Traveling Mercies
By: Anne Lamott
Pantheon; 1st edition (January 19, 1999)
288 pages
Traveling Mercies tells the story of how renowned writer Anne Lamott stumbled into religion. From an atheist upbringing in a highly intellectual family to years of addiction, Lamott finds herself in a place she never could have imagined. Regardless of your belief, this story will fascinate you. Personally, I can not get enough of Anne Lamott. Like I did a year or two ago with Donald Miller, I have set my self to read all of Anne Lamott’s books. She is so honest. And I am jealous of the way she writes. The hope is that if you read enough of what great writers have written – some of their style might bleed into what you are typing.
Two of my favorite quotes:
I’m unclear about the fine line between good parenting and being overly protective. I get stumped by the easy test questions—like whether I should let Sam ride his two-wheeler for several blocks without me when I secretly want to run alongside him like a golden retriever. He wants to walk to a friend’s house; I want him to stay inside and draw while I sit on the front porch with a shotgun across my lap like Granny Clampett.
It’s funny: I always imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox, full of shiny tools: the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience. But then when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools—friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty—and said, Do the best you can with these, they will have to do. And mostly, against all odds, they’re enough.