dear margot and barrie, thank you for your kindness
have finished anne lamott's book
thought i'd post some thoughts and get a response

* her starting point is very approachable and humble
tolerance for mystery / look past distractions
refuse to pretend / to look > to find

* that leads her to a community of like minded people
soft / generous / tough / endured great loss
bear the unbearable / share the truth
seek a brighter light than the glimmer of my own candle

* which leads her to refined, filtered and tested truths
heaven is like a new pair of glasses
forgiveness means giving up hope of having had a different past
unforgiveness takes rat poison and expects the rat to die
believers should stop trying to make things come out better
a life built on judgement and performance is a recipe for psychosis
age teaches you that nature bats last
nature of God can be found in ordinary daily rituals of fellowship/prayer/faith

* her liabilities seem obvious after the first chapter or two
fondness for drugs/sex/rock & roll
not really a book but a series of phone calls
describes herself as shrill/narcissistic/emotional drag queen
bay area culture of divorce/cold unstable families/god is a democrat

i'd love to hear your thoughts and reactions to the book and my post
thanks again for the blog and the book choice / dad