Published: September 2015, Flatiron Books

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things focuses on the author and her struggle with mental illness - depression, anxiety, other assorted problems. It's honest, compelling, and laugh-out-loud funny, and I love Jenny Lawson for writing it. There are so many things in the text that I can identify with, and I will definitely be lending it out to friends to see if they feel about it like I do, since I know their points-of-view are very different from mine. It'll be interesting to see if sharing this book can also open up the conversation on mental illness a little bit.

This book is going straight to the reread ASAP pile! There are so many quotes I wanted to write down, to text to friends, but then I'd turn the page and there would be a new one - so I resolved to just read it more slowly next time so I can savour all those hilarious and heart-breaking words.


I honestly don't have enough words to praise Furiously Happy. I also have a hard time deciding who to recommend it to. I mean, you need to be able to appreciate taxidermied animals with names such as Rory the Rodeo Raccoon. You need to be okay with reading about mental health issues which I know can make some people uncomfortable. But if you decide to give it a shot, let me know! I hope you love it as much as I did.

What I'd like to tell Jenny Lawson (if I could) is: I'm going to try to be furiously happy too, when I can.