Publishers Weekly
02/13/2017
With her trademark humor and candor, Lamott (Help, Thanks, Wow) explores the scriptural imperative from Old Testament Prophet Micah to “love mercy,” reviewing both the difficulties and the life-changing rewards of obeying this mandate. Casting a fresh eye on well-known biblical figures such as Jonah, the Good Samaritan, and Lazarus, Lamott drolly attests to the subversive yet sustaining power of simple acts of kindness in the face of life’s inevitable devastations: “This collective, imperfect, hesitant help is another kind of miracle. Naturally one wants to avoid these kinds of miracles.” Lamott’s collective first-person voice makes generalizations that may not resonate with all her readers (“Learning to read gave us a true oasis, salvation”), but in revealing her painful personal struggles, she taps into universal feelings. For example, Lamott recalls the fallout brought on by a “snarky public comment” she made that not only elicited public castigation (“My attackers were like a mob with pitchforks, shaming adorable, progressive me”) but, worse, caused an excruciating rift with her son. As in previous works, Lamott’s courageous honesty and humility, laced with wit and compassion, offer wisdom and hope for difficult times. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
Lamott is a superb writer. Her voice is one-of-a-kind: deft, folksy, cheerfully hostile... She is witty and funny and smart... Telling stories so personal even a distant reader can relate.” —The Washington Post
“This is trademark Lamott—theological speculation, hippie slang and domestic comedy, C.S. Lewis by way of Janis Joplin by way of Erma Bombeck.” —Christian Science Monitor
“Every writer, truth-seeker, parent, and activist I know is in love with one or more books by Anne Lamott... she writes as naturally as she breathes, she explores the mysterious paths and detours of life itself, and she reports back to make the way ahead easier for all of us... I keep learning a lot from the clear and great Annie Lamott. I think you will, too.” —Gloria Steinem
“A clarion call to the better angels of our nature.” —Chicago Tribune
“A hopeful book for the care and feeding of your soul.” —Adriana Trigiani, author of Kiss Carlo
“Best bathtub read for me would be anything by Anne Lamott... She always makes me laugh and she embraces all the broken bits.” —Andie McDowell, actress, in W Magazine
“Mercy is complicated, but Hallelujah Anyway does a fabulous job of breaking it down so it’s easier to understand. And [Lamott] even paints visual pictures of mercy that help you feel what mercy is.” —The Huffington Post
“Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy is a breath of fresh literary air. With a caring and understanding tone, Lamott takes on the overwhelming negativity in today’s political and international culture head-on, and gets hands-on in finding humor and hope in between the headlines.” —Pacific Sun
“Some books we read for their delicious plots, but others we savor another way. Anne Lamott’s Hallelujah Anyway is one you’ll slow down to read, so exactly right are her insights. The way to feel whole, she says, is through mercy—an idea as beloved as cheese, yet so tricky when you have to apply it to annoying people. But at this exact moment, we can all agree: It’s time for kindness.” —Redbook
“Reading Anne Lamott…is like sitting down with a girlfriend you haven’t seen for a while.” —The Washington Post
“An exploration of mercy as the ultimate and most radical brand of kindness.” —Hoda Kotb, Today Show co-host
“Not a book to miss.” —Library Journal
“Spiritually enhancing, life-affirming lessons . . . delivers flashes of wisdom and inspiration that resonate.” —Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Anne Lamott
“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 a cause for celebration. [Her] real genius lies in capturing the ineffable, describing not perfect moments, but imperfect ones…perfectly. She is nothing short of miraculous.” —The New Yorker
“Lamott is funny, witty and irreverent…Her basic message is love and forgiveness…Not a bad message for any faith.” —The Denver Post
"Read this book, whatever your faith. Read it twice." —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Library Journal - Audio
★ 09/01/2017
Most of Lamott's nonfiction titles are generally variations on a theme: be kind—to yourself, to others—and you'll make the world a better place. Somehow, though, each book arrives sounding fresh and new—and effective. That Lamott narrates almost all of her audiobooks makes each a unique gift, especially enhanced with generous humor to keep us engaged, entertained, and enthralled. Who else but Lamott can describe the Old Testament prophet Micah thusly: "He must have looked like a complete stoner or a Game of Thrones extra…yet nearly three thousand years ago, he spoke the words that often remind me of my path and purpose." And then be able to break down Micah's "What doth God require of thee" to a simplified, "How can you not love mercy—kindness, compassion, forgiveness?" Calling upon seemingly incongruous examples from her life—a friend's suicide, "Joseph of the coat of many colors," "the pornography of institutionalized racism," gilded cracks, public apologies—Lamott illuminates the power of mercy to show how "moments of compassion, giving, grief, and wonder shift our behavior." Mercy works. VERDICT At less than three hours, even the busiest readers will appreciate this resonating Hallelujah. ["In our current climate of power struggles and ethnic, religious, economic, and political turmoil, Lamott sounds a clear melody of grace, mercy, peace, and forgiveness": LJ 2/15/17 starred review of the Riverhead hc.]—Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC
Library Journal
★ 02/15/2017
Lamott (Help; Thanks; Wow) weaves a fascinating personal journey of mercy, challenging readers to allow mercy to impact their personal lives. In the first chapter, she states, "Hallelujah that in spite of it all, there is love, there is singing, nature, laughing, mercy." Later, Lamott shares, "Pope Francis says the name of God is mercy. Our name was mercy too, until we put it away to become more productive, more admired and less vulnerable." She continues to challenge readers to rediscover and give ourselves mercy, and to extend that mercy to others in simple but profound ways. By doing so, "Moments of compassion, giving, grief, and wonder shift our behavior, get inside us and change realms we might not have agreed to have changed." In our current climate of power struggles and ethnic, religious, economic, and political turmoil, Lamott sounds a clear melody of grace, mercy, peace, and forgiveness. VERDICT This work will appeal to fans of Lamott as well as general readers interested in current spiritual thought. Recommended for all libraries. [See Prepub Alert, 10/24/16.]—Ray Arnett, Fremont Area Dist. Lib., MI
Kirkus Reviews
2017-01-24
A meditation on the benefits of discovering and extending mercy.In her recent books, bestselling author Lamott (Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace, 2014, etc.) has increasingly delved into the challenges of finding and sustaining faith, especially when confronting incidences of misfortune or cruelty. Often drawing on her own experiences as a mother and devoted friend, her struggles with alcoholism, finding solace and sustenance by embracing Christianity, and embracing a sense of community, the author offers spiritually enhancing, life-affirming lessons, often punctuated with her signature wit and accessible wisdom. In examining the nature of what it means to be merciful, Lamott treads over a good deal of her inner landscape that will be familiar to her readers. As usual, her examples are loaded with references from pop culture, literature, and philosophy, but she draws most extensively from Scripture. The biblical stories serve to provide fuller dimension to the many forms in which mercy may present itself and reflect on the most awe-inspiring results. Lamott also touches on some extreme examples from our recent past—e.g., the relatives of the nine people gunned down at the Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston in 2015 speaking of forgiveness for the killer or teenage Tibetan nuns who were tortured in prison but later prayed for the Chinese guards who had held them captive. "When we manage a flash of mercy for someone we don't like, especially a truly awful person, including ourselves," writes the author, "we experience a great spiritual moment, a new point of view that can make us gasp. It gives us the chance to rediscover something both old and original, the sweet child in us who, all evidence to the contrary, was not killed off, but just put in the drawer." Lamott always delivers flashes of wisdom and inspiration that resonate, particularly with her most devoted readers, but the book is a somewhat opaque and redundant exercise that never quite feels grounded.
