This was a great one. A little heavy on the Jesus stuff but she writes so earnestly and honestly that I give it a pass.
The parts about having a baby were so true for me, she really put into words a lot of what I've felt over the last 5 months with my son. Really funny, too. ( )

It's Anne Lamott. DUH. ( )

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 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. ( )

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 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. ( )

I loved this. She does use a lot of profanity, despite her faith (for some that may be a reason to avoid it --- so I want to include that to prepare the potential-reader).

I love the analogies she uses in her writing. So far everything I've read of hers I very much enjoy. ( )