Scan barcode
A review by pineconek
Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Jenny Lawson's first book, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, was the first book that made me laugh out loud in a context in which I shouldn't be laughing.
There's something incredibly endearing in her work, which I confess I haven't kept up with. I read this book nearly a decade after it was out (that means her daughter Hayley is basically a grown up now??) and it felt like reuniting with an old friend. A friend who sometimes irritates me, but usually because she's reminding me of things I find irritating about myself. A friend who effortlessly sneaks into my emotional defences and brings vulnerable tears to my eyes when I least expect them.
I was a teenager when I first came across her mantra that "depression lies". I still remember that moment, circa 2011 and age 17, where I was terrifyingly learning to navigate moments that my brain just...short circuited. Turned on me. Lied. This simple concept was something I've clung onto more times than I can count.
Now, at 30, I think a mantra of being furiously happy is a useful one to add to my repertoire. This book is a testament to "sometimes chronic illness flares and everything is terrible...but eventually that ends". And there's so much absurdly hilarious and wonderful life to live and enjoying it is worthy of a battle cry of furious happiness. Or something like that.
Anyway, I'm not great at coherently reviewing books, but I do it incoherently because it makes me happy. So here's a "this is how the book made me feel" review. I recommend it if you want to feel this way too.
4.5 stars on SG rounded up to 5 on GR.
There's something incredibly endearing in her work, which I confess I haven't kept up with. I read this book nearly a decade after it was out (that means her daughter Hayley is basically a grown up now??) and it felt like reuniting with an old friend. A friend who sometimes irritates me, but usually because she's reminding me of things I find irritating about myself. A friend who effortlessly sneaks into my emotional defences and brings vulnerable tears to my eyes when I least expect them.
I was a teenager when I first came across her mantra that "depression lies". I still remember that moment, circa 2011 and age 17, where I was terrifyingly learning to navigate moments that my brain just...short circuited. Turned on me. Lied. This simple concept was something I've clung onto more times than I can count.
Now, at 30, I think a mantra of being furiously happy is a useful one to add to my repertoire. This book is a testament to "sometimes chronic illness flares and everything is terrible...but eventually that ends". And there's so much absurdly hilarious and wonderful life to live and enjoying it is worthy of a battle cry of furious happiness. Or something like that.
Anyway, I'm not great at coherently reviewing books, but I do it incoherently because it makes me happy. So here's a "this is how the book made me feel" review. I recommend it if you want to feel this way too.
4.5 stars on SG rounded up to 5 on GR.