Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy [B0473]

2017 HCDJ 1st edition in excellent condition. "Mercy is radical kindness", Anne Lamott writes in her enthralling and heartening book, Hallelujah Anyway. It's the permission you give others - and yourself - to forgive a debt, to absolve the unabsolvable, to let go of the judgment and pain that make life so difficult. Lamott ventures to explore where to find meaning in life. We should begin, she suggests, by "facing a great big mess, especially the great big mess of ourselves". It's up to each of us to recognize the presence and importance of mercy everywhere - "within us and outside us, all around us" - and to use it to forge a deeper understanding of ourselves and more honest connections with each other. While that can be difficult to do, Lamott argues that it's crucial, as "kindness towards others, beginning with myself, buys us a shot at a warm and generous heart, the greatest prize of all". Full of Lamott's trademark honesty, humor and forthrightness, Hallelujah Anyway is profound and caring, funny and wise - a hopeful book of hands-on spirituality.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "This healing, if not a little meandering, read is exactly what I needed. It's a comforting hug with a gentle but firm reminder of the mercy that ought to guide our steps, even when we don't feel like it. I particularly loved the brutal honesty that made Anne feel like a friend sipping tea at your kitchen counter. I'm so thankful for this author and her perspective."; "Perfectly, beautifully written. Will now try to convince all my loved ones to read it."; "This is a beautiful slim book about mercy, forgiveness, empathy, and compassion - and how often it is that we need to be willing to offer these to ourselves. So many lovely turns of phrase that made me laugh or cry or both. Glad to have read this and to hold its message in these chaotic times."