What readers think of Traveling Mercies, plus links to write your own review.

This book made me laugh. And cry…and then laugh again (a lot). Oh, and best of all, it made me think (a lot).

Written by Anne Lamott, this book of essays on living and dying, love and loss, mothering and being mothered, and, most of all, faith, is a compendium of thoughts that will speak to everyone no matter your religious affiliation or lack thereof.

Lamott is an unlikely spiritual guru. She grew up in a dysfunctional home in 1960s California, but as a child she was cared for over and over again by good friends and their mothers. She catapulted into life wanting to be a writer, but before she could get a toehold in that precarious profession, she became an alcoholic and drug addict. She wanted to fall in love and get married, but before that happened at the unlikely age of 65, she had a series of love affairs—some with strange (and scary) married men. But in 1986, she sobered up, and her life changed. She got pregnant in 1989 by a man who didn't want to be a father, so by herself Anne had that baby, whom she named Sam. He became not only the love of her life, but also gave her a new purpose.

So this book, reflecting this rough and tumble life, is not your typical spiritual guide. And that makes it better. It's real. It's tough. It's often irreverent. It's insightful. And it's hilarious—well, when it's not tragic and sad.

Lamott is brutally honest about so much, be it the state of her soul or the state of her hair. She divulges in excruciating personal detail her struggles with bulimia, drug abuse, alcoholism, her messy conversion to Christianity, wearing a swimsuit in middle-age, the intense grief she suffered when her father and best childhood friend died, the difficulties and joy of being a single mom, and so much more.

And while there is much sorrow and suffering, there is also healing and hope. Lamott demonstrates how to pray, and like her book "Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers," her methods are unusual but quite effective. It just might be worth trying!

And the title? It comes from a prayer that is said in Anne's church when someone is traveling: "Traveling mercies: love the journey, God is with you, come home safe and sound." I love that!