Book Review: Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: September 22, 2015
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
In Furiously Happy, a humor memoir tinged with just enough tragedy and pathos to make it worthwhile, Jenny Lawson examines her own experience with severe depression and a host of other conditions, and explains how it has led her to live life to the fullest:
“I’ve often thought that people with severe depression have developed such a well for experiencing extreme emotion that they might be able to experience extreme joy in a way that ‘normal people’ also might never understand. And that’s what Furiously Happy is all about.”
Jenny’s readings are standing room only, with fans lining up to have Jenny sign their bottles of Xanax or Prozac as often as they are to have her sign their books. Furiously Happy appeals to Jenny’s core fan base but also transcends it. There are so many people out there struggling with depression and mental illness, either themselves or someone in their family―and in Furiously Happy they will find a member of their tribe offering up an uplifting message (via a taxidermied roadkill raccoon). Let’s Pretend This Never Happened ostensibly was about embracing your own weirdness, but deep down it was about family. Furiously Happy is about depression and mental illness, but deep down it’s about joy―and who doesn’t want a bit more of that?
Jenny Lawson has done it again. Furiously Happy is just as hilarious as Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. (My review of that is here.) Let’s Pretend This Never Happened was mostly stories about Jenny’s childhood and family while Furiously Happy is more recent stories from her life. Some of the stories have a serious tone because the focus of this book is Jenny’s experience with her mental illness, which includes depression and severe anxiety. True to form, she sees the humor in almost every situation, including in her struggles with her mental illness. As she says in the book the Furiously Happy movement is about people with depression,
“taking those moments when things are fine and making them amazing because those moments are what make us who we are, and they’re the same moments we take into battle with us when our brains declare war on our very existence.”
Jenny definitely makes the most of everyday moments and makes them hilarious. The very best story is about her trying to figure out how a Japanese toilet works. When I read it the first time, I laughed so hard I had tears. Even now, I still chuckle when I think about it. I liked that this book alternated between truly hysterical stories like the Japanese toilet saga with the more introspective chapters so that it never got too heavy. I think people with depression will appreciate how unflinchingly honest she is about her struggles and find a kindred spirit in her. Highly, highly recommended.
