I first read this after having my kid when I was suffering from a brutal combo of post-partum depression and anxiety, and was understanding, for the first time in my life, just how tenuous and delicate the mind’s hold on reality can truly be. I didn’t really understand what was happening to me at the time, just that I had never struggled so hard in my life just to keep doing the basic things involved in staying alive, and keeping my baby healthy and content. I still don’t know how I got through it, and have never really recovered from the fear that mind-state induced. This book was one of the few things I found that actually helped. Not just patched over the wound for a few moments, but really, solidly gave me something to hold onto. An example of coping I could focus on. Hope.
I recently read Jenny Lawson’s new book, Broken, and I loved it so incredibly much that I decided to re-visit this beloved book as well. I listened to the audiobook read by Jenny this time, which was even better.
The two books are incredibly similar. If you read both straight through back to back you’d have a hard time telling where one ended and the next began if no one told you. I think the main difference is in tone. One thing that dealing with long-term mental health issues gives you is a progressive understanding of how to cope, what works and what doesn’t, which treatments have been tried and are to be tried next, and knowing where your own limits are and how to slowly push them back. Jenny is so honest in both books about her struggles, and in both you can see the debilitating effects of her illnesses. What sets the two apart is that in Broken, there’s a bit more confidence in her ability to cope. A bit less self-blame. A bit more taking control. Some new treatments tried, and new experiences reached for. And also more criticism of the medical system that makes getting help so hard.
That said, there are similarities in both. In both Jenny goes on an international trip that is incredibly difficult, and that nobody (least of all Jenny herself) thinks she’ll actually be able to do. In both she discusses how her illnesses affect her life and her family, and paints a hilarious picture of her husband’s loving exasperation with her odd view of the world and her desire for the ridiculous.
I couldn’t tell you which of the two is my favourite. But I can tell you that I absolutely adore them both. I wish everyone would read these books. First off, because they’re hilarious and everyone could use more laughter in their lives. But also because it is so incredibly hard to imagine what it is like to live with mental illness, of any variety. It’s so hard to comprehend the effort it takes someone with anxiety or depression to do normal, everyday things. And it would help every one of us if more people at least tried. This is such a wonderful place to start.
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? – Goodreads
Book Title: Furiously Happy
Author: Jenny Lawson
Series: No
Edition: Hardback/Audiobook
Published By: Flatiron Books
Released: September 22, 2015
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Mental Health, Humour
Pages: 329
Date Read: July 5-6, 2021
Rating: 9/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.88/5 (142,837 ratings)