Status
Available
Local notes
EC Motherhood
Collection
Publication
Ballantine Books (1994), Edition: Later Printing, 253 pages
Description
Biography & Autobiography. Family & Relationships. Nonfiction. HTML:With the same brilliant combination of humor and warmth she brought to bestseller Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott gives us a smart, funny, and comforting chronicle of single motherhood. It�??s not like she�??s the only woman to ever have a baby. At thirty-five. On her own. But Anne Lamott makes it all fresh in her now-classic account of how she and her son and numerous friends and neighbors and some strangers survived and thrived in that all important first year. From finding out that her baby is a boy (and getting used to the idea) to finding out that her best friend and greatest supporter Pam will die of cancer (and not getting used to that idea), with a generous amount of wit and faith (but very little piousness), Lamott narrates the great and small events that make up a woman�??s life. "Lamott has a conversational style that perfectly conveys her friendly, self-depricating humor." �?? Los Angeles Times… (more)
Original language
English
Original publication date
1993
User reviews
LibraryThing member lamericaana
What can I say? If you're about to, have just or have long ago had a baby and remember the bitter-sweet memories of becoming a mother, there is no other book I know of that will make you smile and even laugh as this book can.
LibraryThing member Katya0133
Unexpectedly moving. My favorite quote: "Forgiveness is giving up all hope of having had a better past."
LibraryThing member 23eris
Lamott's diary from the birth of her son to his first birthday. A captivating read full of humor and humility. Lamott describes her fustrations with the inevitable fussy baby -- but tempers them with her overwhelming feelings of her love.
LibraryThing member stephaniesmithrn
Please I implore you not to read this if you are planning to be pregnant, are pregnant, or have small children. I read this thinking it would be a pleasant read while I waited out my pregnancy. What a downer! The author fixates on every unpleasant aspect of infancy and motherhood, until you find
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youself in a deep depression with her. It's been 4 years since I've read this book and my daughter was born, and I still don't understand it. My daughter was a very difficult baby and I had many of the same emotions, but I never find myself wanting to mull over them again and again. Don't get me wrong, I had many of the same feelings as Miss Lamott, but who wants to be reminded that they, for a split second, considered pitching their infant out the window. Show Less
LibraryThing member BookAngel_a
I fell in love with Anne Lamott after reading Bird by Bird. I also heard rave reviews about this book so decided to read it next. I did not like it as much as Bird by Bird. But it was a good read. Her struggles with her friend's cancer and being a single parent with shaky finances really hit home.
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Her emotional issues and her mood swings, as well as her stories about her past relationships and past behavior, while very REAL, were a little exhausting for me to read about. I commend her for pulling me into her emotional world however. Show Less
LibraryThing member Bonni208
The authenticity of Anne Lamott is evident and engaging in Operating Instructions. She isn't afraid to explore all sides of her first year as a Mother - and she keeps us laughing and crying all the while. I wish someone would write a book like this about infertility.
LibraryThing member Jenners26
Anne Lamott is one of my favorite writers. She writes with an unflinching honesty and a self-depreciating sense of humor that makes her an incredibly accessible writer. She is probably best known for her books on writing (Bird by Bird) and faith (Traveling Mercies, Grace Eventually), but it is only
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natural that she penned this book describing her first year of motherhood. A single mother who is woefully unprepared both financially, spiritually and physically (she has some addiction problems), Lamott nevertheless decides to keep the baby when she discovers she has become pregnant. Her journey is both laugh-out-loud funny and incredibly sad as well. A must for any fan of Lamott and anyone interested in good writing about the experience of motherhood. Show Less
LibraryThing member bookwormteri
A refreshing and true look at motherhood and it's ups and downs. Anne LaMott does not become instantly saintly as soon as she squirts out her son. She is still selfish, humorous, and struggling with issues that most of us struggle with (excluding addiction, maybe we don't ALL struggle with that). A
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wonderful read that flies by. Show Less
LibraryThing member readaholic12
I enjoyed this humorous, honest chronicling of Anne Lamott's first year of parenthood. It was very interesting to me to read this book out of sequence, to look back at the love and frustration of a new, single parent with the knowledge of how she struggled to deal with the teen years. I came to
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know Sam as a complex, almost grown young man and then got to know him as a beautiful baby learning to smile and make his hands obey his will. I was most surprised by how deeply Pam's death affected me, since I knew the how and when of her loss from later books. What a tremendous loss for everyone in this touching journal of Sam's first year. Show Less
LibraryThing member chrisubus
Shees! I've been reading this book a little bit at a time over lunch and I walk back to the office everyday teary-eyed.Just like other stuff I've read by Lamott, this is irreverent (that may be an understatement), but for folks who appreciate a particular kind of honesty about having a baby, this
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book will give that in spades. Show Less
LibraryThing member jd234512
Reading this after some of her newer material is quite interesting. The progress of her outlook on life over the years is quite apparent after reading this. It seems like she's come to more answers over the years, but it is wonderful to see where she's been and the quite honest sentiments she felt
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during this time of her life. I love that she pretty much just says whatever is on her mind. Thank you Anne. Show Less
LibraryThing member lhtouchton
A fantastic, brutally honest, poignant account of the author's first year of motherhood. Lamott says the things that many, if not most, of us won't even admit to thinking. Her wit, sense of humor, depth of emotion, and self-awareness flavor every word she writes. As the mother of a child who had a
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difficult first year, I finished this book feeling relief that I wasn't alone/insane/incapable, that there was at least one other woman out there who understood and had the courage to speak honestly about the hardest and most rewarding job there is. Show Less
LibraryThing member etznab
I found the writing style uninspiring. "I woke up with a start at 4:00 am one morning and realized that I was very, very pregnant. Since I had conceived six months earlier, one might have thought that the news would of sunk in before then."
Those are the opening lines. If you find this amusing,
Those are the opening lines. If you find this amusing,
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maybe you will enjoy the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member winecat
Charming and heartbreaking story of Anne and her son during his first year. The ups and downs of unexpected motherhood, the triumphs and tribulations of a new baby are chronicled in this wonderful read.
LibraryThing member sturlington
I was not so impressed by this “must-read” journal of Lamott’s trials and tribulations as she deals with her newborn. Maybe when it was published, it was taboo for a mother to casually remark that she’d like to throw her colicky baby out the window or confess that she let her infant fall
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off the futon (twice!), but in this age of mom-blogging, such confessions are almost trite. The journal reads exactly like a, well, journal, not my favorite type of reading material (I don’t even like to read my own journals). I guess my expectations were a little higher. Show Less
LibraryThing member deadgirl
I loved this book so much. Anne Lamott wrote her account of motherhood in the first year with honesty and humour. I nod my head and think, "Yes, YES, exactly how I felt!" every few pages in. It reminds me of my own son, all his "firsts", all my joy and frustrations and fears and happiness. Anne
I want to give this book to all mothers out there!
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Lamott's feelings about the death of her father also struck a chord with me. Sometimes I felt like this is the book about my current life in a lot of ways.I want to give this book to all mothers out there!
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LibraryThing member BK138
Hilarious, heartfelt, and foul-mouthed look at parenting. Relatable, with lots of quotable lines. She just blurts out things that most of us parents think in our darkest moments. Which is comforting.
LibraryThing member mearias
If you're looking for emotional, this is it for you! This book will resonate with new mother's especially. This is a very candid look of life and it taught me many things.
LibraryThing member TiffanyAK
I readily admit that I am not in the target audience for this book. I found some of it to be a bit too blunt, and Lamott to definitely be an opinionated woman. Yet, there is something intriguing in looking through another person's eyes as they experience the first year of motherhood, and everything
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that goes along with it. This is the kind of book that some people will really love, while others might find it questionable as to its value. Personally, I think it is probably a good choice for anyone who is expecting, and might want a small idea of what is to come. Show Less
LibraryThing member juliecracchiolo
I’m not a parent. I’ve been a step-parent twice over. Still no matter whether it’s biological or vis marriage, nothing, and I mean nothing, can prepare you for parenthood.
Such was the harsh reality novelist Anne Lamott. She found herself pregnant and alone (ie: without a husband or reliable
Anne was absolutely sure that she would have a girl. If she was going to do this, God would give her a girl, another female in the house. She was a girl; she could raise a girl. But when she learned that the blossoming bud inside was a boy, well, she could hardly comprehend it. She never fully accepted her fate until her son, Sam, was born. This is not the journey of pregnancy; it’s the journal of that first year, in all its glory and its horror.
Some of the journal entries are short, some a bit longer, and some last almost two pages. It’s isn’t a day-by-day account. Who has time for that when there is a colicky baby screaming at the top of his lungs?
The entries are equally poignant and humorous. I laughed so hard at times that I woke hubby, who was asleep in another room. Anne’s entries also have a cadence to them. From I love him so much, he’s the best baby ever to he’s trying to kill, I hate him, I laughed and cried.
My favorite account occurs not to long after Sam and Anne are home. She has to take his temperature. When she learns that anal, not oral, is how this is done on babies, it’s laugh at loud hilarious, especially when she describes how his tiny rear-end erupted like a full-scale volcano, spewing feces everywhere.
I recommend Operating Instructions to everyone. It’s short and easy to read and leaves the reader, or at least this one, with a new-found respect for new mothers. Therefore, Operating Instructions receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.
Such was the harsh reality novelist Anne Lamott. She found herself pregnant and alone (ie: without a husband or reliable
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partner). However, Anne is not alone. She has a bevy of friends and neighbors with a speckling of strangers thrown to help her. Anne was absolutely sure that she would have a girl. If she was going to do this, God would give her a girl, another female in the house. She was a girl; she could raise a girl. But when she learned that the blossoming bud inside was a boy, well, she could hardly comprehend it. She never fully accepted her fate until her son, Sam, was born. This is not the journey of pregnancy; it’s the journal of that first year, in all its glory and its horror.
Some of the journal entries are short, some a bit longer, and some last almost two pages. It’s isn’t a day-by-day account. Who has time for that when there is a colicky baby screaming at the top of his lungs?
The entries are equally poignant and humorous. I laughed so hard at times that I woke hubby, who was asleep in another room. Anne’s entries also have a cadence to them. From I love him so much, he’s the best baby ever to he’s trying to kill, I hate him, I laughed and cried.
My favorite account occurs not to long after Sam and Anne are home. She has to take his temperature. When she learns that anal, not oral, is how this is done on babies, it’s laugh at loud hilarious, especially when she describes how his tiny rear-end erupted like a full-scale volcano, spewing feces everywhere.
I recommend Operating Instructions to everyone. It’s short and easy to read and leaves the reader, or at least this one, with a new-found respect for new mothers. Therefore, Operating Instructions receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.
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LibraryThing member Eye_Gee
Anne Lamott is the most honest, funny, sincere, spontaneous, vulnerable, strong, serious, spiritual writer I can think of. In this book, she chronicles her pregnancy, her son's birth, and the first year of his life. During that same year her best friend is diagnosed with incurable breast cancer. In
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taking you along for the ride, you will experience transcendent ups, crushing downs, and will laugh out loud at both ends of the extremes. Highly recommended for anyone who is human. Show Less
LibraryThing member c_why
You never fail, Annie. This time I was determined to give you a 4 or 41/2 stars, but no. You had to step it up in your usual dazzling way until 5 stars just isn't enough. Too many sticky bookmarks in this library book. Can't possibly copy all the great bits. Off to Amazon. Anne Lamott - wavering in
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her self-confidence sends us all her consequential gifts. (Read the book about your grandson first :) Love ya. Show Less