Smash Notes
12 truths I learned from life and writing | Anne Lamott

TED Talks Daily

12 truths I learned from life and writing | Anne Lamott

A few days before she turned 61, writer Anne Lamott decided to write down everything she knew for sure. She dives into the nuances of being a human who lives in a confusing, beautiful, emotional world, offering her characteristic life-affirming wisdom and humor on family, writing, the meaning of God, death and more.

People

Notes

  1. What Is Anne Lamott's First Truth That She Has Learned at 2:57

    Anne states the first and truest thing is that all truth is a paradox. Full answer

  2. How Does Anne View Helping Others at 4:17

    Help is an inside job. If it's someone else’s problem, you probably don’t have the answer anyway. Our help is usually not helpful, but toxic. Full answer

  3. What Does Anne Lamott Say About Self-care? at 6:10

    On TED Talks Daily, Anne Lamott says radical self-care is quantum. Full answer

  4. What Does Anne Say the Secret to Life Is at 7:16

    Everything that happens to you is yours to tell. Every writer writes terrible drafts, but they keep their butt in the chair. Full answer

  5. What Is Spiritual WD-40 at 11:40

    Grace, or water wings. It is what changes us, heals us, and heals our world. Grace finds you exactly where you are, but doesn’t leave you where it found you. Full answer

  6. What Is Carbonated Holiness at 12:27

    Laugher, because it helps us breathe again and again. It also helps us give back to ourselves. This gives us faith in life and each other. Full answer

  7. What Is Something That Death Taught Anne at 13:33

    Wow and yikes. You will never get over these losses and you’re not supposed to. Their absence will be a lifelong homesickness. Death is as sacred as birth. Full answer

Related episodes

Plays from this note through the rest of the episode.

Note

Weekly highlights

One letter a week.

The notes worth hearing, with the minute they were said.