Anne Lamott wrote my all time favorite writing advice book, Bird by Bird. So when I saw her book describing her experiences with faith, I thought, “This is going to be good.”
Traveling Mercies is good and deeply personal and sometimes heartbreaking, as well as funny and hopeful. Lamott describes the culture that encouraged her to use alcohol and drugs as a young child. She doesn’t assign blame to anyone, but I felt the power of her struggle. She was like a tiny boat adrift in an ocean of ideas and addictions and the need to be perfect.
Lamott guides you through her transition to Christianity while recognizing the dignity and power of her Zen and other religious friends. For her, all experiences both silly and terrifying have been a way to live in harmony with Jesus in her life. When her car breaks down, she prays. When her bathing suit is too tight, she forgives the teenage girls who stare at her. And when her best friend dies from cancer, she wonders how she will ever survive.
I sank into this book, loving it, and Lamott, from its very first pages. She has the power to take you into a situation, show you the humor and the pathos, and then to tell you how she sees wisdom without ever talking to you like she’s more holy or perfect or more anything, except maybe more terrified.
If you have a love of spiritual ideas, Traveling Mercies a dear book that will give your soul a lift.
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