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  • Bird by Bird

  • Some Instructions on Writing and Life
  • Written by: Anne Lamott
  • Narrated by: Anne Lamott
  • Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (14 ratings)

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Bird by Bird

Written by: Anne Lamott
Narrated by: Anne Lamott
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Publisher's Summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An essential volume for generations of writers young and old. The twenty-fifth anniversary edition of this modern classic will continue to spark creative minds for years to come. Anne Lamott is "a warm, generous, and hilarious guide through the writer’s world and its treacherous swamps" (Los Angeles Times).

“Superb writing advice…. Hilarious, helpful, and provocative.” —The New York Times Book Review

For a quarter century, more than a million readers and listeners—scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities—have been inspired by Anne Lamott’s hilarious, big-hearted, homespun advice. Advice that begins with the simple words of wisdom passed down from Anne’s father—also a writer—in the iconic passage that gives the book its title:

“Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’”

©2023 Penguin Random House Audio (P)2023 Random House Audio
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What the critics say

“Superb writing advice. . . . Hilarious, helpful, and provocative.”The New York Times Book Review

Bird by Bird would be worth reading just for Lamott’s elegant, moving, and often-hilarious prose. But the advice she offers is just as fantastic as the style with which it’s delivered.”Forbes

“Anne Lamott understands better than anyone that writers need help. . . . She writes so well, in fact, that it’s hard to believe that she, too, has trouble with writing. That’s what’s so deeply comforting about this book.”The Wall Street Journal

What listeners say about Bird by Bird

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beautiful transparency

i loved everything about this book and will send a copy to a new young writer.

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A Gift

As a new writer, sitting on a book baby, I appreciated the honesty and humility that Anne brought to this piece. I laughed out loud many times. I look forward to taking what I learned here and apply it to my writing. Thanks!

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