Book Reviews

Are you happy? I mean, Furiously Happy?

Meggy | Chocolate'n'Waffles

Everyone has human heads in their closet.

Do you have a happy book? You know, the kind of books you bring along everywhere, whose spine died when you opened it for the 3475th time, whose pages are colored by tea spills, tears, sticky fingers or the Mars bar that melted inside of your bag. You may have chosen it for the characters, for the story, for a quote. It does not have to be a real happy book, but it is a book that makes you feel better, that makes you feel less alone in the big weird world we live in.

I have a happy book. I found it on a sweltering Sunday. I picked it because of its cover, wondering about the meaning of its title.

furiously happy

Title: Furiously Happy
Author: Jenny Lawson
Publisher: Picador
Release date: October 1st 2015
Format: paperback
Rating: All the stars in the sky

Furiously Happy. My happy book.

If you have read my coming out post (here!here!) you already know that I suffer from different mental disorders. I have always found it hard to talk about it. Until now. Until Jenny Lawson taught me it was okay to be crazy, to want to cram your house with kangaroos, to compliment other people’s internal organs, or to suffer from something that most people don’t understand.

Whether you live with someone who suffers from a mental illness (or several, we are a very open club and there seems to have discounts when they hand in diseases, you often get two for one…), suffer from it yourself, or if you are only curious about what is life like when the world is against you, Furiously Happy is for you. I know I have been saying this a lot, I promise I don’t get any money for all the promoting! The reason why I am so enthusiastic about this book is because what’s inside those pages have made me feel okay. Really okay. With what I am and what I am not.

I supposed we’re all possessed in some ways. Some of us with dependence on pills and wine. Others through sex or gambling. Some of us through self-destruction or anger or fear.

Jenny Lawson is a very special woman. Yes, her anxiety levels go through the roof, she is on meds, and she is struggling against depression. She does not sugarcoat her story, she does not sweep under the rugs her most difficult moments, and she is not afraid of calling it what it is. Also, she is not perfect. But she tells it all. With humor. Lots of humor. You don’t have to go through lengthy overly graphic paragraphs containing sad complaints about her conditions. Jenny Lawson takes you all the way into one of the dark holes depression likes to throw people into, she switches on the light and she explains how it works for her. For someone who has always believed she was weird and stupid because she could not leave her house, it was a revelation to have a genuine story reminding her she is not alone. Because alone is what you hear in your head constantly when you are sick. When someone going through hell herself is telling you that it’s just a trick of the mind, it has more power than whatever nice things you can hear from someone who has never experienced it.

Jenny has found a way to share parts of her life in a refreshing and funny way while putting words on pains-who-must-not-be-named. In a society afraid and full of stigmas, she lifts the veil on what it is like to deal with all kinds of fears and dark places in her unique voice. This is in no way a gloomy and depressing book. Get ready for priceless arguments between her and her husband, fascinating discussions she has with herself, and the funniest stories. Some about her issues, some about her daily life, often both at the same time.

It will make you laugh, it will move you, I hope it will help you, just as much as it helped me.

“Depression is like… When you don’t want cheese anymore. Even though it’s cheese.”

Furiously Happy is available on Amazon

about the author

Known for her sardonic wit and her hysterically skewed outlook on life, Jenny Lawson has made millions of people question their own sanity, as they found themselves admitting that they, too, often wondered why Jesus wasn’t classified as a zombie, or laughed to the point of bladder failure when she accidentally forgot that she mailed herself a cobra. Her blog (www.thebloggess.com) is award-winning and extremely popular.

You can find her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and her blog

Published by Meggy | Chocolate'n'Waffles

49 thoughts on “Are you happy? I mean, Furiously Happy?”

    1. I’m glad you enjoyed reading about it AGAIN xD I might never shut up about it, haha
      The title itself makes me want to smile so much, it’s like a slice of raw happiness in your face

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    1. I was not sure how I’d take the humor and fun, but it works perfectly in this book, and it took away a bit of the weight of the problem. Thanks 🙂 I’m surprised but really happy it had so much impact on me

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  6. I think I am going to find this book, my happy book is well, so old the sight of it makes me happy, but I guess, I should give it some rest… you wouldn’t guess…

    Mine is Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot… for how long have I been reliving their lives when I daydream! Hahahaha!

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  7. Now that was a review well worth waiting for! 🙂 I already had this book on my TBR list, but I’m going to order it today (together with Ready Player One) on The Book Depository because of your amazing recommendation. I love people opening up about their mental issues but for the love of boobs, don’t make it a wallowing in sadness story. Which you didn’t in your recent post, and which is clearly not happening in this book either! 🙂 *thumbs up*

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    1. I want Ready Player One!! But I need to stop buying books, I have enough to last until next February…
      Exactly, I don’t really want to read a book about mental illness that focuses solely on the sad and bad things, on that gloomy tone people from the cemetery get when there’s a ceremony! Thank you ❤ I would have hated taking that role!

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      1. Haha 😀 I didn’t really buy any books from January-May, but went full out afterwards! (and haven’t read a single one of them yet due to being swamped with ARC’s XD :|) Yeah, that kind of stuff just depresses the shit out of me even more! ❤

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  10. I want this book, in my hands RIGHT NOW! I love the cover (just looking at it truly makes me happy) and everything you’ve said about it sounds perfect. I’m so glad you created that post, and that this book helped you in many ways 🙂

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  13. Jenny Lawson taught you to be crazy. I think someone should’ve given me some lessons cause my crazy-o-meter is sometimes through the roof. 😂 I love your description of the books with tears and tea spills. In other words, borrow a book from Donna and you might find an old waffle as a bookmark or your fingers might stick to the pages. Haha! 😂 That would be the greatest day of my life if you loaned me a book and I found a waffle in it. 🙂 I’m right there with you on the issues no one understands. I like to do my own thing because once I’m out of my comfort zone I get a little cooky and no one seems to understand that pushing me outside of my zone is not good for them or me. This book sounds right up my alley. I was just telling my mom about you today for the millionth time and about some of the books you’ve introduced me to. This is another one to add to the list. 🙂

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    1. Yep, well I was always a little crazy but afraid to let it show or act on it. All that wasted craziness …! But it’s over, I’m letting it all out now! 😂 You definitely receives some of the best lessons!
      First you need to convince me to lend a book 😂 But I’d do it for you. I can’t leave waffles as bookmarks because I eat them too fast. But that’d be a good present for you. A book with waffles in it! Now I need to think of a way to make it happen 😂
      Your poor mom will be sick of me, haha! It’s definitely a book that needs to be on your shelves. I liked that there was no judgement, or big life lesson from someone who “made it”, just the plain old truth and some fun.

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  15. Pingback: August Wrap-up! | Chocolatenwaffles' Blog

  18. Great review! I’m currently listening to the audiobook after having purchased it a few mths back. This book has come at the right time & I can’t wait to pick up my physical copy this weekend 🙂

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    1. Thank you! This book has helped me so much, it is informative, reassuring, and so fun. It feels good to know there are other people who understand what we are going through and Jenny Lawson was the first to give me this feeling. I should get the audiobook to listen to it in the car. I like that Jenny narrated it herself.

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      1. Yes! My thoughts exactly, it’s comforting listening to her audiobook especially when I’m having a not so great day. I totally recommend getting the audiobook since you’ve already read & Love the book, it will have you turning all shades of red laughing 😉

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  19. This was such a genuine and enthusiastic review and it was a pleasure to read! A book that recently made me very happy simply because it was so hilarious was “The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared”. Would 1000% recommend. Thanks for sharing your happy book!

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  20. Pingback: Review: Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson – LairOfBooksBlog

  22. I wanted to see if you had reviewed this book as I know you speak of it as your go to one. I hadn’t heard of it before you spoke of it , but it sounds like a book I would like to read. I’m so glad it helped you then and still helps you now. I think I will see if my library has this one in. Thank you Meggy.
    Amanda xx

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    1. It is such a wonderful book. I found it at the right time, and it’s been travelling with me ever since. I live by the Furiously mantra now 🙂 I’m furiously doing everything! 🙂 I hope you can find and enjoy it, it really speaks to everyone and explains mental health by taking away the drama. xxx

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