Based entirely on her non-fiction books, Anne Lamott seems to be the kind of person I might actually run into in my real life. I can imagine that she would be a great person to sit down with over a cup of coffee and have a great, long chat about the state of the world and why we are all going to hell in a handbasket.

If I did somehow meet her, I think I would want to give her a big hug (I would ask her first) for being so honest, brave, funny, idealistic and flawed. I’ve read letters on Salon where people are really critical of how she interacts with her son. Here’s the thing, though: it is obvious from what Lamott writes that she knows full well when and how she has screwed up. I think she is astonishingly brave to write about her failures as well as her successes. Her books help me to forgive myself for my foibles. Also, I am not Christian, seeing as how I don’t believe in the Messiah, that Jesus was our savior or even in the concept of sin, but when I read Lamott’s books, I almost wish I were. I admire the integrity with which she tries mightily to lead a truly Christian life.