Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things - Jenny Lawson

Jenny Lawson discusses her personal experience with severe depression and a variety of other conditions in Furiously Happy, a humorous memoir flavored with just enough tragedy and sadness to make it worthwhile, and explains how it has driven her to embrace life to the fullest: She said that she had frequently considered that persons with severe depression had created such a capacity for experiencing great emotion that they may be able to experience extreme joy in ways that 'regular people' can never understand, and that is what "Furiously Happy" is all about.

Jenny's readings are always sold out, with fans waiting up to have Jenny autograph their Xanax or Prozac bottles just as frequently as they do their books. Furiously Happy appeals to Jenny's core fan base while also expanding beyond it. There are so many individuals out there who are dealing with sadness and mental illness, either themselves or someone in their family, and in Furiously Happy, they will discover a member of their tribe delivering an encouraging word (via a taxidermied roadkill raccoon). Let's Pretend This Never Happened was nominally about accepting your own oddness, but it was really about family. Furiously Happy is about sadness and mental illness, but it's also about joy, and who doesn't want a little more of that?

Pros:

• humorous and entertaining yet still educational
• relatable

Cons:

• lacks structure
• may seem exaggerated