Small Victories

Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace

By: Anne Lamott

Narrated by: Anne Lamott

From the best-selling author of Stitches and Help, Thanks, Wow comes her long-awaited collection of new and selected essays on hope, joy, and grace.

Anne Lamott writes about faith, family, and community in essays that are both wise and irreverent. It's an approach that has become her trademark. Now in Small Victories, Lamott offers a new message of hope that celebrates the triumph of light over the darkness in our lives. Our victories over hardship and pain may seem small, she writes, but they change us - our perceptions, our perspectives, and our lives. Lamott writes of forgiveness, restoration, and transformation, how we can turn toward love even in the most hopeless situations, how we find the joy in getting lost and our amazement in finally being found.

Profound and hilarious, honest and unexpected, the stories in Small Victories are proof that the human spirit is irrepressible.

©2014 Anne Lamott (P)2014 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Lamott is beloved by legions for her smart, irreverent take on the human condition, filtered through her unique brand of compassionate Christianity and delivered with delicious, self-deprecating wit. Lamott goes even deeper in these essays.” (People)

“Anne Lamott is practically a household word in the peeling-back-the-soul department. She's utterly disarming. She's hysterically funny. One minute, you're falling off your chair laughing, and the next, you're gasping for air, because Lamott has just unfurled a sentence that cuts straight to the heart of what you really needed to know. … Lamott is one in a million… Hers is an inimitable mix of irreverence and deep-down holy wisdom. Her wit is so sharp, her synapses fire so quickly, she deftly connects the dots and vaults across the spiritual landscape like nobody else…Lamott grounds the holy in the messy, hilarious, madcap adventure that is her life. And she sees the truth so piercingly perceptibly, we're left slack-jawed and wiser in her wake.” (Chicago Tribune)

“A collection of beautifully written essays, filled with nuggets of wisdom gathered over years of mindful living. The stories tackle some heavy topics… [but] Lamott's candor, and sarcastic, self-deprecating humor lighten the content and engage readers... Her words heal us all.” (Associated Press)

Story telling

So touched by her raw story telling. Her humanness made me want to be a better person. Thank you Anne Lamott

some duplicate essays, but still great

This is all wonderful, classic Anne writing, but just FYI, there are some duplicate essays from Traveling Mercies in here. I enjoy hearing her read them, though.

fab

loved it. you get used to her slightly awkward reading style and her stories are such soul food.

fantastic

subtle and hilarious, beautiful wonderful prose
Anne Lamott is a treasure and wise beyond her years

Second or third time

Still as meaningful and wonderful as the first time. So much wisdom in unveiled honesty.

Pick me up

I love Lamott's sense of humor and honesty. She definitely picks me up. Her special talent with words offer solace and fun.

Hopeful yet realistic perspective

I loved that Anne Lamott narrated her beautiful book. She offered her trademark down to earth and intelligent take on spirituality that really helps me get through rough times as well as celebrate (& recognize) the good moments in my life.

Best Book Anne has ever done.

Where does Small Victories rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I love memoirs read by those who wrote it and lived it. Anne is incredible at this.

What did you like best about this story?

This book will have you laugh out loud, cry tears of sadness, and leave you with a sense of the profound grace of God in our lives and relationships.

What about Anne Lamott’s performance did you like?

Anne intentionally does not "ham it up," but reads the script of her life and shares her heart with such warmth and honesty that it takes your breath away, She is a professional writer, not a professional reader, so I only give her 4 stars for performance.But she is still great.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I would not do a film of this book. Films are not the evolutionary goal of writing books.

Any additional comments?

I do not agree with Anne in her politics at all. As one person said,"I find them abhorrent." But I do not have to agree with Anne to love her. And I do. I have listened to or read almost all of her books. This one I have enjoyed the most. If you have followed Anne and thought her better days were behind her,,,,well you are so wrong, This book is her best, most honest, enjoyable and uplifting book yet.

Really a "best of" -- so every one of them excellent

I'd read some of these essays before -- but then I've read practically everything the woman's written, including columns in the early days of Salon.com and her Twitter feed. But I was loving this one so much (both via audiobook, in Anne's own voice, and Kindle) that before I was 2/3s through, I gave a hard copy edition to a friend who I felt needed it like a warm hug. And then I got the hug! Grace.

One of Lamott's Best Prose

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. The stories are comforting and soothing for me.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Anne of course who does a beautiful job of narration.

Have you listened to any of Anne Lamott’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to all of her performances and this one is the best.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Made me laugh and cry. Caused great introspection and contemplation about my own life and judgements I have about people and events.

Any additional comments?

A relaxing book that tells you a lot about Anne's life and that the beauty of her story telling is that she is joyfully and painfully honest, open, raw, and real. She enlightens one about God and Jesus whether or not you choose to believe. Her stories always leave me feeling good and thinking about my own life and choices.