Hi, I'm Zibi Owens, and you're listening to Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books.

This episode has been sponsored by Book Hampton. As the premier independent bookstore in the Hamptons,

Bookhampton has a highly curated selection of books for readers of all ages,

unique, one-of-a-kind gifts, and exciting author events.

Browse their fabulous staff suggestions online at bookhampton.com.

I am honored to be interviewing Anne Lamott today.

Anne is a best-selling novelist and essayist.

Her book, Bird by Bird, Some Instructions on Writing in Life, is a writing classic.

She has written seven novels and many nonfiction books, including the autobiographical operating instructions, an account of her life as a single mom during her son's first year.

She also wrote, Some Assembly Required, a journal of my son's first son.

She has authored many essay collections on faith. Her latest book,

her 18th, entitled Almost Everything Notes on Hope, came out on October 16th. She wanted to call it doomed, but got advice not to do that. She has won a Guggenheim Fellowship and has taught

at UC Davis and at writing conferences around the world. She has even been inducted into the

California Hall of Fame. She was dubbed the lefty guru of optimism by the New York Times just this week. She currently lives in Marin County.

Hi, Ann. How are you? Hi, fine. Thank you. Thanks so much for coming on. Momsdon have time to read books. I really appreciate it.

You're welcome. I'm so glad to be here.

Aw. So you are an enormously accomplished and revered, iconic writer, yet you started chapter six

of almost everything notes on hope with the following line. So writing, what a bitch. So I was so

surprised by that. So do you really not enjoy it or you love it, but it's hard?

Tell me your thoughts on that. It's hard. It's hard. It's hard. I mean, what the difference is that I've

been doing it for so long for 45 years that I know it's going to be hard and I know it's going to

go really badly when I start out.

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