Summary

In the chapter entitled “Thanks,” Lamott admits that most of her prayers of thanks come after she has avoided some disaster. Sometimes her feeling of thanks is so heartfelt that she pronounces it with an exhaled breath. She explains that we say thank you when we realize how thin the line is between life and death. Lamott thanks God when she can get through prescribed amounts of time without thinking in obsessive loops. Thanks should also be given when people who have always been hurtful to us become friendlier and begin to reach out to us. Another reason for gratitude is that God allows us to be released from addictions and abuse.

Lamott moves on to share with the reader that a life of giving thanks for the small things can lead to a mindset of gratitude. She says that the world of hate...