Operating Instructions

A Journal of My Son's First Year

By: Anne Lamott

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The acclaimed author of Bird by Bird brings her brilliant combination of humor and warmth to a "smart, funny, and comforting" chronicle of single motherhood (Los Angeles Times Book Review).

It’s not like she’s the only woman to ever have a baby. At thirty-five. On her own. But Anne Lamott makes it all fresh in her now-classic account of how she and her son and numerous friends and neighbors and some strangers survived and thrived in that all important first year. From finding out that her baby is a boy (and getting used to the idea) to finding out that her best friend and greatest supporter Pam will die of cancer (and not getting used to that idea), with a generous amount of wit and faith (but very little piousness), Lamott narrates the great and small events that make up a woman’s life.

"Lamott is a wonderfully lithe writer .... Anyone who has ever had a hard time facing a perfectly ordinary day will identify."—Chicago Tribune

©1993 Anne Lamott (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A funny, self-mocking, vivid account by a gifted novelist and journalist."—The Washington Post

"An enormous triumph . . . Charming . . . Powerful . . . A gracious book, with dozens of lovingly drawn characters and a deep, infectious religiosity throughout. It is also funny."—San Francisco Chronicle

"Smart, funny, and comforting . . .Lamott has a conversational style that perfectly conveys her friendly, self-deprecating humor."—Los Angeles Times Book Review

Funny. Uplifting.

Once again Anne LaMott delivers a terrific story of the first year of her baby sons life. Honest and spiritual.

Raw and heartfelt

Honest and vulnerable writing. I felt like I got to know a slice of the author.

best.

I think this is my favorite book I've ever read. I have 3 kids, one who is just 5 months old, so that probably impacts my rating. Even the reading of it though was so darn good

Absolutely adore this book and Anne

My wife and I are expecting our first baby. A boy :) this book brought laughter and tears and so many emotions to me as a soon to be mother. It also made me wish I could pop over to Anne’s house for a convo because I now feel like we are friends somehow. Thank you Anne for this amazing journal you’ve shared with the world

Un buen libro para las nuevas mamás

Me gustó mucho que es un libro muy sincero, y en esta nueva maternidad, me sentí muy acompañada por lo que ella tiene que escribir en este diario. Narra la maternidad de una forma verdadera, y sin romantizarla.
La amistad como un pilar fundamental para sobrevivir. Qué dicha que haya podido tener a Pam.


Perfect book to listen to postpartum

Listened to this, and writing this review while breastfeeding my son. It was perfect and what I needed to hear- another women with the same thoughts as me.

Intolerable

I listened to the sample of this, then downloaded the full book bc I enjoyed what I’d heard so far. Unfortunately the book quickly takes a weird turn. It becomes extremely religious and extremely political very quickly, and I realized that I (like some of the other reviewers) would not like to be friends with the author. I found this book bc I loved “Waiting for Birdy” and one review said this was similar. Not the case for me. “Waiting for Birdy” was beautifully sentimental and entirely focused on the author’s experience of becoming a mother. “Operating Instructions” is more like the author’s diary, and includes her thoughts on any topic that floats into her mind. For me, this was unwelcome and seemed unfocused and oddly argumentative.