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Anne Lamott writes and speaks about subjects that begin with capital letters: Alcoholism, Motherhood, Jesus. But armed with self-effacing humor-she is laugh out-loud funny-and ruthless honesty, Lamott converts her subjects into enchantment. Actually, she writes about what most of us don't like to think about. She wrote her first novel for her father, the writer Kenneth Lamott, when he was diagnosed with brain cancer. She has said that the book was "a present to someone I loved who was going to die." In all her novels, Anne Lamott writes about loss-loss of loved ones and loss of personal control. She doesn't try to sugar-coat the sadness, frustration and disappointment, but tells her stories with honesty, compassion and a pureness of voice. Anne Lamott says, "I have a lot of hope and a lot of faith and I struggle to communicate that." She does communicate her faith; in her books and in person, she lifts, comforts, and inspires, all the while keeping us laughing.
Anne Lamott is the author of six novels, including Hard Laughter, Rosie, Joe Jones, All New People, and Crooked Little Heart. In addition, she has authored three best-selling works of non-fiction: Operating Instructions, an account of life as a single mother during her son's first year, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, a guide to writing and the challenges of a writer's life, and Traveling Mercies, a collection of autobiographical essays on faith. Word by Word, Lamott's biweekly online column in Salon, was voted "The Best of the Web" by Time magazine. She is the subject of the documentary Bird by Bird with Annie by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Freida Mock. Lamott's recent novel Blue Shoe has been a New York Times bestseller. In March 2005, Riverhead will publish a collection of essays entitled Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith. Anne Lamott is a past recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and she has taught at UC Davis, as well as at writing conferences across the country.
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