My love for writing often leads me down library rows with books stacked up to the ceiling, I love the smells of the books and the quietness as I carefully select the book I want to read. It was in a library that I found this treasure of a book by Anne Lamott. I've decided that I want to really grow my skills and love as a writer and found this book to be a great read for that.
Anne Lamott writes of her experience in writing in a witty way, she relates many of her writing experiences to everyday life. I found this to be inspirational. I love writing that captures the essence of life in the most ordinary circumstances. It takes a special person to be that aware of their surroundings and a creator to take these captures and paint them into a piece of writing people are interested to read. Anne Lamott is one of those special people. She writes of this, saying that "writing motivates you to look closely at life, as it lurches by and tramps around." If you have read Bird by Bird or are simply looking for another book to read, I not only recommend this book but also her book Traveling Mercies.
I know a good book when I have to have my journal and a pen close by to capture words from the book and pen them into my own journal to keep for my own. There were few times in my reading this book that I didn't have at least a few of Anne's words to pen into my journal. Many of the words that I borrowed from Anne spoke to the responsibility of a writers words, of the need to seek into your own shadows and write of life experiences. She writes, "you cannot write out of someone else's big dark space; you can only write out of your own."
Today as I gave back this small book full of wisdom and inspiration, I was a little bit sad. This is a book that I would love to have (and someday will) in my own library!
