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Operating Instructions

A Journal of My Son's First Year

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Operating Instructions

By: Anne Lamott
Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
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About this listen

 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 Infants & Toddlers Parenting & Families Relationships Single Parents Women Funny Witty

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

"Lamott is a wonderfully lithe writer. . . . Anyone who has ever had a hard time facing a perfectly ordinary day will identify."
--Chicago Tribune
All stars
Most relevant
This was an amazing journey. So much of her son's first year I was able to relate to still, even though my boy is over 2. I grieve for the the sad parts. Anne clearly had a lot of wise and loving people around her and her son.

My son is 2 and I was able to relate

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An exquisite account of a mother's first year of being a parent, with all the joys and challenges that brings. She doesn't shy away from taboo subjects which is refreshing and delightful. a wonderful read.

Touching, honest, raw

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