Sunday, April 10, 2011

Happy Birthday, Anne Lamott


photo from the PRX website (http://www.prx.org/pieces/19657)



From today's Writer's Almanac ...

It's the birthday of the writer Anne Lamott, born in San Francisco (1954). She had already written three novels when she got pregnant and decided to keep the baby, even though the baby's father left when she told him that. Her book Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year (1993) was about her struggles with motherhood and her Christianity. It got rave reviews.

Her book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life (1994) is often quoted and referenced by writers both beginning and seasoned. The title is from her father's advice to her 10-year-old brother, who was struggling with a report on birds that had to be completed in one evening.

She wrote, "[He] put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"


Happy Birthday, Anne. You are a treasure ... a true treasure in this world.

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