Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Son

I've been following Anne Lamott's life since she had her son and published Operating Instructions, a book about all the struggles and difficulties and amazing experiences she had as a single mother. I followed Lamott through Bird by Bird, a book that is sold as a writing instruction manual, but that is really more of Anne Lamott's life. I pursued Lamott through Traveling Mercies, a book about her unexpected dive into Christian spirituality, and continued through Plan B and Grace (Eventually), a succession of essays, mostly about Lamott's faith. I wandered along with Lamott when I discovered she also wrote fiction, but I soon realized that I liked Lamott as a nonfiction rather than a fiction writer and abandoned that dirt trail.

And now here I am, pretty far down the road with Lamott, friends, really, at this point, and here she is, Some Assembly Required, and she has become a grandmother. Her young son, nineteen, has become a father, quite unexpectedly, and Lamott is once again forced to abruptly shift her focus in life to this new child and the new family that has been created around this new life.

You can see that I am not going to be able to give you much of an objective view of this book. I like Lamott's nonfiction, so you can bet that I am going to like this book, too. Lamott tells the story of her son's journey into fatherhood, and shares her frequent moments of Lamott collapse-of-control during some of the scarier moments, and allows her son and her grandson's mother to pop in now and then with commentary of their own. It's a jumble of a book, really, and if you aren't a Lamott fan or if you haven't become a grandmother yourself or if you consider yourself to be Pretty Put Together most of the time, well, Lamott might get on your nerves a bit...Lamott can be pretty crazy at times. On the other hand, if you have loved Lamott in the past, I think you will find it in yourself to forgive her lapses that pop up in this book now and then and you will love this book too.