Anne Lamott’s priest friend Tom, how to get through: "Left foot, right foot, left foot, breathe," he said. "Right foot, left foot, right foot, breathe." Salon April 25, 2003

You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.

I honestly think that in order to be a writer you have to learn to be reverent. If not, why are you writing? Why are you here?

Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.

For some of us, good books and beautiful writing are our ultimate solace, even more comforting than exquisite food.

I've written six novels and four pieces of nonfiction, so I don't really have a genre these days.

This is what separates artists from ordinary people: the belief, deep in our hearts, that if we build our castles well enough, somehow the ocean won't wash them away. I think this is a wonderful kind of person to be.