Summary of Anne Lamott's Operating Instructions

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 I had a baby last week. I was in the earliest possible labor, and the doctor said I was only dilated two centimeters. I was in pain, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t remember anything from Lamaze.

#2 When I got back to Kaiser, I was dilated enough for admission, but there were no birthing rooms available. I got extremely depressed again, and when the epidural wore off, I couldn’t push the baby out. I got an infection from where Sam’s fist tore a little hole in my vagina.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822517998

IRB Media

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Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I had a baby last week. I was in the earliest possible labor, and the doctor said I was only dilated two centimeters. I was in pain, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t remember anything from Lamaze.

#2

When I got back to Kaiser, I was dilated enough for admission, but there were no birthing rooms available. I got extremely depressed again, and when the epidural wore off, I couldn’t push the baby out. I got an infection from where Sam’s fist tore a little hole in my vagina.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

I am extremely exhausted. I feel as stressed out by exhaustion as someone who spent time in Vietnam. I wish I had a husband or a boyfriend, because I know that without them, I would not be able to fall in love with my baby.

Insights from Chapter 3

#1

I was extremely nervous about bringing Sam home from the hospital, because I had many nightmare images of what a petri dish my house was. It was drafty and old, and I was worried about the mold and spores growing in it.

#2

Circumcision was a relatively easy decision for me to make, as I had read that penile cancer occurs almost exclusively in uncircumcised males, that uncircumcised men have much more frequent urinary tract infections, and that their female lovers have a much higher rate of cervical cancer.

Insights from Chapter 4

#1

I went to my little black church in Marin City, California, the church where I’d been hanging out for four years now. I’d always believed in God, but I'd never felt comfortable around other people. Now I was holding my son, and people were crying because they loved me so