I am not 100% sure how to rate or review this book so prepare yourselves for a bit of a ramble. I also don’t know why I decided to read Jenny Lawson’s second book before her first, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. But, I had added Furiously Happy to my to read list, someone suggested the author narrated version since it has a bonus chapter, I have an audible subscription, and here we are.
I have depression, and usually I keep it on the ropes with skills I’ve accrued over the years at therapy and learning how my system works. One of the best ways to keep the monster at bay is to be honest about what is happening in your brain and finding community that can help you cope, and that’s how Cannonball Read has given me another way to battle back the monster: Jenny Lawson’s twitter feed. Most people who find themselves as one of Lawson’s weirdos read her blog, I am not good about remembering to go there but her twitter works for me in a big way.
Accordingly, while trying to decide what to read in February I remembered that I had picked up the audio version of Furiously Happy and decided to jump in even though I haven’t yet read Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. What I did not know was that Lawson is apparently much more open about her crazy in this book than she was in her first and I can only say – thank goodness she is so honest. I’ve wondered for a few years if I have some undiagnosed anxiety issues running around my system because some of my personality traits go beyond simple introvert status. With Lawson, I felt seen, heard, and supported: and she was just telling me about her life in funny ways.
Lawson battles the beast by living her life as furiously happy as she can to fight the other side of the pendulum. It’s a lifesaving idea for many and I’m thankful for the side benefits.
As a head’s up her next book, You Are Here: an Owner’s Manual for a Dangerous Mind comes out March 7, 2017.
Jenny Lawson is a treasure, and while I am relatively sane, in the grand scheme of things, the husband is bipolar and we have so many friends with all manner of anxiety and depression issues, if not outright personality disorders. Her writing is delightful and she’s such a support for so many, while giving a witty and human face to a lot of issues that people might prefer not to talk about.
You if liked this, you should absolutely check out her first book too. Her audio books are delightful. In the first one, she sings all the chapter titles.