From ARTS ATL: Hannon is getting serious — but not somber. The humorist is out with another memoir about her journey from hoyden heathen to woman of faith, in the mold of Rachel Held Evans. Hannon has established herself as a sort of avatar of empowerment for the polyester-clad woman who has overcome adversity. Folksy and fun, she has always been blazingly candid about her dysfunctional, loving, backwoods upbringing — the addictions, the grinding poverty, the domestic violence and bizarre Southern Gothic mischief. Irreverently reverent, she has found some peace now and it shows.
This is not a conventional memoir but a collection of bite-sized, stand-alone pieces, drawn in part from her column for The Georgia Bulletin, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. Some of the gut-punching chapters take the form of prose poems — one citing an uncle with “candy in his pants pocket / But you had to reach in to get it.” Read it to see why Hannon has become the most prominent Southern Catholic moralist since Flannery O’Connor.-Candice Dyer, ARTS ATL
Determined to turn every ounce of suffering into hope and coping, Hannon takes us through her life of broken people, unlikely rescuers, jails, financial aid offices, and Irish lineage to produce a balm to our own life’s wounds. Her honest appraisal of all situations in which she can find humor, hilarity and grace, draws us in to look at our own sufferings in a reupholstered, restructured way. We are called, through her dogged joyful example, to almost chuckle at our trials with a newly found hope of redemptive conclusion.
This book is like tiramisu; so rich in perspective that it must be read and reread one spoonful at a time with a highlighter and pen at the ready.
Who could turn away from a book that uses words such as leviathan, liminal, and numinous in the same paragraph as hornswoggled? Certainly not me.-Ann V.
I am savoring the wisdom and love in Lauretta Hannon’s new book, A Priest Walks into a Waffle House. I am flagging and underlining. And I started in the introduction where she reminds us that “…everyone is designed with purpose and hardwired for restoration and that hope, humor and love are entirely warranted.”
I read about one third and decided I did not want to rush through the book. My plan is to read these stories like morning meditations that I can reflect on throughout the day, like a piece of Triple Chocolate Pie that I eat a forkful at a time right out of the fridge whenever I need it.
Congratulations, Lauretta. And thank you.-Cheryl H.
I recommend you get this book, it’s easy to read with short but deep chapters the weave through her story and backstory as well. Easy to put down and pick it back up. I’m enjoying the hell out of it. Check her out, y’all she’s seriously southern and seriously funny.-Maggie H.
What a great book!!! I stayed up for several days, so I could finish before I start reading it again. It is a delight for the reader. You will probably laugh and cry at the same time, but you will be glad you read it.
I highly recommend this wonderful experience because experience is the right word.-Bailey G.
I want to write a review that is as great as your book.
I want to let everyone know how very heartfelt this book really is.
I want to be able to write a review as well as you wrote this book! Ha! Impossible.
I enjoyed EVERY minute of this book.
You spoke to my inner spirit.
You encouraged a better Franny.
You inspired me to be more authentic and loveable.
I never thought I would want to be radical, but hey, here we are.-Franny S.