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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Several notes:
1. Voodoo vagina. That is all.
2. If I read another book from the ~quirky gen x mental health memoir~ genre, please take me out
- what made the whole thing worse was there were like two or three bits where Lawson actually put aside the “I’m so funny and quirky, look at all my problems” voice and was genuine in sharing her struggles and offering support to others, which were the only salvageable parts of the book
- If you’re going to write “a funny book about horrible things,” please make it funny and not just the stupid brand of mental quirkiness (see above). There is a way to be funny and genuine and real about mental health experiences, and I beg those writers out there who want to share their own stories but also want to be comedic or highlight satire as a coping mechanism to figure it the f out. This book did not help give its readers a generous perspective toward mental illness and its depths/complexities. Again, it is possible to be funny while doing this, but apparently not in this book.
2/5
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
This book was laugh out loud hilarious. I love Jenny’s writing style and personality. She’s hilarious and her brain works in wild and wonderful ways. I can’t wait to read her other books! It’s so nice to read a book by someone who understands what I also go through/deal with in relation to depression and anxiety. I vibe with her words and her struggle.
I admire Jenny Lawson so much, even more now that I've read this book. She's frequently very open on her blog about her mental illness, but she's never been this open before. It must have taken a great deal of courage to talk so freely about such personal things. Then again, maybe it didn't. Jenny herself admits in the book there's a kind of freedom that you can only achieve once you stop caring what other people think and truly accept yourself, flaws and all. She lays it bare, and we her readers not only accept her, but we say, "Us, too!" And then her oversharing habit becomes an extended sort of internet-based therapy.
It's genius.
And also, in between talking seriously (and not so seriously) about "her crazy," Jenny is also frequently just funny, whether it's in recounting conversations (or fights) with her beleaguered husband, Victor, or talking about her trip to Australia where she dresses as a kangaroo while meeting a kangaroo, or going on extended rants about things like the function of appendices (both the organ type and book type). It's a very entertaining read. I got this book in audio, after reading her first in hardcover, and I can't decide which I like better.
Both are best consumed in small doses, as Jenny does have a very specific style that holds for the entire book, and there isn't any narrative arc to provide tension or relief of tension (this can be said of any memoir/essay book I've read, which is why I've never given any memoir/essay book five stars. I need an arc, people).
But this book was a joy from beginning to end, and it's probably a must read for people living with mental illnesses of all kinds, and for people whose loved ones are living with mental illness.
It's genius.
And also, in between talking seriously (and not so seriously) about "her crazy," Jenny is also frequently just funny, whether it's in recounting conversations (or fights) with her beleaguered husband, Victor, or talking about her trip to Australia where she dresses as a kangaroo while meeting a kangaroo, or going on extended rants about things like the function of appendices (both the organ type and book type). It's a very entertaining read. I got this book in audio, after reading her first in hardcover, and I can't decide which I like better.
Both are best consumed in small doses, as Jenny does have a very specific style that holds for the entire book, and there isn't any narrative arc to provide tension or relief of tension (this can be said of any memoir/essay book I've read, which is why I've never given any memoir/essay book five stars. I need an arc, people).
But this book was a joy from beginning to end, and it's probably a must read for people living with mental illnesses of all kinds, and for people whose loved ones are living with mental illness.
You will laugh out loud (sometimes hysterically) while reading this book...unless you’re totally sane and perfectly happy all the time (in which case, this book probably isn’t for you).
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
An unhinged celebration of being unhinged. Deeply relatable and terrifying at the same time.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Laugh out loud funny, but also had me in tears at the end. Very relatable and important commentary on mental health.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
funny