Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith

Anne Lamott is a San Francisco Bay Area native down to the cellular level not only in her preferences, but in her political and social views. She is unabashedly a lefty, the daughter of lefties, and she want everyone to know it from page one of this volume, where she serves notice of her identity by beginning with a diatribe against George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. She is saying, "Look, Sweetheart, this is who I am, so let's get this straight. If you can't take it, then back up, close the front cover, and get the hell out of my book!" I am one of the people who stayed, and glad I did. Unlike her earlier "Traveling Mercies" which began with a sequential biography of her journey towards God, or perhaps His journey towards her, this book is a non-chronological collection of essays gently demonstrating the fragile yet invincible grace of God evident in the friendships, conflicts, disasters, and tangles of the human condition--her own, that of her teenage son Sam, those of her friends and family, those of her church, and the people she encounters as a lusty, narcissistic, radicalized leftist, mellowing with age, experience, and grace. Lamott places a poem before Chapter One that subtly but unerringly foreshadows the them of this collection of twenty-four portraits of life and grace. By Lisel Mueller, it is titled "Monet Refuses the Operation," and chronicles and contrast the painter's view of reality with that view defended by more "rational," less artistic people. Of course, Lamott is Monet as well, and his words might as well be hers as he says, "The world is flux, and light becomes what it touches, becomes water, lilies on water, above and below water, becomes lilac and mauve and yellow and whilte and cerulean lamps, small fists passing sunlight so quickly to one another . . ."" The point is, the world is not simply what it seems, and as with Emily Dickinson' poem, "All the earth is crammed with heaven and every bush aflame with God, but only those who see take off their shoes." Lamott sees. She sees the pain, the sorrow and the darkness, but she also sees the burning bush, and invites us to draw near and to take off our shoes and join her there. It is obvious to me that she wants not only to sensitize us to how God moves amidst the ordinary, but also to comfort the wounded hearts of readers bruised by life, and longing for the soothing touch of God, whether they realize it or not. Lamott succeeds in this without being preachy, superficial, or simplistic. She never loses sight of life's ugliness, instead finding the grace of God shining brightest in the darkest places. "Without all the shades and shadows, you'd miss the beauty of the veil. The shadow is always there, and if you don't remember it, when it falls on you and your life again, you're plunged into darkness. Shadows make the light show" (162). This book is mellower than "Traveling Mercies," written five years later. Here we see a Lamott coming to terms with her lif

I think that Anne Lamott is one of the best writers on faith around. In the spirit of St. Ignatius, she takes to seeking God in all things--whether a ham or dog-do on her shoe or patches of blue sky or prison walls. How many people live their lives in this way? Lamott has a wry sense of humor, and the essays are about her personal struggles with being a good Christian and a good person. Both are incredibly difficult. Even when she admits not liking the president, she acknowledges that if she treated him better she might come to feel differently. I would point this out to her detractors--this isn't dogma--it's one person's experience. If people are offended by the language and think that God will be, too...well, I'll just say that I think that's between Annie and her God. And for those who are offended by the reference to God as a woman...I remind you that we were created in the image of God, and so that is black, white, woman, man, whatever. This is a book about being human. If some of the reviewers could set aside their judgment and leave that to God, they might learn something about acceptance.

I have almost nothing in common with the Anne Lamott. George Bush, to me, does not represent the end of civilization as we know it. My three children, my wife and I survived their adolescence. Time passes. With help, I survive, occasionally, even thrive. Yet, I drew comfort from her book. Reading her well-written, brutally honest narrations of life's daily struggles, I gathered spiritual hope. Not everyone comes to faith by the high road. The gift of grace is available for each of us regardless of our backgrounds. Anne Lamott's communicates the essence of Christian faith. It is not found in dogma, but rather, grace. By opening our hearts in the midst of confusion and hopelessness, the world becomes a safer and more loving place.

Anne Lamott is not for the faint-hearted. A bookseller and I agreed last week that Lamott is an acquired taste and more enjoyable if you've read a lot of theology and still find your heart is broken. Lamott reminds us that sanitized piety should not be confused with real faith; that Jesus Himself had radical ideas and didn't sit around worrying about whether our kids are watching PG movies. Lamott's personal relationship with Jesus is one she's forged on her own, against all odds, reminding us that faith doesn't always come in an apple-pie/right-wing/Miss-America package. She is a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-to-work Christian -- a Christian who knows that it isn't enough to sit around quoting the Bible to be a good human being. Admitting her broken-ness and allowing us to laugh with her, we open our hearts to our own humanity. What a relief.

Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith contains a series of essays by Lamott from her salon.com column that she wrote during the beginning of the Iraq War. As a left wing Christian, Lamott understandably has trouble with the war and George W. Bush. As if that weren't enough, she is also turning 50 and her son is becoming a teenager. Lamott writes of all these things with great candor and humor. She is breathtakingly honest, but not in a way that makes me cringe or think "too much information." She also writes of friends and loved ones with great affection and compassion that manages to avoid sentimentality. Lamott has the ability to be very funny and very wise at the same time, which is always a pleasure. As a person who more and more searches for straight forward honesty, I find Anne Lamott a welcome breath of fresh air. I highly recommend this book.