ATLANTA—A supernatural encounter in a Georgia Waffle House launched author Lauretta Hannon’s journey to the Catholic Church.  

Hannon, a parishioner at St. Mary’s Church in Rome, is a guest columnist for The Georgia Bulletin and is author of two memoirs—her most recent a spiritual memoir.  

Lauretta Hannon’s spiritual memoir was released by Mercer University Press Aug. 4.

“A Priest Walks into a Waffle House: Stories from a Gritty, Grace-Filled Life” shares tales from Hannon’s colorful childhood to her discovery of the Catholic faith and beyond.  

Disarming a playground bully with vulnerability, experiences with her flawed yet greatest spiritual teachers and a sister’s love in a fractured family are all essay topics. Her book serves as a reminder that “grace abounds where we often miss it: in the grittiness of life.” 

Hannon discussed her vocation of writing and the new book in this Q&A with The Georgia Bulletin: 

Georgia Bulletin: Some readers feel like they know you through your guest columns in The Georgia Bulletin or from reading “The Cracker Queen: A Memoir of a Jagged, Joyful Life.” For the rest, can you share a nutshell introduction to yourself? 

Hannon: I’m just a girl who came from the wrong side of the tracks in Warner Robins, Georgia. But I’m also a lifelong seeker of truth and beauty. A lover of God. Someone upon whom grace has been lavishly bestowed, especially during the grittiest times. 

Despite this, I grew up with a disdain for Christianity and spent most of my life mocking it at every opportunity. It grieves me to even say that now.  

Then one morning in 2015, I had a mystical encounter with a priest at the Mableton Waffle House. It stopped me dead in my tracks and made me reconsider my whole spiritual identity. My conversion wasn’t fast or pretty. The journey has been fitful, poignant, and at times, laugh-out-loud funny. And believe me: the joke’s been entirely on me! 

Today, I’m on fire for the Lord and want everybody to know about–and access–the inexhaustible riches of the Catholic faith. 

GB: When did you first discover you had a gift for writing and storytelling? How did this gift help you sort through both the suffering and joyful experiences of your life? 

Hannon: I was 10, and my dad and I were visiting family in Hartford, Connecticut. My Great-Aunt Martha asked me to compose a poem and read it to everyone. Doing that absolutely lit me up in a way I’d never experienced. When I wrote about it in the new book, I recalled a quote that really captured it. 

“There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in,” from Graham Greene’s “The Power and the Glory.”  

I got a glimpse of what I was put here to do. 

Writing has been a spiritual practice for me and a form of prayer–and even worship. When sitting down to tell a story and make meaning of it, I’m forced to be still and listen. I’ve found that the Holy Spirit often comes through loud and clear during those moments. 

GB: “A Priest Walks into a Waffle House: Stories from a Gritty, Graced-Filled Life” is a collection of essays on your experiences and encounters. Is there one that stands out as a crowning jewel or one that never leaves you? 

Lauretta Hannon

Hannon: The standout has to be the “It’s real” moment.  

After many months of struggling to believe that what the Church says is true, I received a divine message while at Mass. It was only two words, but it had the power of a direct lightning strike behind it. 

The message was, “It’s real.” As in: Jesus is real. His words are real. The Resurrection is real. The Eucharist is the real body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ–because He said so. The Catholic Church is real.  

It blew me away! I mean, how can you walk away from that? 

GB: The new book’s title reads like a joke opening, and humor has a starring role in both your books. How important is laughter and seeing the funny side of things in the practice of faith? 

Hannon: Writer Anne Lamott says, “Laughter is carbonated holiness.” I believe that. Nothing connects people better than humor. Walls dissolve when you share a laugh with someone.  

There’s something deeply spiritual and healing in being able to see the comedic in something, particularly when you’re going through dark times. I bet the enemy hates that. 

Even my prayer through the writing of the new book was funny, although I wasn’t trying to make it that way. I prayed, “Jesus, you’re gonna have to put your razzmatazz on this book. I can’t pull it off by myself. Remember: razzmatazz, okay?” 

GB: You close your new book with Rules for Real Radicals. What does it mean to be a real radical? 

Hannon: To be a real radical is to truly love everyone, realizing there are no others. A real radical is a joyful rebel in a despairing world. A real radical devotes time to disciplined spiritual practice in order to become and remain present to the presence of God. A real radical sees suffering as a great teacher. As you can tell, I could go on and on!  

In a nutshell, a real radical is an apostle of hope.