Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott

This book was entertaining. It chronicles, through journal entries, a mother's experience in the first year of her son's life. The mother is author Anne Lamott, and this is her first child.

What I like is that the book is about a real person under real circumstances. I have never cared for fantasy. I prefer reading about life and the human condition. Lamott does that. She is honest about being a mother. Her perspective is not a stereotypical portrayal of motherhood being only a blessing and a joy. It is that, but also she tells us of her fears, anxieties, and worries. She wonders what kind of mother she will be. She wonders what kind of world her son will live in. She wishes that she had a companion, a father, to raise Sam with her. The honesty with which being a parent is described is what makes this book appealing.

My only complaint is that it is too long. It could cut fifty pages. I became tired of reading about the mundane goingson of Sam and how wonderful, or not so, that he is.