Grace (Eventually) - Review

I love Anne Lamott.  I wish she would spend long hours relaxing on the back porch or drinking coffee at the kitchen table with our family.  She would add laughter and depth and love to every situation - and yes, by her own beautiful admission, maybe a little drama too.  But the fact that she freely admits that is part of why I love her and wish we could hang out.
Grace (Eventually) is Donnie-Miller-esque, except that Lamott wraps each chapter into a beautiful little package and - at the same time - ends chapters in intriguing little wandering phrases.  Lamott compiles a range of stories in which she has failed, succeeded, worried, shouted, cried, laughed, trusted, doubted, and loved.  The beauty of her writing is that she draws us into her life and shows us the mysterious action of God there.  In the process, she opens us to our own lives and the same mysterious action of God in us.
I've read a few books by Lamott, but this one is definitely the most "liberal."  She rails against Bush, like a wounded lover, watching her ex dance with the prom queen.  She offers positions on euthanasia and abortion, which I don't support.  However, the benefit in reading Lamott, with all of her frankness and obvious love for God and people, is not agreeing with what she says but understanding the innate humanity of her experience.  She opens my heart to people with whom I disagree, and that is worth the price of any book.  (Though this one was a gift from my friend Gina.  Thanks!)
As hinted by the title, the main point of the book is Lamott's wrestlings with her life struggles and how she finally finds grace - eventually.   Simply opening that struggle to the public is a great act of courage, and it encourages us to stay on the trail of grace even in our darkest times.  Lamott makes me want to write, and to write a lot.
While Grace (Eventually) is not as good as some of Lamott's other books, I still recommend it.  The Josh rating: JJJJ.