Mamalicious!

Last night, I had the great pleasure of hearing Anne Lamott speak about faith, writing, and life–and how it all comes down to a fox-trot: “Slow…slow…quick-quick.” (Maybe you had to be there.) She also read from her latest book (which I bought last night, and she signed) Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith.

Some Christians knock Anne Lamott for not hawking their brand of Christianity–one writer once referred to her as “Jesus-y.” Annie (which she prefers to “Anne”) knows that passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and passion for social justice aren’t just compatible, they are inextricably linked. Annie knows that our time is better spent working to alleviate the suffering in the world than defining other people in and out of the Kingdom.

I’m a bigger fan of Annie’s nonfiction than I am of her fiction. Her book, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life is one I always recommend to emerging writers (along with The First Five Pages). Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith is another favorite. Annie is not afraid to show her utter brokenness (addictions, being a control freak, being fully human) and to point time and time again to the grace that sustains her–and she does it all with writing so good and humble and real, that you are blessed for having read it. Listening to her read her work is a double treat.

This was my second time hearing her speak, and I love that she was different this time than before. There was no schtick. She was still down-to-earth and funny as all get out, but there was definitely something more grounded about her. She said that she’s spent much of Bush’s presidency angry, and it took many trips to the altar to be free of that. She sounded freer last night.

Or maybe the difference was that when I heard her a few years ago, she was speaking as a part of a lecture series, and focused more on the writing life. Last night, she was speaking at the occasion of the 40th anniversary celebration of a local church devoted to social justice. So while she talked about writing, she did speak in broader terms.

Over the years, Anne Lamott’s writing has given me the courage to write. Even though I’ve never said more than a few words to her, she serves as a mentor for me, as does my friend and Big Brother Tony who played MC for last night’s event. I first approached writing years ago with fear and trembling, because writing—honest writing, truth-telling–doesn’t come easily to a recovering people-pleaser like me. It is not for the faint of heart. But both Tony and Annie, by their examples, have helped me to be braver.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 at 11:22 am and is filed under Books and Writers, Cool Stuff, Currently Reading, Faith, Friends, Fun Times. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.