Anne Lamott Quotes on Family: 10 Messages about Home Life by Christian Writer

Anne Lamott has seen and experienced the best and worst sides of family life. The acclaimed Christian writer underwent a difficult childhood with a troubled mother and an atheistic father before becoming a mom herself, and enjoying the fruits of a healthy relationship with her son, Sam.

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Lamott has strong opinions on parenting, family and home life that she has expressed in her non-fiction books and in interviews, articles and blog posts over the years. Here are 10 of the most intriguing quotes about family life from the best-selling author"

1. "I was raised by my parents to believe that you had a moral obligation to try and help save the world." (Source: National Right to Life)

2. "When we’re dealing with the people in our family – no matter how annoying or gross they may be, no matter how self-inflicted their suffering may appear, no matter how afflicted they are with ignorance, prejudice or nose hairs – we give from the deepest parts of ourselves." (Source: 43 Quotes)

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3. "If you asked me, parents were supposed to affect the life of their child in such a way that the child grows up to be responsible, able to participate in life and in community." (Source: Brainy Quote)

4. "Most marriages are a mess, and the children get caught between two bitter, antagonistic parents. My parents stayed married for 27 unhappy years, till their kids were grown, and this was a catastrophe for us." (Source: New York Times)

5. "When I was a kid, our family used to watch 'Bonanza.' I really liked having a Sunday night TV ritual." (Source: Brainy Quote)

6. "We can't understand when we're pregnant, or when our siblings are expecting, how profound it is to have a shared history with a younger generation: blood, genes, humor. It means we were actually here, on Earth, for a time – like the Egyptians with their pyramids, only with children." (Source: Latin Times)

7. "No one is more sentimentalized in America than mothers on Mother's Day, but no one is more often blamed for the culture's bad people and behavior." (Source: Salon.com)

8. "I see that children fill the existential hollowness many people feel; that when we have children, we know they will need us, and maybe love us, but we don't have a clue how hard it is going to be." (Source: Salon.com)

9. "All parents are an embarrassment to their kids. Often, grandparents are the relief. Kids don't have to resist you." (Source: CNN)

10. "Most of me was glad when my mother died. She was a handful, but not in a cute, festive way. More in a life-threatening way, that had caused me a long time ago to give up all hope of ever feeling good about having had her as a mother." (Source: Brainy Quote)

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