Furiously Happy

Humor is so personal which makes rating this book so difficult. There were parts here and there that made me laugh. There were also parts of this book that were poignant and insightful. I could have done with less swearing as it takes away from the writing, in my opinion. My favorite chapter was about insomnia.

Have you ever gone to a party and met the one person in the room more socially awkward than you who hates uncomfortable silences and can't stop filling them but everything they say is more weird than the last thing they said and they won't let you get a word in edgewise and you keep backing away, trying not to draw attention to the fact that you want to make a break for it but they are also super funny and you don't know if your laugh is because of that or is more a please-don't-kill-me-nervous-laugh and you are looking around to see if anyone is coming to rescue you but no one is because everyone is glad it's you and not them? Oh, and they also have a lot of insight into the paralyzing and crippling nature of mental health struggles? Yeah... That's this book.

Have you ever had a friend who talks and talks and rarely lets you get a word in edgewise? Well, imagine that friend also has ADHD, anxiety and depression while being super intelligent with an over-active imagination and heightened levels of natural curiosity. Now also imagine if that friend wrote and narrated an audiobook. That is Furiously Happy in a nutshell!

I am usually tough on female comedians- I don’t often find women funny- so this was a shaky start for Jenny Lawson (who narrates her own audiobook). Initially, I found her quite irritating but then she grew on me as I realised that she actually had plenty of interesting and insightful things to say. On the whole, Furiously Happy was a pretty entertaining read. It was not, however, particularly relaxing to listen to as she reads at a very fast pace and jumps from concept to concept at a considerable speed!

There is a lot of cursing in the book, in case that bothers you. It doesn’t offend me, I just find it a little repetitive and unimaginative in such high doses. Luckily, this comes in fits and starts depending on the topic. Lawson also really likes to write about vaginas and taxidermy...

I liked the underlying idea of the book which is reflected in the title: being "furiously happy" means taking the moments when things are completely fine in your life, and making them into amazing, memorable ones. I think this is a great philosophy.

Lawson certainly has a unique sense of humour and I had several giggle-out-loud moments. Her account of the sleep study was hilarious. She is also capable of flipping seamlessly from comedy to moments of serious reflection. The New York snow account was really touching.

Lawson’s revelation about not comparing yourself to so-called “Shiny People” was really motivating. I going to make more of an an effort to go easy on myself and the “Shiny People” in my life. I also related to her comments on not over-scheduling children and encouraging them to overcome boredom for themselves. I’m all for trying that.

I predominately listened to the audiobook but I also checked the book out of the library to see the photos she references. The front cover is a little disturbing out of context, but once you’ve read the book it is a perfect fit! I also thought Lawson’s author photo on the back cover sleeve was complete genius, summing her up perfectly.

If you are interested in learning how to remain positive and to find the funny sides of your mental illness, then you might want to give this book a go.