Annie Lamott has written non-fiction best-selling books about her life as a single mother in “Operating Instructions,” about writing in “Bird by Bird” and about life and faith in “Traveling Mercies” and “Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith.” Her latest bestseller is “Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith.”

“Grace (Eventually)” is based on the premise that there is confusion everywhere we look in our lives.

But amidst that confusion, there are “moments of insight, courage or buoyancy; in other words, grace.”

Lamott laments that moments of grace are not announced with ringing bells or bright lights; rather grace is more likely to be found “slogging or scootching, in silence and in the dark.”

Annie Lamott is the single mother of 17-year-old Sam. Sam is a typical teenage boy, trying to define his identity separate from his mother at this stage in his life.

He drives his car too fast, likes to sleep during the day and hangs out with boys who have been labeled as “troublemakers” by society.

She recounts how difficult it is to raise a son on her own, as many women today do.

After asking Sam to wash the cars while she was out walking the dog, she comes home to find the cars still dirty. She confronts Sam about not washing the cars, and a huge argument ensues. Both of them said things out of hurt and anger.

Upset with Sam and with herself, she calls a good friend of the family, a pastor at her church.

He tells Annie that this is very normal behavior for a teenage boy. He says that Mary and Jesus also had these moments, and she and Sam should try to forgive each other, just for today.

At that moment, Annie sees the light. She goes to her son's bedroom and tells him firmly that he must clean the cars properly, now.

Then she heads for the living room sofa and falls asleep, exhausted from all of the drama.

When she awakens, Sam is on the other sofa eating yogurt and watching CNN. Both cars are spotless.

Annie teaches Sunday school at her church. Driving by a carpet store, she spots a carpet remnant on the sidewalk outside the store that would be perfect for her classroom.

She purchases the carpet and brings it to school. It is discovered that there is mold on the carpet, and she tries to return the carpet and get her money back.

The store owner gives her the runaround, and Annie leaves the carpet and agrees to come back the following day to get a refund from the bookkeeper. Returning the next day, Annie is told that someone else from the church came to pick up the refund check.

She discovers that this is not true and confronts the store owner. He again tells her that someone has already picked up the check.

Furious, Annie asks a man from the church to help her and he too, after a few confrontations, is also unsuccessful. When he does finally give her a refund check, it bounces.

She eventually decides that this is getting her nowhere and is upset about the confrontation.

She buys some flowers and writes a note to the store owner apologizing for her bad behavior in this matter.

Although she doesn't get her refund, she decides that maybe this guy has had a hard life and that there were times in her life that she cheated people, so maybe it was all even.

Annie describes being jealous of two friends who were doing well professionally. They invited Annie and Sam to stay with them in their summer home at the beach, even paying for the airline tickets, knowing that money was tight for her.

The visit was difficult for Annie. Her hosts were lovely, but jealously was eating away at her.

After an incident where she was a little rough with Sam at a beach party and her friends asked her to go cool off inside their home, Annie had had enough. She changed her airline reservations, and she and Sam left the next day.

She lost contact with her friends, and years later, she sent them a letter of apology. Although she didn't get a reply from them, she felt much better that she had made an effort to apologize and to say how she regretted losing their friendship.

Lamott has had her share of troubles in her life; she is a recovering alcoholic, raising a son on her own, she struggled to earn a decent living, and she cared for her mother who had Alzheimer's.

Her life is one that many readers will recognize and relate to.

What I especially enjoyed about “Grace (Eventually),” was Lamott's honesty and simplicity in her life.

She, like most of us, tries her best to be a good mother, daughter, friend, teacher. She sometimes falls short of her goal of being a good person, but she is willing to forgive herself and others and move on.

Lamott shares her strong opinions of topics such as the Iraq war, abortion, assisted suicide and social justice.

While many people would disagree with her opinions, she lives her life true to her values and that is very admirable.

“Grace (Eventually)” is a truthful, lovely book filled with moments of humor and pathos. It will encourage the reader to look for small moments of grace in her own everyday life. This is the kind of book to reread and find something new and relevant each time. I give it four and half stars.

Auburn native Diane La Rue's lifelong goal is to read a book a week.

If you have suggestions, e-mail her at laruediane2000@yahoo.com