rdressler 's review for:

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson

2.0

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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 

1. 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 
2. 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