OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS : A Journal of My Son's First Year

Rating:
Summary: Yes, I can relate!
Review: A very personal and honest account of a year of highlights and low-lights of being a new mother.

It brought back lots of memories, brought on a few tears, and made me wish I'd kept a journal of my son's first year, to share with him once he's older.

I'd recommend this not only to mommies but especially for mommies-to-be because this is one of the few books that doesn't sugar-coat new mommy-hood but still makes you feel that it's well worth it.


Rating:
Summary: very timely, even today
Review: Anne LaMott wrote this book during the first Bush presidency --. In several passages, she chronicles her hatred of Bush senior & encourages her little Sam to grow up to be leader of the rebel forces. When I read this book, I had to go back & look at the copyright date; I felt like I was reading something written in 2004. LaMott is self-deprecating and quick to acknowledge all of her wonderful supporters & friends. This is a great read for new moms, particularly those who are disenchanted with the current president & state of the world generally.

Rating:
Summary: Candid, weird and wonderful
Review: Anne Lamott's "Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year" is one of the most honest--painfully so--books I've ever read on both pregnancy and new motherhood. Given the strictures of Lamott's situation at the time--no man around to help her or take responsibility for his child--the humor in this book is nothing short of amazing. After a particularly frustrating episode of feeding solids to her son Sam, Lamott writes that the process is a lot like spackling; you fill the hole with stuff, scrape around the sides, try to pack some more stuff in the hole, and so on. This was so true and so perfectly described that I laughed out loud with recognition. Although Lamott's situation isn't everyone's, the difficulties, fears and joys she describes herein are universal to most new parents. This makes a marvelous gift for the new mom who has everything else and who could use a good laugh.

Rating:
Summary: A Five Star Mother
Review: I absolutely loved this book!! It was so sweet, and yet so honest that you almost felt like you were going through the first year of motherhood with the author. Sam is a lucky little boy to have Anne for a mommy.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read For New Moms
Review: I am the mother of a 3-year-old son. I remember thinking I was the only mother who was going crazy, the only one who didn't crave having a child, immediately bond with him, and then effortlessly know exactly what to do. I read magazine articles by women who loved the smell of their babies. I saw ads with peaceful, serene mothers sleeping with perfect babies. Anne Lamott gives us a little more reality -- the happiness and joy along with the conflicting feelings on bad days. Wonderfully refreshing! Thanks, Anne.

Rating:
Summary: Well written -- a fun quick read
Review: I enjoyed this book much more than the "Girlfriend's Guide". It's funnier and more intelligently written. The book is a journal of the author's first year as a single parent. The book focuses on the insanity and joy of that year and includes some of the best descriptions ever.

Rating:
Summary: Well written -- a fun quick read
Review: I enjoyed this book much more than the "Girlfriend's Guide". It's funnier and more intelligently written. The book is a journal of the author's first year as a single parent. The book focuses on the insanity and joy of that year and includes some of the best descriptions ever.

Rating:
Summary: The most beautiful description of a life given purpose
Review: I read this book at the end of my son's first year. He was the third child and I thought we had this "kid thing" down pat. Anne LaMott gently showed me that each little boy or girl is not just a little bundle of fun to add to life's blessings, but the foundation of a life rededicated to accepting sorrow, looking for hope and bringing joy. She drags herself forward, out of a less than perfect past, with a soft, radiant humor that almost belies the pain and regret she has struggled to overcome. I was completely charmed...enchanted by the wonder she felt and so richly, beautifully shares....and laughing my self silly at trials and tribulations offered up with her trademark sweet sensitivity and self-deprecation. Hey! she told me, there's nothing routine about your baby! Not this little life...nor mine, I learned. Thanks, Anne...

Rating:
Summary: Baby steps
Review: I read this during my maternity leave and I can't think of a better novel for new moms. Somehow Lamott is able to make the tough first year of her son's into a hilariously funny read. She's dealing with alot more than sleeplessness and colic-- staying sober, single motherhood, and financial woes are just the beginning. Love for her son, faith in God, and a bevy of supportive friends and family help her along the way. Great to read if you're a new mom because you can compare notes (yeah, my kid does that) and can easily empathize. Religion fills in the gaps of her life, without dominating the novel. Lamott's writing is honest and evocative. Makes you wonder if there's going to be an updated version, since baby Sam must be a teen by now.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful book!
Review: My partner bought this book for me just days before our son was born. I read it during the idyllic yet anxious days following his birth. I admit that although I had heard of Anne Lamott, I had never read any of her work. I soon found that I'd been missing out! I am totally in awe of her writing ability and her unflinching honesty about the joys and difficulties of being a new parent. Another reviewer called her writing "self absorbed," but I would strongly disagree with that judgment. I believe it is a gift to know yourself as well as Anne Lamott obviously knows herself. It takes a great deal of courage to bare your soul to the world without fear or embarrassment as Ms. Lamott does in this book. If more people approached life with this kind of self-knowledge and honesty, I think we would all be a lot happier with each other and ourselves. This is a beautiful book, not just for new parents but for all parents. I highly recommend it.