Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson- Review

Title: Furiously Happy
Author: Jenny Lawson
Pages: 329
Published: September 22nd 2015 by Flatiron Books
Source: Library
Links: goodreads,  The Bloggess (author website)

"It's the difference between surviving life and living life. It's the difference between taking a shower and teaching your monkey butler how to shampoo your hair." Jenny Lawson - aka The Bloggess - returns with the follow-up to her bestselling memoir Let's Pretend This Never Happened, recounting stories from everyday family life in her inimitably frank, hilarious, bizarre and endearing way. She describes her battles with depression and anxiety and her quest to overcome them by saying yes to even the absurdist opportunities and making the good times gloriously good. For as Jenny says: 'You can't experience pain without also experiencing the baffling and ridiculous moments of being fiercely, unapologetically, intensely and (above all) furiously happy...' It's a philosophy that has - quite literally - saved her life.

I am not one for non-fiction. In fact, it's surprising I have read two in a row almost. One of the first non-fiction books that I read and really enjoyed was actually Jenny Lawson's first book Let's Pretend This Didn't Happen.  I am not even really sure why I picked it up.  I remember going to her website a couple times and then hearing about her doing a book signing in my town (I didn't go) and then finally picking it up and loving it.  Now I wish I would've gone to the book signing.. sigh.

The cover of this book is already fantastic.  If you don't know anything about Lawson she loves taxidermy. So that raccoon on the cover?  That is an actual taxidermy she has in her house!  YES! Ok so back to the book itself.  Jenny Lawson started out with a personal blog that basically talks a lot about the mental illnesses that she suffers from.  The blog became quite popular and so she has now written two books.  Both book really just have a bunch of personal stories in it of her experiences with life and mental illness.  I too have mental illness.  I have anxiety.  Real anxiety.  Crippling anxiety at times.  So I really relate to Lawson.  I think though people who don't have mental illness also love Lawson's books and blog because she writes like you are her friend. One time my mom told me I should write a book about my anxiety, after reading this book I can tell my mom I just don't have the skills to write a good book.  Just not happening.

The book does such a fantastic job of making people not feel like losers.  That everyone's lives are a mess whether you want to admit it or not. But she makes this awful things funny.   This is the type of book I wish I had a girlfriend book club to read with and sit around and laugh about the things in this book. There were some bad things in this book.. it's so HARD for me to say that.  But there were times where I thought MAYBE the stories went a little too far.  I couldn't tell if she was just making the story way more extreme then it really was.

I did like her first book better.. but I think that's because her style of writing was all new to me.  I do think everyone who likes to laugh would love these books.  I mean.. I'm sitting in Toyota's waiting room and I read a part about a cat with string stuck in it's butt with a bell and I straight laughed out loud.  It just came out!  I couldn't help it or stop it! But there are serious and insightful topics in this book too.  This quote here I loved:

“Don’t make the same mistakes that everyone else makes. Make wonderful mistakes. Make the kind of mistakes that make people so shocked that they have no other choice but to be a little impressed.”

I want that to be me!!  I hope to be furiously happy... live every day to the fullest.   Great book for everyone!