Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things

by Jenny Lawson

Overview

In Furiously Happy, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lawson explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea.

But terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.

As Jenny says:

"Some people might think that being 'furiously happy' is just an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first because you suspect he would say no since he's never particularly liked kangaroos. And that would be ridiculous because no one would invite a herd of kangaroos into their house. Two is the limit. I speak from personal experience. My husband says that none is the new limit. I say he should have been clearer about that before I rented all those kangaroos.

"Most of my favorite people are dangerously fucked-up but you'd never guess because we've learned to bare it so honestly that it becomes the new normal. Like John Hughes wrote in The Breakfast Club, 'We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it.' Except go back and cross out the word 'hiding.'"

Furiously Happy is about "taking those moments when things are fine and making them amazing, because those moments are what make us who we are, and they're the same moments we take into battle with us when our brains declare war on our very existence. 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." It's the difference between being "sane" and being "furiously happy."

Lawson is beloved around the world for her inimitable humor and honesty, and in Furiously Happy, she is at her snort-inducing funniest. This is a book about embracing everything that makes us who we are - the beautiful and the flawed - and then using it to find joy in fantastic and outrageous ways. Because as Jenny's mom says, "Maybe 'crazy' isn't so bad after all." Sometimes crazy is just right.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250077004
Publisher:	Flatiron Books
Publication date:	09/22/2015
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

JENNY LAWSON, The Bloggess, is an award-winning humor writer known for her great candor in sharing her struggle with depression and mental illness. Her memoirs, Let's Pretend This Never Happened and Furiously Happy, were #1 New York Times bestsellers.

Table of Contents

A Series of Unfortunate Disclaimers

Note from the Author

Furiously Happy. Dangerously Sad.

I've Found a Kindred Soul and He Has a Very Healthy Coat

My Phone Is More Fun to Hang Out with Than Me

I Have a Sleep Disorder and It's Probably Going to Kill Me or Someone Else

How Many Carbs are in a Foot?

Pretend You're Good at It

George Washington's Dildo

I'm Not Psychotic. I Just Need to Get in Front of You in Line.

Why Would I Want to Do More When I'm Already Doing So Well at Nothing?

What I Say to My Shrink vs. What I Mean

LOOK AT THIS GIRAFFE

The Fear

Skinterventions and Bangtox

It's Like Your Pants Are Bragging at Me

Nice Bass

It's Hard to Tell Which of Us Is Mentally Ill

I Left My Heart in San Francisco. (But Replace "San Francisco" with "Near the Lemur House" and Replace "Heart" with a Sad Question Mark.)

Stock up on Snow Globes. The Zombie Apocalypse Is Coming.

Appendix: An Interview with the Author

I'm Turning into a Zombie One Organ at a Time

Cats Are Selfish Yawners and They're Totally Getting Away with It

Koalas Are Full of Chlamydia

Voodoo Vagina

The World Needs to Go on a Diet. Literally.

Crazy Like a Reverse Fox

An Essay on Parsley, Wasabi, Cream Cheese, and Soup

And Then I Got Three Dead Cats in the Mail

Things I May Have Accidentally Said During Uncomfortable Silences

My Skeleton Is Potaterrific

It's Called "Catouflage"

We're Better Than Galileo. Because He's Dead.

Things My Father Taught Me

I'm Going to Die. Eventually.

And This Is Why I Prefer to Cut My Own Hair

It's All in How You Look at It (The Book of Nelda)

Well at Least Your Nipples Are Covered

Death by Swans Is Not as Glamorous as You'd Expect

The Big Quiz

Cat Lamination

That Baby Was Delicious

These Cookies Know Nothing of My Work

It Might Be Easier. But It Wouldn't Be Better.

Epilogue: Deep in the Trenches

Acknowledgments

Editorial Reviews

08/31/2015
Popular blogger/author Lawson (Let's Pretend This Didn't Happen) writes that this "funny book" about mental illness is not so much a sequel to her last book, but rather "a collection of bizarre essays and conversations and confused thoughts stuck together by spilled boxed wine and the frustrated tears of baffled editors." While followers of Lawson's blog will be familiar with her fascination with unusual topics (e.g., stuffed critters, the mysteries of Japanese toilets), newcomers may initially be jolted by the author's litany of diagnoses (depression, anxiety, autoimmune disorders, phobias, insomnia, etc.) as well as her unique ability to turn life's lemons into hilarious stories. Lawson decides that rather than wave a white flag, she will combat mental illness by being "furiously happy." Helping her stuffed raccoons ride on her cats, visiting Australia in a koala bear costume, and battling menacing swans are just a few of the ways she creates humor in a life that might defeat a less inventive individual. She also shares days of darkness, social anxiety, and a range of fears that sometimes keep her housebound. Though mostly comedic, the text also addresses such serious issues as self-injury and why mental illness is misunderstood. Lawson insightfully explores the ways in which dark moments serve to make the lighter times all the brighter. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Jenny made me laugh so hard I feared for my safety! I think that's how she was able to get past my defenses and make me feel more okay about myself.” —Allie Brosh, author of Hyperbole and a Half

“You'll laugh, wince, writhe in discomfort, cry, then laugh again. You might even feel the need to buy a raccoon. But the two things you'll never do is doubt Jenny's brilliance or her fearlessness when it comes to having honest discussions about mental illness, shame, and the power of human resilience. She's changing the conversation one rented sloth at a time.” —Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW, author of the #1 New York Times Bestseller, Daring Greatly

“I freaked strangers out by snort-laughing on the subway and in restaurants. I can't stop talking about this book to friends. I'll shut up now and let you resume your life but buy this book. It's AMAZING.” —Paul Fischer, author of A Kim Jong-Il Production

“The Bloggess writes stuff that actually is laugh-out-loud, but you know that really you shouldn't be laughing and probably you'll go to hell for laughing, so maybe you shouldn't read it. That would be safer and wiser.” —Neil Gaiman

“Even when I was funny, I wasn't this funny.” —Augusten Burroughs, author of Running with Scissors and This Is How

“Lawson's self-deprecating humor is not only gaspingly funny and wonderfully inappropriate; it allows her to speak...in a real and raw way.” —O, The Oprah Magazine

“[Lawson] writes with a rambling irreverence that makes you wish she were your best friend.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Take one part David Sedaris and two parts Chelsea Handler and you'll have some inkling of the cockeyed humor of Jenny Lawson...[She] flaunts the sort of fearless comedic chops that will make you spurt Diet Coke through your nose.” —Parade

From the Publisher

★ 09/01/2015
Lawson (Let's Pretend This Never Happened) returns with another autobiographical work, this one focused on her experiences living with mental illness. The title comes from a hashtag Lawson started on Twitter after a friend's death to encourage people living with depression and anxiety to stockpile ridiculous, joyful memories "to take into battle with us when our brains declare war on our very existence." Her own furiously happy exploits lead to stories about her collection of odd taxidermy, the time she rented a sloth and a wallaby to surprise her husband and daughter, and a trip to Australia, where she donned a kangaroo costume in an effort to get closer to wild kangaroos. As delightful as much of the book is, Lawson is also candid about her struggles with depression, self-harm, and crippling anxiety, the difficulties of nailing down the right combination of medications to treat her conditions, and her fears about the effects of her illness on her family. VERDICT The stigma surrounding mental illness can only be lifted if people affected are willing to talk about their experiences and everyone else is willing to listen. This book is a profane, hilarious, touching, and essential part of that conversation. Recommended for all public libraries.—Stephanie Klose, Library Journal

Library Journal

2015-05-06
Lawson (Let's Pretend This Never Happened, 2012), "The Bloggess," pokes fun at herself as she addresses the serious nature of her mental and physical illnesses. "I've struggled with many forms of mental illness since I was a kid," writes the author, "but clinical depression is a semi-regular visitor and anxiety disorder is my long-term abusive boyfriend." Rather than hiding the facts, she openly divulges, in a darkly humorous way, how she copes with rheumatoid arthritis, depression, panic attacks, anxiety, and the days when she is driven to pull her hair out or cut herself. Along with discussions about taxidermic giraffes and raccoons, whether cats yawn, and mobs of swans attacking her, readers learn the particular ways Lawson has learned to cope with those moments that threaten to overwhelm her—e.g., readings that send her cowering behind the podium or fleeing to the bathroom, passing out during a gynecological exam because she's afraid of medical coats, or trying to find a solution to her sleep problems by attending a sleep clinic. The details are sometimes graphic—"I always tell gynecologists that if I pass out when they're in my vagina they should just take that opportunity to get everything out of the way while I'm out"—but always honest and usually funny. Lawson's goal is not to offend, although that might happen to some readers, but to lay bare the truth about her struggles in life so that others can benefit. She does a solid job exposing the hidden nature of mental illness by putting a direct spotlight on her own issues, thereby illuminating an often taboo subject. Her amusing essays open up a not-so-funny topic: mental illness in its many guises. Kudos to Lawson for being a flagrant and witty spokesperson for this dark subject matter.

Kirkus Reviews

In her second memoir, Jenny Lawson wears the hats of both author and narrator. While her reading isn't as polished as a professional performer’s, her conviction makes this deeply personal content sound powerful and meaningful. Lawson's energy, passion, and furiously happy demeanor invite the listener into her atypical world of mental disorder, taxidermy, and family. Her ability to laugh at herself puts listeners at ease with her weighty issues, which she delivers with grace, insight, sometimes profanity, and the authenticity of a person who faces personal challenges daily. At turns funny and deeply moving, Lawson's accounts and genuine emotion will connect with listeners, whether they struggle with similar problems or not. A definite must-listen. J.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2016 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

FEBRUARY 2016 - AudioFile