Furiously Funny
About: FURIOUSLY HAPPY: A Funny Book About Horrible Things
Sharing our stories is the best way, in my opinion, to shine the light on invisible illnesses: to give them shape, ideas and a form that others can grab onto and maybe, just maybe, begin to understand. It’s why my first book project was an anthology, DONE DARKNESS, of stories, poems and essays about surviving depression — because I believe, passionately, that knowing you’re not alone can be a key to surviving mental illness.
I’m late to the party on discovering the amazing Jenny Lawson, but perhaps some of you are too, and you must know you are invited. You are invited by Ms. Lawson, by me, by anyone who has read her books or blog. Please, please, please, get a copy of FURIOUSLY HAPPY: A Funny Book About Horrible Things and savor this book. You will laugh out loud, numerous times, despite the “horrible things” Jenny does not shy away from. Lawson could be a poster child for living with almost (important word!) crippling anxiety and depression. Well, to be honest, she has way more than just anxiety and depression:
“According to the many shrinks I’ve seen…I am a high-functioning depressive with severe anxiety disorder, moderate clinical depression, and mild self-harm issues that stem from an impulse-control disorder. I have avoidant personality disorder (which is like social anxiety disorder on speed) and occasional depersonalization disorder….” P. 1–2 FURIOUSLY HAPPY, Jenny Lawson
Oh, and on top of her melange of mental issues, Lawson also lives with an autoimmune disorder — rheumatoid arthritis. She’s listed enough crap to deal with that we might understand if she crawled in a hole and chose to never come out. But thankfully, she was born funny and born with a desire and ability to write. With humor and joy, she embraces her oddities, lets us all see how hard — and yet how fun — life can be living with her myriad of issues. And, thankfully, in doing so, she is asking all of us who ride the mental illness train to, well, let me put it in Lawson’s words again. This from her blog:
“For most of my life I’ve battled depression, anxiety and a host of other disorders, but I wrote this book less as a manual on how-to-survive-mental-illness and more of a compendium on how-to-thrive-in-spite-of-your-brain-being-a-real-bastard.”
Yes. Let’s thrive in spite of our brains being real bastards.
