Anne Lamott recounts her personal experiences to reveal her writing techniques and how she overcomes obstacles that interfere with the writing flow. She offers concrete suggestions about character, plot, setting, and other topics of interest to writers. She also offers advice about how to navigate through the dark underbelly feelings of self-doubt, inadequacy, and jealousy that are inevitable parts of any writer's experience.

It seems no mother of a newborn has ever been more hilarious, more honest, or more touching than Anne Lamott is in Operating Instructions. A single parent whose baby's father is out of the picture, Lamott struggles not only to support her little family by her wits and her writing, but to stay sober at the same time. Faith in God helps; so does her loyal band of helpers, from her childless best friend Pammy to her mother and "Aunt Dudu" to the folks...