I discovered Jenny Lawson through her blog ‘The Bloggess’ and was instantly drawn to her wit and humour in the face of A LOT of adversity. Jenny suffers with a myriad of mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, panic attacks and self-harm, as well as physical illnesses and chronic pain, but through all this she still manages to find the humour in situations others would find incapacitating.
‘Furiously Happy’ was born from one such incident, where everything in the universe seemed to be stacked against her. But instead of giving up and giving in, Jenny made the bold (and some might say foolish) decision to face it head-on by being ‘furiously happy, out of sheer spite’. Within hours #FURIOUSLYHAPPY was trending worldwide on Twitter as people chose to join Jenny and fight to take back their lives from the black dog of depression.
This is the point at which the book starts. However, if you’re expecting some kind of a self-help guide or memoir about Jenny’s life after the movement took hold, you’ll be disappointed. It’s less of a memoir and more a collection of essays, composed of disconnected occurrences and encounters which seem to have been lifted directly from Lawson’s blog and then expanded upon for the purposes of the book.
That’s not to say ‘Furiously Happy’ isn’t good, it’s just a bit… random. There’s anecdotes from Jenny’s everyday life, tales of trips she goes on despite feeling crippled by social anxiety, conversations with her husband (who is patient to a fault, incredibly understanding and VERY funny) and many, many stories involving her pets. It’s just not a memoir, at least not in the traditional sense and sometimes that makes it difficult to read, mainly because you’re never quite sure what’s coming next or what tone the next chapter should be read in.
If you’ve ever experienced crippling anxiety and/or depression, or know someone who has/is, then there are certainly chapters of this book which will resonate. The same goes with anyone suffering with a chronic physical illness. That said, there are also some parts which might leave you scratching your head in confusion and wondering whether Lawson has made them up or exaggerated for comedic effect. It’s definitely worth a read, but don’t expect to come away with any insightful revelations or self-help tips, just a smile or two along the way.
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