Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An essential companion for writers young and old, this twenty-fifth anniversary edition of a modern classic has earned its place on the shelf beside every dog-eared notebook and half-finished manuscript.

For a quarter century, more than a million readers—scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities—have found comfort in Anne Lamott’s hilarious, big-hearted, homespun wisdom. She’s been called “a warm, generous, and hilarious guide through the writer’s world and its treacherous swamps” (Los Angeles Times), and once you settle in with these pages, you’ll understand why.

The title comes from a bit of advice passed down from Anne’s father—also a writer. When her older brother sat immobilized by a bird report due the next day, surrounded by pencils and unopened books, their father put an arm around his shoulder and said simply: “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.”

That’s the heart of this book. Whatever feels too big to face—a first draft, a blank page, a life—can be met one small step at a time.

The New York Times Book Review called it “Superb writing advice…. Hilarious, helpful, and provocative.” We couldn’t agree more.

This is the kind of book you’ll want to keep close—a hardcover to return to on rainy afternoons when the fog rolls in off the cove and the words won’t come. Part craft guide, part companion, wholly human.

Come browse. Linger a while. This one’s a keeper.

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