Book Review
Title: Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Humour
Rating: 4 Stars
Having read both Broken and Let’s Pretend This Never Happened I was very excited to see Furiously Happy. Lawson is an insta-buy author for me since she discusses topics like mental health which are near and dear to my heart. The opening to Furiously Happy doesn’t have the same comedic opening that the other two books do but hearing Lawson narrate her own book made it better. She opens with a freak discussion on mental health and how it is often treated like it isn’t an illness at all when it is and how people who suffer with depression are in a constant battle for survival yet no one congratulate them on surviving like they do with cancer survivor and people with physical illness.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the book, Lawson does bring in her iconic humour but it is always relating back to her mental illnesses. She discusses things that she wrote about in Let’s Pretend This Never Happened like hiding in an empty toy box when her anxiety was too much for her to cope with and how this has carried over into hiding under her desk at times and performing poorly in social situations even when she is trying to be on her best behaviour because she knows people won’t understand. She discusses how she came to terms with her mental health and the increasing amount of medication that she has to take. She also talks about how frustrated she feels sometimes when she has to switch medications because they are working anymore and how not even her own family can truly understand her. Also the sleep studies and doctor visits she mentions are mental draining but she does find some light and humour in these situations.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the book, Lawson does turn to some heavier topics so I would be careful if you have a history of self-harm as this might be triggering to some. Lawson actually suffers with several disorders that make her do things like pick at her skin until it bleeds or pull her hair out in clumps and she explains how these behaviours are a mystery even to her and how she can’t explain them to people like her husband even if she wanted to. She does go into detail about coping mechanisms and how therapy has helped but even then there are times when she relapses and it is nice in those times to have people to turn to for help and despite how turbulent their relationship might seem, Victor is a huge source of support for Jenny and this was nice to see. As someone who also struggles with mental health and self-harm it was nice to see Jenny being so open about it and explaining that even when you’re relapsing or stuck in bed due to depression, as long as acknowledge what is causing it, you are making progress.
As we approach the halfway mark in the book, Lawson leaves behind some of the heavier topics and returns to her humorous side. Unlike the other two books I have read from Lawson, this didn’t seem to flow as smoothly but I was still really enjoying the reading experience especially in audio format since Jenny narrates her own audiobook. Seeing her anxieties about recording the audiobook and eventually finding the courage to pretend she is good at it was something I could heavily relate to. My own mental health has made it extremely hard for me to work at times and when I was working pretending I was good at my job or that I enjoyed it was the only way I could make it through the day sometimes and seeing others struggling with the same issues made me feel seen.
As we cross into the second half of the book, Jenny treats us to a mock interview conducted by Victor where she is goes into some questions that she might be potentially asked by interviewers and some that are just plain hilarious. During this mock interview Lawson makes her position of mental health clear and also makes it clear to the reader that even though several people might have the same mental health conditions like depression and anxiety, it definitely won’t affect them all in the same ways and those of us that don’t suffer with these conditions need to be respectful and supportive in those hard times because it makes the most basic tasks extremely difficult. She also addresses some common misconceptions about mental health and provides an accurate view of what it means to live with depression physically, mentally and emotionally.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the book, I was really torn since this book reads like a collection of essay rather than something more cohesive. Due to this, a lot of the stories felt like they had the same messages and while these messages about mental health and looking after yourself first are really important it was starting to get a little repetitive but thankfully we are moving towards the end of the book. I can already tell at this point that this isn’t going to be a five stars like Lawson’s other books because it lacks some of her distinctive humour but I think this was part of Lawson finding her writing style and in truth it actually highlights some of her points really well.
The ending to Furiously Happy ended with Lawson hitting home the message she has spread throughout this volume that those that suffer with mental illness aren’t alone and even though some days are darker than others, the Sun will shine again. I appreciated this as someone who suffers with mental illness and really connected with her stories and messages. The only downside for me was this book wasn’t as cohesive a her others and read more like a collection of essays, some I loved, some I didn’t which is why it didn’t get a five star rating but it still highly worth the read especially if you suffer with mental illness or know someone that does.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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