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Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'
Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson
7 reviews
chelle22's review
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Animal death, Cursing, and Chronic illness
okiecozyreader's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
I have meant to read this book for years. I even got to go to Nowhere Bookstore and get a book there. Her husband came up to me and was so nice and said that Jenny was in the back and she would be glad to sign it. So she did, and she was lovely. Lovely. She commented on my momadvice shirt and said several authors on it were friends of hers. It was such a fun experience.
So now that I’m finally reading the books - and this one is so much about her life with her husband - it brings me so much clarity that I should have known then.
Probably most people who have visited her blog or her instagram (or probably her Twitter), know she suffers with anxiety and depression. This book covers that - in a humorous way, as well as growing up super poor (using bathtubs as a pool outside (stories of what her grandmother let her eat made me laugh so much), but there are also hard things like drug use, pregnancy loss, and of course, general personality disorder…. Oh and lots of profanity (with chapters title with the f bomb, and talks of vagina - until it becomes a drinking game at the end)
It’s amazing to me how many Goodreads reviews there are for these books. If you have a crazy friend who tells you the most bizarre stories, you will feel right at home.
The book has photos throughout and she narrates the audio.
“When I read these stories to friends I’m always shocked when they stop me to ask, “Wait, is that true?” during the most accurate of all of the stories. The things that have been changed are mainly names and dates, but the stories you think couldn’t possibly have happened? Those are the real ones. As in real life, the most horrible stories are the ones that are the truest. And, as in real life, the reverse is true as well.” Introduction
“…we all stayed in the relative safety of our house and asked a series of questions designed to indicate the level of danger of whatever Daddy would be exposing us to. We’d learned to interpret his answers accordingly, and had invented what we would later refer to as “The Dangerous Thesaurus of My Father.”
An abridged version: …
“Put your dark coat on.”=“You’re probably going to get blood on you.”
“Now, this is really interesting.”=“You’ll still have nightmares about this when you’re thirty.”
“Don’t scream or you’ll scare it.”=“You should really be running now.”
“It just wants to give you a kiss.”=“It’s probably going to eat your face off.
Jenkins, you mother…
A quote from her dad
“ A friend is someone who knows where all your bodies are buried. Because they’re the ones who helped you put them there.”
He was right. And sometimes, if you’re really lucky, they help you dig them back up.”
Honestly, I don’t even know
“Because you are defined not by life’s imperfect moments, but by your reaction to them. Because there is joy in embracing—rather than running screaming from—the utter absurdity of life.” Epilogue
So now that I’m finally reading the books - and this one is so much about her life with her husband - it brings me so much clarity that I should have known then.
Probably most people who have visited her blog or her instagram (or probably her Twitter), know she suffers with anxiety and depression. This book covers that - in a humorous way, as well as growing up super poor (using bathtubs as a pool outside (stories of what her grandmother let her eat made me laugh so much), but there are also hard things like drug use, pregnancy loss, and of course, general personality disorder…. Oh and lots of profanity (with chapters title with the f bomb, and talks of vagina - until it becomes a drinking game at the end)
It’s amazing to me how many Goodreads reviews there are for these books. If you have a crazy friend who tells you the most bizarre stories, you will feel right at home.
The book has photos throughout and she narrates the audio.
“When I read these stories to friends I’m always shocked when they stop me to ask, “Wait, is that true?” during the most accurate of all of the stories. The things that have been changed are mainly names and dates, but the stories you think couldn’t possibly have happened? Those are the real ones. As in real life, the most horrible stories are the ones that are the truest. And, as in real life, the reverse is true as well.” Introduction
“…we all stayed in the relative safety of our house and asked a series of questions designed to indicate the level of danger of whatever Daddy would be exposing us to. We’d learned to interpret his answers accordingly, and had invented what we would later refer to as “The Dangerous Thesaurus of My Father.”
An abridged version: …
“Put your dark coat on.”=“You’re probably going to get blood on you.”
“Now, this is really interesting.”=“You’ll still have nightmares about this when you’re thirty.”
“Don’t scream or you’ll scare it.”=“You should really be running now.”
“It just wants to give you a kiss.”=“It’s probably going to eat your face off.
Jenkins, you mother…
A quote from her dad
“ A friend is someone who knows where all your bodies are buried. Because they’re the ones who helped you put them there.”
He was right. And sometimes, if you’re really lucky, they help you dig them back up.”
Honestly, I don’t even know
“Because you are defined not by life’s imperfect moments, but by your reaction to them. Because there is joy in embracing—rather than running screaming from—the utter absurdity of life.” Epilogue
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, and Chronic illness
chris_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Animal death, and Medical content
Moderate: Eating disorder, Blood, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Miscarriage, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts
leweylibrary's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
I want so badly to give this five stars just off of the humor of it alone (I truly have not ever laughed as much reading a book as I did this one), and I'm sure lots of people would give it five stars! I just can't all because of about a chapter and a half in which the author talked about pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. Normally, this stuff being in a book, especially a memoir, doesn't bug me because I get that it's a big part of a lot of people's lives. However, what I really, really didn't need was all the pretentious, petty jabs at people who are childfree or don't have kids. Like, they were direct attacks, saying things like oh don't look so smug, this will be you eventually 🙄 not everyone who doesn't have kids wants them. It wasn't just one comment either, it was like constant in that span of a chapter and a half. The humor is the only thing that kept me going through it because I was really tempted to stop there.
I'll definitely be reading her other books, though! Absolutely hilarious author. Plus the audiobook was a lot of fun! Especially with the bonus material.
REREAD:
There's not a ton I'd add to this review after rereading it like two(ish) years later. I will say that the pregnancy stuffed bugged me less than the first time, but this time I caught some stuff that hasn't aged too well, so that kind of evened out the review to the same 4.5 stars lol.
I'll definitely be reading her other books, though! Absolutely hilarious author. Plus the audiobook was a lot of fun! Especially with the bonus material.
REREAD:
There's not a ton I'd add to this review after rereading it like two(ish) years later. I will say that the pregnancy stuffed bugged me less than the first time, but this time I caught some stuff that hasn't aged too well, so that kind of evened out the review to the same 4.5 stars lol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Gore, and Mental illness
Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts
ldruckreier's review
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, and Chronic illness
katelynrushton's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
Not my favorite of Jenny Lawson's books, but still thoroughly enjoyable
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts
beata's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Miscarriage
Minor: Chronic illness and Drug use
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