*PG-13 rating. Continue only if you’re okay with irreverent, dark humor!*
Furiously Happy
By Jenny Lawson
Flat Iron Books, 2015
In LET’S PRETEND THIS NEVER HAPPENED, Jenny Lawson baffled readers with stories about growing up the daughter of a taxidermist. In her new book, FURIOUSLY HAPPY, Jenny explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. And terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.
According to Jenny: “Some people might think that being ‘furiously happy’ is just an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first because you suspect he would say no since he’s never particularly liked kangaroos. And that would be ridiculous because no one would invite a herd of kangaroos into their house. Two is the limit. I speak from personal experience. My husband says that none is the new limit. I say he should have been clearer about that before I rented all those kangaroos.”
“Most of my favorite people are dangerously f***ed-up but you’d never guess because we’ve learned to bare it so honestly that it becomes the new normal. Like John Hughes wrote in The Breakfast Club, ‘We’re all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it.’ Except go back and cross out the word ‘hiding.'”
Jenny’s first book, LET’S PRETEND THIS NEVER HAPPENED, was ostensibly about family, but deep down it was about celebrating your own weirdness. FURIOUSLY HAPPY is a book about mental illness, but under the surface it’s about embracing joy in fantastic and outrageous ways-and who doesn’t need a bit more of that?
My Review:
Incredible, hilarious, irreverent, messed up-what a book…
It’s hard to put down my feelings about this book. Except, for anyone who lives with anxiety and depression, OR around people with those conditions, this book lets you laugh about things you never thought possible, which is incredibly healing. Jenny Lawson has a witty and winning way about speaking about dark and awful things–like crippling anxiety and suicidal thoughts. If you’d like perspective on what it’s like to live with anxiety and depression OR you just need to feel a little crazy (or sane by comparison), give this book a read. You won’t be able to put it down.
It is of note that there is a LOT of bawdy language and cursing in this book. If that bothers you, move along. This isn’t the book for you.
Click here to purchase your copy. AND, be sure to let me know your favorite parts!