Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son’s First Son Anne Lamott with Sam Lamott
New York: Riverhead Books, 2012
Scholarly Response-2
I enjoy reading Anne Lamott’s books. I enjoyed this one even though it wasn’t my favorite. She chronicles her grandson’s first year in great detail. It is readable and relatable. It is an amazing gift to her whole family. I prefer Traveling Mercies, Plan B, and Grace Eventually. I recommend this book if you enjoy Anne Lamott’s writing. If you have never read Anne Lamott before, I’d encourage you to start with one of the three books I mentioned earlier.
One thing that keeps me returning to Anne Lamott is her honesty. In the midst of ordinary situations, she reminds us to look for God not because she always remembers but because she tries. She encourages us to keep trying as she keeps trying. She has surrounded herself with people who remind her to look for God. Are you surrounded by people who place you back on the right path if you fall off? Am I? Do others help me look for the good and God in those I meet? Anne Lamott’s books don’t make her look like a saint. They share her story as she strives to follow Jesus and her humanity is why I find her inspirational and fun to read.
“Finally I thought to pray–it had completely escaped me that I believe in divine mind and comfort. I’d forgotten that if I said the Great Prayer–Help–I would experience that God was with me” (20).
“Maybe what we say to each other is not so important after all, but just that we are alive together, and present for each other as best we can be” (62-63).
“It would be great if God were up there shoving ever-resistant people like me through the maze, toward presence and serenity. But noooooo. It’s Free Will 101” (64).
“My pastor Veronica says that peace is joy at rest, and joy is peace on its feet” (212).
“Despite our great love and art, we are a violent species. Cain is still killing Abel, and that was meaningful for people like me, who can write to bear witness, remind others of this in the hopes of preventing such madness in the future” (265).
Book Review-What We Talk about when We Talk about God
[…] “Like a mirror, God appears to be more and more a reflection of whoever it is that happens to be talking about God at the moment” (2). This reminds me of Anne Lamott’s quote, “You can safely assume you have created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” See I told you I really do like Anne Lamott. […]