Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

“I grew up around a father and a mother who read every chance they got, who took us to the library every Thursday night to load up on books for the coming week.”

This is the first sentence of the introduction. Lamott became a writer, in large part, because her father was a writer. Both father and daughter believe that reading is an important aspect of being a writer.

“The first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop is that good writing is about telling the truth.”

This is the first sentence of Part 1. In referring to her students, Lamott builds on the motif of education, indicating that the book itself is a kind of class in The Practical Craft of Writing. This also develops the theme of Writing as a Comfort to the Self and Others, in that telling and being told the truth can be comforting.

“Writing can be a pretty desperate endeavor, because it is about some of our deepest needs: our need to be visible, to be heard, our need to make sense of our lives, to wake up and grow and belong.”

This passage develops the theme of Writing as a Comfort to the Self and Others. Having some of these needs met through writing, or reading, can be comforting.