Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things

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?

Average rating: 7.56

I haven't given a book 5 stars for a long time, but this book absolutely deserved it. It was funny, witty, silly, serious, intense, light-hearted, and more all at the same time. I really liked the author's humor while dealing with issues around her own physical and mental health, and she did a great job at mixing more light-hearted and fun chapters with serious ones. She writes so well about a variety of topics from depression and anxiety to taxidermy to trips to Australia. I can definitely see why the MFM podcast recommended this book — the humor is very similar to theirs and it would be right up their alley.

I'm going to be recommending this book to people I know who like humor and want to read about mental illness and seizing life to the fullest despite mental illness, and I will most likely be picking it up again in the future myself.

At first I wasn't sure what I thought, but the more I read the more I laughed. Sometimes waking up my family with my belly laughs.

AKA A Funny Book About Horrible Things

Jenny Lawson is also known as The Bloggess. If you didn't find her with her blog or her first book (Let's Pretend This Never Happened) you need to find her with this book. You don't technically need a mental illness to appreciate this book, you could love someone with a mental illness or you could just be curious what all this depression this and anxiety that means. Jenny is here to help.

Suffering from depression and anxiety (along with several other illnesses) Jenny brings her incredible brand of humor to this book. Some of the things are pretty horrible, but she makes them funny. See how the subtitle works?

“What I want you to know: Dying is easy. Comedy is hard. Clinical depression is no fucking picnic.”
This book consists of essays. Some hysterical and bizarre, some thought provoking, some "I thought I was the only one!". I have also been told by a medical person that I have depression. I feel it somewhat on a regular basis, when I'm down deep in the horrible dark well, but mostly I can still pull myself out and keep moving. I also have some anxiety, mostly in social arenas. People think I'm a bitch or cold, but honestly I have no idea how to talk to strangers. I panic and stop. I always thought it odd that I can handle giving presentations at work or elsewhere, but can't approach a stranger (or someone I know).

Jenny talked about this in one of her essays. Specifically how she is able to be terrified but still do book tours. One of the first "I thought I was the only one!" moments. She knows of what she speaks and she does so with profanity and great humor. Plus there's quite a bit of taxidermy.

Read her blog. Read her books. Listen to the audio because Jenny reads it and she is amazing at it.

“AWESOME. In fact, I’m starting a whole movement right now. The FURIOUSLY HAPPY movement. And it’s going to be awesome because first of all, we’re all going to be VEHEMENTLY happy, and secondly because it will freak the shit out of everyone that hates you because those assholes don’t want to see you even vaguely amused, much less furiously happy, and it will make their world turn a little sideways and will probably scare the shit out of them. Which will make you even more happy. Legitimately. Then the world tips in our favor. Us: 1. Assholes: 8,000,000. That score doesn’t look as satisfying as it should because they have a bit of a head start. Except you know what? Fuck that. We’re starting from scratch. Us: 1. Assholes: 0.”