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Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year (Ballantine Reader's Circle) [Paperback]

Anne Lamott
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (189 customer reviews)


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Paperback, April 12, 1994 --  
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Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year 4.5 out of 5 stars (189)
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Book Description

April 12, 1994 Ballantine Reader's Circle
It seems no mother of a newborn has ever been more hilarious, more honest, or more touching than Ann Lamott is in OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS. A single parent whose baby's father is out of the picture, Lamott struggles not only to support her little family by her wits and her writing, but to stay sober at the same time. Faith in God helps; so does her loyal band of helpers, from her childless best friend Pammy to her mother and "Aunt Dudu" to the folks at the La Leche League hotline. And between colic, wheat-free diets, and the triumph of solid food, Lamott learns that blessings and losses come together, and that as our capacity for joy increases, so does our capacity for grief.
"An enormous triumph . . . Charming . . . Powerful . . . A gracious book, with dozens of lovingly drawn characters and a deep, infectious religiosity throughout. It is also funny." -- San Francisco Chronicle
"Smart, funny and comforting . . . Lamott has a conversational style that perfectly conveys her friendly, self-deprecating humor." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The most honest, wildly enjoyable book written about motherhood is surely Anne Lamott's account of her son Sam's first year. A gifted writer and teacher, Lamott (Crooked Little Heart) is a single mother and ex-alcoholic with a pleasingly warped social circle and a remarkably tolerant religion to lean on. She responds to the changes, exhaustion, and love Sam brings with aplomb or outright insanity. The book rocks from hilarious to unbearably poignant when Sam's burgeoning life is played out against a very close friend's illness. No saccharine paean to becoming a parent, this touches on the rage and befuddlement that dog sweeter emotions during this sea change in one's life.

From Publishers Weekly

Magazine columnist and novelist Lamott ( All New People ) captures both the poignancy and comedy of her first year as a single mother in this wonderfully candid diary. Her quirky humor steadily draws the reader into her unconventional world as she describes her friends and neighbors in northern California, her participation in a local church, her experiences as a recovering alcoholic and--best of all--her infant son, Sam, born in 1989. She covers maternal emotions from rapturous bliss to bare fury ("In the middle of the colic death marches, I end up looking at the baby with those hooded eyes that were in the old ads for The Boston Strangler "). Throughout, she airs her strong political and religious beliefs. And when her best friend, Pammy, is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Lamott conveys her anguish with the same depth of feeling and sense of the absurd that characterize her observations about her son, God, recovery, writing, Republicans, men and life as usual. Even non-parents will enjoy this glowing work.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 253 pages
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books; Later Printing edition (April 12, 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 044990928X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0449909287
  • Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (189 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #670,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anne Lamott is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Grace (Eventually), Plan B, Traveling Mercies, and Operating Instructions, as well as seven novels, including Rosie and Crooked Little Heart. She is a past recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Customer Reviews

I highly recommend reading this book--or giving it as a gift during your next baby shower. Jolene B.  |  56 reviewers made a similar statement
I have read this book countless times - and laugh out loud each time. J. Allman  |  31 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This book is a pleasure to read. Fast, nervous, searching--it's a great reassurance to any woman experiencing the very real demands of pregnancy, childbirth, and mothering.

Lamott is a self-confessed non-superwoman--preoccupied with Sam in the early months of his life, it is as much as she can do to brush her teeth, let alone get out of bed. Writing, her life's work? She obviously misses it, but for a few difficult months, even as she is sole-breadwinner for her little family--she just can't get up the energy to do it. The reader knows that she finished this book, that she kept on writing--but the reader also understands that for a certain time period Lamott was paralyzed by her new experience.

The book is very obviously adapted from a real journal--prior to Sam's birth, she worries about the fact that he is male. She worries about his alien genitals, and goes for circumcision because it's obviously what she likes in a man, as much as it is for any health reasons. These worries fade once Sam is born, replaced by the reality of colic, poop, and struggle for a balance between "Sam-time" and "Mom-time." It shows Lamott's talent as a writer that this sequential experience of changes in her baby's life comes as a strength, not a weakness.

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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Candid, weird and wonderful March 3, 2002
Format:Paperback
Anne Lamott's "Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year" is one of the most honest--painfully so--books I've ever read on both pregnancy and new motherhood. Given the strictures of Lamott's situation at the time--no man around to help her or take responsibility for his child--the humor in this book is nothing short of amazing. After a particularly frustrating episode of feeding solids to her son Sam, Lamott writes that the process is a lot like spackling; you fill the hole with stuff, scrape around the sides, try to pack some more stuff in the hole, and so on. This was so true and so perfectly described that I laughed out loud with recognition. Although Lamott's situation isn't everyone's, the difficulties, fears and joys she describes herein are universal to most new parents. This makes a marvelous gift for the new mom who has everything else and who could use a good laugh.
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25 of 29 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, and Very Touching August 24, 2003
Format:Paperback
With unflinching honesty Anne LaMott loosely recounts the first year of her son's life. As a recovering alcoholic and single Mother, she vacillates between hair pulling frustration and utter awe as her son changes month by month, sometimes day by day. Surrounded by an incredible support staff of friends and family, and an unwavering faith in God she navigates the path of parenthood and life with a wicked sense of humor that leaves you laughing out loud one minute and then pricking your heart with moving eloquence.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Wanted more depth
Very interesting light read. Would liked to have heard more from the parents. Wished she would not be so anxious about everything it makes the reader tense up.
Published 2 months ago by Poppy
5.0 out of 5 stars Anyone who has had a baby will appreciate this book.
Anne Lamott is smart and funny and authenic. I enjoyed the book tremrendously and it brought back memories of living with my own babies who were beautiful, wonderful and sometimes... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Big Mama
5.0 out of 5 stars My all time favorite book!
I love to read and after rushing through this book's sequal, I HAD to have this one! I was not disappointed! Read more
Published 2 months ago by JD
5.0 out of 5 stars funniest book in years
I always buy this book for the perfect baby shower gift, but tell the new moms to read it after the baby is born. Read more
Published 3 months ago by J. Walsh
5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE IT
This is a laugh out loud book but not for the faint hearted. In true Anne Lamont style her language can be shocking to the Christian reader. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Tara Matthews
2.0 out of 5 stars Not appropriate for all audiences...
I bought this book for my granddaughter who had just had her first child. I know Anne Lamott to be a bit radical in her writings, however, I thought that while recording the life... Read more
Published 3 months ago by nancy a.
2.0 out of 5 stars Been there, done that.
The book invokes memories of my own child rearing experiences and emotions. Having said that, it's like being at a gathering of women talking about their labor struggles. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Carol M. Barrett
5.0 out of 5 stars Already want to read it again
I just can't get enough of Anne Lamott's non-fiction writing. She is so hilarious and brutally honest, I wish I could be half as honest as she is. Read more
Published 4 months ago by thisismypenname
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book and Great Baby Shower Gift
I have given this book as a baby shower gift for several women who were having their first baby, and they've all loved it. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Maddie
1.0 out of 5 stars Turn Off
A book suppose to be about her son's first year is FILLED w/ vitriolic language towards conservatives. It made me ill to read it; half ways through I quit... Read more
Published 4 months ago by karen popken
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