Take a photo of a barcode or cover
theanswerisbooks 's review for:
Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things
by Jenny Lawson
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.