Anne Lamott is an American author born in 1954 in San Francisco. She graduated from the University of Maryland and has written several novels including Hard Laughter, her first published novel focused on her father's death. Lamott has one son and one grandchild. She is the subject of the documentary Bird by Bird with Annie, which increased her popularity online leading her to be called "the writer of the people." Some of her novels include Cooked, Little Heart, Imperfect Birds, and Small Victories. A quote from Lamott advises writers to write a great deal while caring, trying to understand life and pass knowledge on to others.