Ann Lamott

My friend Mary took me to see Ann Lamott speak in San Francisco last week at City Arts and Lectures. I’ve seen Ann speak another time and both times, she won me and the rest of the crowd over with her complete and brutal candor about her life. I think this is part of her brilliance. She is so transparent and is able to express the agony and beauty of being human in a way that makes you laugh and cry all at the same time.

I made a few notes about what stuck with me for those of you who wanted a report… here is my memory. I’m afraid I’m cheapening her brilliance with my reporting. Sorry Ann.

First, she is an incredibly disciplined writer. She writes 4 hours a day, she always carries a pen with her and writes ideas on paper or on her hands whenever they come to her. She says this is why God gives her good stuff – she’s always ready with a pen.

She spoke about grace and places where she has found it this past year. She speaks of grace as the breeze of fresh air that comes and gives you just enough to keep going. One place where she has found that this year is the birth of her grandson, Jax. A surprise to many of us that Sam (at 20) could already be a father and a surprise to her as well. She was hilarious in describing how she is desperately trying to allow Sam and his new family to have their own space to learn and grow.

She spoke about her trip to India this year. She is a highly organized person and India was a place that would not be organized. She spoke of her morning trips on the river to see the sacred sites. But the fog was so thick, all she could see was what was closest around her and that this view provided its own sacred sight… of people bathing, praying, outlines of buildings and the early morning light. How much of life and faith is this way… we want to see the grand sights, the concrete structures, but we are left with the mist and the small unexpected beauties it reveals.

What struck me as a preacher and a pastor were two primary things. First, her entire talk was manuscripted but no one minded because her words were so beautifully and eloquently shared. This has been my preaching conundrum – to manuscript or not. It is a personal decision but I am always struck by how well it can be done (even as I also know how badly it can be done). Second, the space was sacred. And it struck me how probably 85-95% of the people there would never darken the door of a church, yet here they were listening to talk about God and how grace interacts with human life and they were hanging on every word. Why oh why can church not be like that – a place where we come to feel more fully human and connected to each other and to grace?

Ann’s new book (which I bought and had signed) is about the secret lives of modern teenagers – all the pressures they are under. She is very concerned about this and spoke passionately about it.

Two last small things:

Mary and I had a favorite quote that Ann quoted from a bumper sticker: “Relax. Only 1/6.5 billionth of this is about you.”

And lastly, I remind you all that Ann is a Presbyterian and a Christian which reminds me that there are many different ways to be both Presbyterian and Christian. More people should really consider it.

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