People who have trouble with this book are wanting to make Anne Lamott a role model instead of a story teller. We can certainly learn from the authenticity and self-awareness shown in the way she tells her stories in this book. She does not shy away from the less flashy aspects of faith--doubt, sin, suffering, etc. and that is what makes this book realistic and honest. She is not writing a story about how we should live our lives, and it is wrong to take that book in this way. But in the end it is a real and engaging story of love and relationships; between her and God, her son, friends, the church, family, and life. It is greatly entertaining, and a refreshing look into someone's life who is as open with her blemishes as with her crowns.