Monday, August 27, 2007

Anne Lamott & her recent book


I love the book discussion group that happens once a month at RevGalBlogPals. It has challenged me to read some books that I might otherwise miss. I had the privilege to host the recent discussion on Anne Lamott's book Grace (Eventually) Thoughts on Faith. It was the first of her books to read. I liked it so much I bought the other two; Traveling Mercies:Some Thoughts on Faith, and Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith. I plan to read her others that she has written as well.

Lamott has an interesting way of saying things and writing.
"You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do." Traveling Mercies
"Laughter is carbonated holiness." (Plan B)
"I wish grace and healing were more abracadabra kinds of things," she writes, "that delicate silver bells would ring to announce grace's arrival. But no, it's clog and slog and scotch, on the floor, in silence, in the dark." Grace (Eventually)
"There is not much truth being told in the world. There never was. This has proven to be a major disappointment to some of us." Grace(Eventually)
What she does write about in these series is about her recovery, her parenting, her faith, and God's grace. Now don't we need to hear about that more with such honesty and realism. Some of what she writes will make you uncomfortable, it did me. But perhaps we need to be a little uncomfortable.

I invite you to go over to RevGalBlogPals and read the book discussion that is going on over there about this book. And go get the book and read it.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Abi, thanks for the questions you posed about the book!

Terri said...

I've not had a chance to read this series. The two books of hers I have read left me very unsettled: "Hard Laughter" and "All New People". Hard Laughter had way too much resemblance to my college days, not exactly, but enough to be very uncomfortable...and New People had no resolution, just left me hanging....so, I've not fallen for Anne Lamott. However, these more recent books show a wisdom and depth that I can relate too. I suspect she and I may be about the same age, and therefore, perhaps, she speaks too close to home. I will aim to read Grace, eventually....