An Evening with Anne Lamott: A Fireside Conversation

 

Sometimes the story changes—and then gives us an unexpected new chapter.

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Anne Lamott was not able to join us in person at Reach for the Stars, although she was apart of the celebration virtually. We are deeply grateful, however, to announce that Anne will come to Oklahoma City on Thursday, November 5, 2026, for an intimate, in-person fireside chat and audience Q&A hosted by the Oklahoma Single Parent Scholarship Program.

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This will be an evening for readers, writers, seekers, skeptics, parents, and anyone who has ever found comfort in an honest sentence.

 

For decades, Anne Lamott has written with remarkable candor about the beautiful, bewildering experience of being human. Her books explore creativity and the writing life, family and parenthood, faith and doubt, recovery and forgiveness, aging, community, hope, and the grace that sometimes finds us in life’s messiest moments. From Bird by Birdand Operating Instructions to Help, Thanks, Wow, Dusk, Night, Dawn, Somehow, and her many other works, Anne reminds readers that none of us has everything figured out—and none of us has to face the difficult chapters alone.⁠⁠

 

Although OSPSP is honored to host the evening, this will not primarily be a program about our organization or a conversation focused only on Anne’s experience as a single mother. All of Anne Lamott’s work will be on the table.The conversation will follow the themes that have shaped her writing and touched generations of readers, with time for audience questions and the kind of honest, humorous, compassionate exchange for which Anne is known.

 

Still, her work resonates deeply with OSPSP.

 

Every day, we meet single parents who are writing new chapters for themselves and their children. They are returning to school after hardship, balancing work with classes and caregiving, and continuing when a childcare bill, broken-down car, or unexpected expense could easily bring their education to a halt. Like Anne’s writing, their stories are not neat or effortless. They are stories of persistence, courage, humor, imperfection, and hope.

 

OSPSP exists to remind these parents that they do not have to write the next chapter alone. Through flexible scholarships, mentoring, emergency assistance, and connections to community resources, we help single-parent students remain in school and move toward graduation, financial stability, and a different future for their families.⁠⁠

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Because sometimes a conversation becomes a lifeline. Sometimes a book finds us exactly when we need it. And sometimes gathering together—with honesty, laughter, and a little grace—is how the next chapter begins.