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Operating Instructions:A Journal of My Son's First Year Hardcover – January 1, 1993

by Anne Lamott (Author)

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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.

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English
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Pantheon
Publication date

1993
January 1
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B002IJX3LE
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pantheon; 6th printing edition (January 1, 1993)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 0 pages
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces

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4.5 789 ratings

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Anne Lamott

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Anne Lamott is the New York Times bestselling author of Help, Thanks, Wow; Small Victories; Stitches; Some Assembly Required; Grace (Eventually); Plan B; Traveling Mercies; Bird by Bird; Operating Instructions, and the forthcoming Hallelujah Anyway. She is also the author of several novels, including Imperfect Birds and Rosie. A past recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and an inductee to the California Hall of Fame, she lives in Northern California.

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Amazon Customer

Great condition and fast delivery

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2023

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The description said good condition. And, in fact, it was in nearly perfect condition.

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Roben Torosyan PhD

Best Parenting Book Ever.. But More Than a Parenting Book

Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2009

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As Ann Lamott writes, in her lovely little journal of her son's first year, "Maybe if I can learn to breathe and go slower, I can somehow help Sam be spared some of the craziness I had in my life, all that chasing down of these things that I thought would make me okay or would prove that I was okay" (p. 176). A Catholic priest, Tom Weston, advises her:
The first rule... is that you must not have anything wrong with you or anything different. The second ontvx e is that if you do have something wrong with you, you must get over it as soon as possible. The third rule is that if you can't get over it, you must pretend that you have. The fourth rule is that if you can't even pretend that you have, you shouldn't show up. You should stay home, because it's hard for everyone else to have you around. And the fifth rule is that if you are going to insist on showing up, you should at least have the decency to feel ashamed. (p. 100)
I'm amazed at this woman's voice. The book exudes deeply spiritual insights, while at the same time laughing at itself and any spiritual over-seriousness. Every time I see this book's cover, I get a warm feeling remembering it. Grade: A.

5 people found this helpful

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Jamie Casey

Just the right amount of serious and hilarious!

Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2020

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There were many times throughout this book that I was full belly laughing. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that had that ability.

I loved her frankness. If you are a parent and have had an infant, you totally get how people shake babies especially on next to no sleep and you’re breastfeeding. Then add colic to that scenario. It’s hard to put them down and walk away but there are times that you must.

There are also times in church, always during the quiet serious part when your baby is the loudest and proudest to be that loud. Whether it be farts, giggles, or both! Who couldn’t help but to laugh?!?

Great read. Loved her take. Loved her style. Now on to read about her son and grandson

Highly recommend.

2 people found this helpful

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4beachele

My favorite Anne Lamott book!

Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2021

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Anne Lamott is my favorite author and I have been buying this book for new mothers for many years. It dawned on me that I didn't have a copy for myself. It's a fantastic book! She says what most of us only think but don't say out loud! Lol. Yes, it's one of those truth-telling, in your face, for real kind of books. I love it! Every Mother should read this candidly written book about what it’s really like to be pregnant and a new Mother. You will become a fan, trust me.

One person found this helpful

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Nic

Need I Say More?

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2023

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I mean Anne Lamott…

2 people found this helpful

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Ted O'Neil

Twisted, slightly tortured journey of faith

Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2015

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I don't think I would like to meet Ms. Lamott. There's much I do not like about her. She can be shallow, opinionated and superficial. Her politics are reactive. I can say that because I was precisely the same at her age. I think you hit 40 and you start to realize that life is not so dichotomous.

She is a woman of profound faith but doesn't seem to fully realize it- which makes it so alarmingly sincere. This is not a book for the sled right and morally pure. This describes on woman's journey to make sense out out of faith through birth and death. Through addictions and stability. That faith grows not merely in the pure, but like a lotus flower it blooms in the mud. The mud of living a human life. The mud of imperfection.

This book was also like a mirror for me and I am sure others will agree if they challenge themselves. Much of what I disliked about her I can see in myself. That we are all deeply flawed characters; especially when viewing from a position of detachment.

Also, I, like Ms. Lamott, was as left of center without being a communist. I was like that for years. There was a time I said probably the same things against a Bush. But now that I am less political I cringed when reading her political diatribes. To be frank they were utterly superfluous and completely unnecessary. The story would have been more fluid and universal.

Lastly some critics have been outraged over her violent fantasies about her baby. To those people: I would suggest that you've never been a parent. She was simply vomiting out what nearly all parents have felt at one point or another. When you've had 4 hours of sleep in tow days while working and it's 3 in the morning and you have a child who sounds like a slaughtered pig, you think strange things.

I commend Ms. Lamott' courage in writing this book.

16 people found this helpful

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Sandy smith

Another of Anne Lamott's quirky looks at life.

Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2013

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Author Anne Lamott's writing at times brings me to tears and other times I find myself laughing out loud as she describes her experiences as a new mother. This book is something I find myself giving certain young mothers as their introduction to motherhood and to Anne's writings. My own introduction came long after my children were born, and my first Lamott book was Bird By Bird. I now look forward to each and every book she writes.

I have appreciated her honest and sometimes gut wrenching sharing in her non-fiction. Recently, I prepared a lesson for a women's group at my church based on Traveling Mercies. Anne was quoted from this book in our last Horizon's bible study of the season about family and the household in biblical times and today. The roles we play, traditional or non-traditional are important. But as Lamott progresses on her spiritual journey we also discover the importance of forgiveness and redemption. Try her, you will like her.

One person found this helpful

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Kristen Strand

The author was recommended to me from a member of my book club

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2017

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The author was recommended to me from a member of my book club. I choose this particular book to find out more about Anne Lamott's early years. The book was very enjoyable, learning about the support system she had with family and friends, the beginning of raising her son, her faith, and her best friend. I liked her writing style, her humor...I felt like she was right in the room with me, telling about her day, her struggles ,etc.
I look forward to reading another of her books.

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alovesbooks

Perfect reading for unconventional moms

Reviewed in France on March 21, 2017

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I bought this book thinking it would bring me some comfort and insight. Although my situation is a bit different from Lamott's, I felt like there were some similarities. I also know she has a reputation as an eloquent, thought-provoking writer. I expected this book to wallop me with emotion and poetic writing. Sometimes, it did, despite some pop culture/news references that haven't aged well, and the occasional expression that seems ever so slightly racist or stereotyping - something you wouldn't encounter from a liberal author today, at least not if she's writing as herself.

And yet, overall, this book really was an intriguing window into someone's experience of the first year of motherhood, its challenges, joys, and the funny moments, the way you try to mark the milestones, anxiously hoping all's well, while also delighting in how different and unique your kid seems to be already. It's a celebration of community, friendship, and family, and almost about that as much as it is about motherhood. And while I was expecting it to be spiritual, it turned out be just that, in a much more literal way. But like many people (Lamott's not a bestselling author for nothing!), I found Lamott's religious thoughts and beliefs intriguing and often inspiring. I also was often delighted when I'd come upon a particularly poetic, well-put description or idea (her concise description of male genitalia in the opening pages is absolutely brilliant).

Overall, this is an often insightful, sometimes funny, sometimes moving account of one mom's first year of motherhood. There's a lot of loss and desperation but also triumph and, above all, love. So basically, it's what a lot of moms go through. Still, I don't know that it's a book you could give to just ANY new mom. I think someone who's very conservative or traditional may not like it. But you never know - maybe it would still bring them some kind of comfort or simply the joy Lamott's spunky writing style so often conveys, despite her tribulations.

One person found this helpful

N. Carbone

... after the birth of our little boy and she LOVED IT. Read it in a week

Reviewed in Canada on November 18, 2017

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Bought it for my wife after the birth of our little boy and she LOVED IT. Read it in a week. Lamott’s trademark heart, wit and humour.

Amazon Customer

Loved it

Reviewed in India on August 29, 2019

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