Dusk Night Dawn: On Revival and Courage — By Anne Lamott

“In this collection of short, incredibly timely essays, Lamott attempts to answer the tough questions that many of us grapple with…Drawing from her own experiences, Lamott shows the intimate and human ways we can adopt to move toward places of light and hope.”

— Pure Wow

“In difficult times, is there a more soothing voice than Lamott’s? Her latest book on the trickiness of faith and hope is chock-full of her trademark wit, at once self-deprecating and self-aggrandizing. And this is her first book since getting married in 2019, so those honest insights about choosing love amid anxiety are sure to shine even brighter.”

— Bookpage

“A message of reason and hope we all need to hear.”

— Booklist, STARRED Review

“[Anne Lamott] grows ever more glorious as a writer. As in her previous work, Dusk, Night, Dawn shimmers with humor and beauty…How could you resist learning from this woman?”

 —Spirituality & Health

In Dusk Night Dawn, Anne Lamott explores the tough questions that many of us grapple with and gives us an inspiring guide to restoring hope and joy in our lives.

How can we recapture the confidence we once had as we stumble through the dark times that seem increasingly bleak? As bad news piles up — from climate crises to daily assaults on civility — how can we cope? Where, she asks, “do we start to get our world and joy and hope and our faith in life itself back…with our sore feet, hearing loss, stiff fingers, poor digestion, stunned minds, broken hearts?”

We begin, Lamott says, by accepting our flaws and embracing our humanity.

Drawing from her own experiences, Lamott shows us the intimate and human ways we can adopt to move through life’s dark places and toward the light of hope that still burns ahead for all of us.

As she does in her other bestselling books, Lamott explores the thorny issues of life and faith by breaking them down into manageable, human-sized questions for readers to ponder, in the process, showing us how we can amplify life’s small moments of joy by staying open to love and connection.

As Lamott notes in Dusk Night Dawn, “I got Medicare three days before I got hitched, which sounds like something an old person might do, which does not describe adorably ageless me.” Marrying for the first time with a grown son and a grandson, Lamott explains that finding happiness with a partner isn’t a function of age or beauty but of outlook and perspective.

By writing so honestly about what’s happening in the world and her own response to it, Lamott shines a new light into the dark corners of our fears and concerns by answering the question: What can we do to retrieve sanity and decency?

THE DETAILS

Format: New, hardcover

Published: March 2, 2021

Publisher: Riverhead Books

ISBN:

Pages: 224

Dimensions: 8.3 inches L x 4.9 inches

Rating: ★★★★1/2

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anne Lamott is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Almost Everything; Hallelujah Anyway; Small Victories; Stitches; Help, Thanks, Wow; Some Assembly Required; Grace (Eventually), Plan B; and Traveling Mercies, as well as several novels.

A past recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and an inductee to the Californa Hall of Fame, she lives in Northern California.