However, the book sets out to be funny first and foremost, and for me, it fell largely flat on that front. To help people feel seen, and to encourage others to laugh at the absurdities of life, and find joy throughout their struggles is a wonderful thing. As such, I’m not at all surprised or disappointed to see how popular her work has become. The way she normalises the validity of medication and therapy as treatment is particularly praiseworthy. This works wonders to draw readers in, helping to spark dialogue, and chip away at lingering stigma.

Several mentions of drinking alcohol or being drunk.Jenny Lawson writes about mental health in a candid, warm, and conversational way. Jenny receives a small handmade model of a vagina with a doll inside that’s meant to be used as an educational aid for kids learning about childbirth. I definitely needed that message, and I recommend this book for anyone struggling with similar feelings.Įxtreme profanity used with moderate frequency. Life’s too short not to enjoy the quirks and weirdness that makes us tick. Sometimes that’s all we can do, right? Laugh at the difficult times and find the irony or bizarre humor in the way events unfold around us. Parts of the book made me laugh out loud-actually, much of the book did exactly that. I think we all need more of that in our lives. I love the openness in Furiously Happy and the way Lawson sort of throws things out there, acknowledges her shortcomings but embraces even the difficult parts of who she is. Reading the book challenged me to think about my own life and the areas in which I pressure myself to be perfect or to perform a certain way. This fall, as my own anxiety levels rose, I felt like maybe the time had come to read something funny and perhaps to add some additional coping skills to my arsenal. I’d seen it on several blogger’s Top Ten Tuesday lists for various reasons, and had it on my wish list. I think I read this book at exactly the right time. She takes readers through the highs and lows of book tours, a trip to Australia, and the challenges of depression and anxiety in daily life. She has a keen sense of irony and writes in a rambling-yet-engrossing way. Her wacky adventures fill the pages and her unique view of herself and the world around her challenge readers to embrace their own weird. It doesn’t seem possible to write a hilarious book about depression and anxiety, but that’s exactly what author Jenny Lawson has done in Furiously Happy. Published SeptemAmazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things

Furiously happy book review