A sweet, careful gem of a book, I believe it's a worthy read for any grandparent. Anne Lamott is honest about her neuroses and shortcomings, and the reliance she puts on faith to help see her through the unexpected pregnancy of her young son's girlfriend and their joint efforts to raise and love the baby. Most importantly, she accepts great personal responsibility for how she chooses to behave, an inspirational trait for any circumstance, and tries to be understanding of others' personal motivations. I didn't necessarily agree with some of what she did -- mostly, I think, due to a generational gap -- but it's like when a good friend does something you wouldn't do but probably won't lead her to any real harm, e.g. name her kid something God-awful, i.e. none of my damn business. And that's the real message of the book to grandparents, that sometimes, maybe even a lot of times, you have to step back and just let your kids raise their kids.

Which isn't to say that this book contains lessons only for grandparents. Ms Lamott is wise about the ways of parenting in general, and while I'm quoting from the proofs, I hope these next two passages make their way intact to the published version:

1. "The job of a good parent is to be dispensable... It's not morally right to make yourself indispensable."

2. "I have tried to accept for twenty years that [my son] is not an extension of me, that children have their own autonomous existence, and that parents have the moral obligation to help them discover this."

I'd never read any of Ms Lamott's work before this book, but had heard good things. Her writing isn't the most lyrical, but the plain-spoken fashion of her prose makes it that much more accessible. She is definitely an author worthy of a wide audience, and I'm glad I finally got to know that first-hand.

I received this book gratis as part of ELLE Magazine's ELLE's Lettres Jurors' Prize program.