Operating instructions

a journal of my son's first year

251 pages

English language

Published Nov. 17, 2005 by Anchor Books.

ISBN:
978-1-4000-7909-4
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OCLC Number:
58046657

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5 stars (1 review)

It seems no mother of a newborn has ever been more hilarious, more honest, or more touching than Anne 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.

5 editions

Review of 'Operating instructions' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A fantastic, brutally honest, poignant account of the author's first year of motherhood. Lamott says the things that many, if not most, of us won't even admit to thinking. Her wit, sense of humor, depth of emotion, and self-awareness flavor every word she writes. As the mother of a child who had a difficult first year, I finished this book feeling relief that I wasn't alone/insane/incapable, that there was at least one other woman out there who understood and had the courage to speak honestly about the hardest and most rewarding job there is.