“And I felt like my heart had been so thoroughly and irreparably broken that there could be no real joy again, that at best there might eventually be a little contentment. Everyone wanted me to get help and rejoin life, pick up the pieces and move on, and I tried to, I wanted to, but I just had to lie in the mud with my arms wrapped around myself, eyes closed, grieving, until I didn’t have to anymore.”

American novelist and nonfiction writer

Anne Lamott is an American novelist and nonfiction writer. She is known for work that blends fiction with personal and reflective nonfiction, and for a voice that is direct, candid, and observant. Her writing often draws on everyday life, faith, family, addiction, recovery, and the struggles and small consolations of ordinary experience. She has built a large body of quoted material on the site, reflecting the wide reach of her public voice and the clarity of her style.