Almost Everything
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Average rating4.2
From Anne Lamott, the New York Times-bestselling author of Dusk, Night, Dawn and Help, Thanks, Wow, comes the book we need from her now: How to bring hope back into our lives "I am stockpiling antibiotics for the Apocalypse, even as I await the blossoming of paperwhites on the windowsill in the kitchen," Anne Lamott admits at the beginning of Almost Everything. Despair and uncertainty surround us: in the news, in our families, and in ourselves. But even when life is at its bleakest--when we are, as she puts it, "doomed, stunned, exhausted, and over-caffeinated"--the seeds of rejuvenation are at hand. "All truth is paradox," Lamott writes, "and this turns out to be a reason for hope. If you arrive at a place in life that is miserable, it will change." That is the time when we must pledge not to give up but "to do what Wendell Berry wrote: 'Be joyful, though you have considered all the facts.'" In this profound and funny book, Lamott calls for each of us to rediscover the nuggets of hope and wisdom that are buried within us that can make life sweeter than we ever imagined. Divided into short chapters that explore life's essential truths, Almost Everything pinpoints these moments of insight as it shines an encouraging light forward. Candid and caring, insightful and sometimes hilarious, Almost Everything is the book we need and that only Anne Lamott can write.
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Always good to be inspired by Anne Lamott. My favorite quote from the book, out of many: “Even my Buddhist friends have been feeling despair, and when they go bad, you know the end is nigh.”
An Evening with Anne Lamott
October 19, 2018
St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Houston
People are fanning themselves in the church. The air isn't on, it's a packed house, and it is a warm October night in Houston. I dare to ask to sit in an open pew less than fifty feet from the pulpit.
I am surrounded by people with strong political and spiritual views, and we talk about important things while we wait.
And then she arrives. It's Anne Lamott, and she seems different than the last time I heard her speak, ten or so years back, stronger, more confident, even...dare I say it?...happy. She has a new book.
“I accidentally wrote this book on hope. It was originally called Doomed,” she tells us. We laugh. That's one thing we adore about Anne Lamott: she dares to be honest, and she finds a way to be honest while also making us laugh.
“I'm as scared and angry as everyone else, but one of the blessings of being a little bit older is that being scared and angry doesn't last as long. And you don't always remember why you are scared and angry.”
Anne Lamott is here to share what she has learned in this life with us. She has put everything she knows in this little book, Almost Everything, written for her young niece and grandson:
“We are not alone.”
“Love gives me hope.”
“I spent a lot of years unlearning everything I'd been taught as a child.”
“All truth is paradox.”
We listen to Anne. We laugh with Anne. She reads a few bits from her book, but mostly she talks, seemingly extemporaneously. A few brave souls pose questions to Anne. One woman tells her that when she was at her lowest, in an abusive relationship, she saw Anne on tv, and she asked herself, “Who is this woman?” and she got Anne's books and she changed her life. “Could you give me a hug?” the woman asks Anne. Anne says yes.
This book is a hug from Anne to the world.
It's short, but there's a lot of good stuff in here. Lamott talks a little bit about writing, about not giving into hate, even in our current political environment. There's a lot of wisdom in this little book.
