Anne Lamott isn’t afraid to tell it like it is — the life, the beautiful life, the messy one, and the one in between.
Her no-nonsense honesty, paired with her razor-sharp wit and spiritual wisdom, has made her one of the most beloved writers of our time.
Her books and talks overflow with insight on faith, forgiveness, writing, and what it means to keep becoming ourselves.
Anne Lamott has the kind of truth-telling talent that makes you laugh, nod your head, and whisper “amen” all in one sitting.
If you need a reminder that grace and laughter can carry you through, check out some of her best quotes on life below.
Anne Lamott Quotes on Life
1. “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
You may know this one. It’s one of Anne Lamott’s most popular quotes (it’s even on a fabulous poster). And for good reason.
In a culture that prizes being busy and productive at all costs, this sentiment feels downright radical.
Life can be hard sometimes, can’t it? We run ourselves ragged trying to keep up — with work, family, social media, people who don’t like us, people who expect too much, and our own unreasonable expectations for how things should be going.
Anne Lamott gives us a simple antidote for that: stop. Step away. Take a deep breath.
Sometimes, all we need is to unplug the proverbial electric cord long enough to reset ourselves. Go for a walk, take a nap, breathe.
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2. “Grace means that you’re in a different universe from where you had been stuck, when you had absolutely no way to get there on your own.”
Anne Lamott is all about grace.
In fact, grace is one of her go-to words when she writes or speaks about life. She doesn’t mean some airy-fairy religious concept. She means a down-to-earth, gritty, deeply human kind of grace.
Grace, as Lamott sees it, is the thing that swoops in and saves us when we’re about to lose hope — when we’ve given up, run out of options, and have nowhere left to turn.
In both her fiction and nonfiction, she talks about the grace that rescues us when we don’t deserve it, don’t think we do, or are simply too broken to see another way.
Grace, she says, is the glorious gift that shows up and lifts us to a different universe than we ever thought possible.
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3. “Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people.”
Anne Lamott can’t stand perfectionism. She writes about it, talks about it, and has no time for it.
In her book Bird by Bird — one of the best writing books of all time — she tackles the perfectionist’s trap. She says that perfectionism isn’t the way to make us better or get us ahead.
Perfectionism, she argues, only keeps us stuck. It kills creativity, buries joy, and ensnares us in a trap of self-judgment and lack of compassion.
Lamott encourages us instead to let go of perfection and embrace the beautifully imperfect way that we — and our lives — really are.
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4. “Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.”
Anne Lamott knows darkness.
She’s been through addiction, depression, and the death of her beloved father. But she’s also one of the most hopeful writers out there.
Hope, to her, is a stubborn, gritty thing. It’s not naïve or pious optimism. Hope is much harder — and more real — than that.
Lamott says that hope is simply showing up and doing your best, even when you can’t see the light or take one more step.
Hope is trusting that the dawn will come — that it’s already on its way, even if we can’t see or feel it yet.
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5. “You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.”
Anne Lamott loves a good story.
Few lines capture her humor and bravado better than this one.
Life is full of stories — and many of those stories are about the people we know (or used to know). Lamott tells it like it is, and she believes we should, too.
There’s no need to coddle people with pretty words or spare them our truth.
Lamott’s point is that we own our stories. It’s up to us whether to tell them or not — but if we do, we should tell them as we experienced them.0
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6. “Laughter is carbonated holiness.”
Oh, Anne Lamott — only you would say something this genius.
Lamott has often been called a spiritual writer, but her spirituality isn’t dogmatic or preachy. She sees the sacred in the everyday — the divine in the ridiculous.
She teaches us, in her own special way, that we’re always connecting with the sacred, sometimes through laughter.
When we laugh, she says, we are full of “carbonated holiness.”
To Lamott, holiness is where we encounter wonder, joy, and even the absurd.
7. “My mind is a neighborhood I try not to go into alone.”
Anne Lamott is refreshingly honest about mental illness.
She’s a recovered addict, a person who has dealt with depression and a lot of anxiety throughout her life.
She has a way of talking about mental health that cuts through stigma and shame.
For Lamott, mental health is just another part of the human condition — another part of the story. And in her own way, she reminds us that we don’t have to do it alone.
When Lamott says her mind is a neighborhood she tries not to enter alone, she’s also telling us it’s okay to seek help — to reach out to friends, therapists, or God.
8. “Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns.”
Anne Lamott’s spirituality is real.
She doesn’t offer idealized sermons from on high. She doesn’t wear rose-colored glasses or speak in spiritual clichés.
Her spirituality is about showing up with all of ourselves — our doubts, fears, questions, grudges, grief, and joy.
She writes with the gutsy honesty of a woman who’s been broken and put back together again.
Lamott doesn’t tell us to be perfect or to think or act a certain way.
She tells us to have faith — the kind of faith that keeps showing up even when we can’t see the point, even in the dark night of the soul.
Lamott tells us to let it all be there — the pain, the mess, the darkness. Hold on. Trust. Let go.
9. “Joy is the best makeup.”
Anne Lamott loves joy.
She’ll tell you over and over again that she would rather be joyful than holy — rather joyful than pious. Spiritual? Yes. But when it comes down to it, Lamott knows that joy is the best.
Joy will make you beautiful in a way that blush and mascara never will.
She shows us that laughter is holy, and joy is a deep grace.
So the next time you’re getting ready to face the day, skip the makeup. Put on some joy instead.
10. “You can get the monkey off your back, but the circus never leaves town.”
Anne Lamott knows about pain and struggle.
Her life hasn’t been a walk in the park — and she doesn’t expect yours to be either.
She’s talked openly about addiction, alcoholism, depression, and trauma. And in her own unique way, she knows that even when one problem goes away, life will present you with another.
Lamott’s point is that life is going to be messy — and that’s okay. Keep dancing, even when the circus is in town.
11. “Don’t look at your feet to see if you are doing it right. Just dance.”
Anne Lamott wants us to live.
She doesn’t want us to get stuck overanalyzing or overthinking — she just wants us to jump in and dance.
Like most things in life, Lamott doesn’t have all the answers, but she has plenty of wisdom.
She’s saying that life will always be imperfect, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t show up and give it your best.
Dance like nobody’s watching. Love like it’s the first time. And most importantly, laugh.
12. “Expectations are resentments under construction.”
Anne Lamott has taught me a lot about letting go.
She reminds us again and again that life isn’t about meeting our expectations or controlling everything around us.
With characteristic good sense, she urges us to have fewer expectations of others — and of circumstances or outcomes. Just acceptance.
Lamott says that our expectations of others will rarely match reality — and that’s okay.
Life is a gift, not a demand or a return on investment. When we cling to expectations about how things or people should be, we plant the seeds of resentment and bitterness.
Anne Lamott is the wise friend who whispers something in your ear that just might save your marriage, your sanity, or your heart.
Anne Lamott’s Wisdom: Honesty Wrapped in Grace
Anne Lamott’s words are a gift.
What makes her writing and speaking so powerful is her delivery — the humor, the self-deprecation, the humility, and her refusal to sugarcoat anything. Her call to laugh, to love, to have faith, and to be real.
She doesn’t talk to us; she talks with us. She listens, cries, and laughs alongside us.
Lamott’s words remind us that life is hard, but we can make it through.
She reminds us that we can be imperfect. Messy. Wild. Human.
Her words whisper that no matter how lost, broken, or desperate we might be, grace has a way of showing up when we least expect it — or when we need it most.
Final Thoughts
Anne Lamott’s quotes on life are deeply encouraging.
Her words have a way of making life feel just a little less scary. We may not know the future or what to do next, but Lamott reminds us that we don’t have to know it all.
She says all the things we need to hear — and sometimes fear to say ourselves.
Lamott will make you laugh, cry, and nod in agreement. Her words are grace served on a silver platter, wrapped in vulnerability and delivered with a smile.
Her quotes have a way of sneaking into your soul. Sometimes, you don’t even realize she’s there until one of her lines comes along — just when you need it most.
Anne Lamott’s life quotes are full of grace and truth, and we are so grateful to have her as a guide along the way.
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