weeks ago, determined to read a chapter or so each morning.

The subtitle of this book is ‘Notes on Hope’ and the introduction - or ‘prelude’ chapter - talks about modern life, with its wars, shootings, famine, political battles and more, causing depression and hopelessness. She also mentions taking note of the happy voices of children playing, of flowers blooming, of other indications that God - or the light - is still there. She says, too, that despite all the horrors in the world and in many people’s backgrounds there are moments of joy, times for celebration, reasons to be thankful.

It might sound a bit preachy, but that’s not the case at all. Anne Lamott writes informally, pointing out her own flaws and temptations and in a random selection of broad topics, she introduces reasons to hope. She acknowledges that perhaps most people feel more reasons for despair than hope, but that every step forwards counts; that each act of love or kindness brings God into other people’s lives.

The chapters are short, each one complete in itself; one of them is just one page long. They’re quick to read, and on the whole I thought them encouraging, even if I really couldn’t relate to the one about the author’s childhood, expected to be a particular kind of person, and encouraged in perfectionism. But in other chapters, I found myself nodding my head, even if the style of writing is a bit abrupt. Anne Lamott was around my age when she wrote this book, but evidently a great deal more active even though she mentions aches and discomforts of being not as young as she once was.

The most important message that shines through this book is one I have heard many times from other writers, but it’s always worth hearing: we are good enough as we are. We are made in God’s image, and we can’t do anything to make him love us any more. That’s not to say we shouldn’t be kind, or generous. But we should do it because we know it’s right, and because it helps other people and spreads God’s love.

However we don’t need to have perfect bodies, or give up food we like eating, or attempt to fit in clothes we wore as teenagers. We need to accept ourselves as beloved children of the Father. Again, the author manages to feel very balanced in her casual advice: forget about spending an hour at the gym every day being coerced, but maybe go for a half hour walk. Eat and drink for enjoyment, but don’t over-indulge. Sit down at a table with people we love, as if serving every meal to an important guest, rather than grabbing junk food in the kitchen.

I don’t know that anything in the book was new to me, and I have already forgotten quite a bit of what I read, but I thought it had some thought-provoking reminders about living in the moment, gratefulness and acceptance. I had to wade a bit through the mentions of hatred and childhood pressure, which weren’t really relevant, but there’s good stuff there, and I’m glad I read it.

Recommended if you want something that’s written from a loosely Christian perspective on the topic of hope, but without any proselytism or preaching. On the other hand, if you’re bothered by even minor bad language or hints of immorality, or if you’re a fundamentalist of any kind (including atheism) then you might find this book disturbing or worse. Anne Lamott considers that fundamentalists cause most of the world’s problems.

Review copyright 2022 Sue's Book Reviews

Bird by Bird (by Anne Lamott)

(Amazon UK link)

I’m not sure where I first heard of Anne Lamott; possibly recommended in some other book I read. I discovered that she’s written both novels and non-fiction including some on the topic of faith, and one, which is highly rated on the topic of writing. I put this (and a couple of others) on my wishlist and was given them for my birthday earlier in the year. I’ve just finished reading ‘Bird by Bird’ which is the book about writing.

I should make it clear from the outside that although the author is a person of faith, and mentions God a few times, it’s not at all a religious book, or a typical one written by a Christian writer. There is some quite strong language used in places, and the ‘instructions’ of the sub-title are very general, relaxed and full of personal reflections, mostly from what might be called a ‘secular’ viewpoint.

It’s nonetheless a very engaging book, full of honesty, as the author recounts - for instance - the horrors of sitting in front of a blank screen when all ideas have vanished, or the way she describes her loathing in exaggerated terms of authors who are ‘successful’. She uses hyperbole several times to make good points, and while I think I might find her a tad overwhelming if I attended one of her classes, I thought what she said in the book was excellent, encouraging, and extremely reassuring.

Some of the advice, of course, is the same as any writer would say. In order to finish anything, one has to start. To have a final copy, one needs a first draft. It doesn’t matter if that first draft is rubbish (Anne Lamott uses a much stronger word which is perhaps more memorable) and it doesn’t matter if some of the writing is pointless, or goes nowhere. She recommends a minimum of 300 words per day, less than is commonly advised, but then it’s much easier to write 300 than 1000.

She explains, too, how to get to know our characters, letting them wander into our minds, asking them questions, letting them lead the way in short stories or novels. It’s not new advice, but the way it’s expressed is helpful. Indeed, it’s the way the book is written that makes it so engaging; it’s not laugh-aloud funny but there are definitely some amusingly written sections of writing, not just the hyperbole.

Publication, the author insists, is not the supreme goal of writing, although it is, of course, very nice to be published. But it’s not straightforward, it takes a huge amount of effort and stress - and the satisfaction of writing is in the writing itself. This book was written before the popularity of self-publication via print-on-demand services, but the points made should hold: a book needs months, maybe years of writing, re-writing, asking for advice from one or two trusted people, editing and proof-reading. But at some point one needs to let go; to allow one’s work to be finished, even if only printed out and read to one or two people, or it’s possible to keep going forever, without progressing.

I have a full shelf of writing advice books already, some of them more helpful than others; most of them are inspiring to some extent and each time I read one I determine to write more, to set targets, to follow all the suggestions given. It never lasts more than a few weeks. But maybe, just maybe I might manage 300 words per day, and finish some of my many started projects even if nobody else ever gets to read them.

Having said that, there are some sections that went right over my head; it’s an American book, and references to American sports or other activities meant very little to me.

Definitely recommended if you are interested in writing, and want an honest - sometimes almost brutally honest - viewpoint of life as a writer, with plenty of suggestions and ideas rather than a structured plan or instructions.

My other personal favourite books about writing (sadly not all in print) are:

  

- Writing on both sides of the brain by Henriette Anne Klauser

- One way to write your novel by Dick Perry

- Walking on water by Madeleine l'Engle

- The five-minute writer by Margret Geraghty

- Becoming a writer by Dorothea Brande

- Back to creative writing school by Bridget Whelan

- How to write and sell short stories by Della Galton

- Writing great short stories by Margaret Lucke

- Guide to fiction writing by Phyllis Whitney

Review copyright 2022 Sue's Book Reviews