Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things

Jenny Lawson

Sep 2015 · Sold by Flatiron Books

About this ebook

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.

Ratings and reviews

This is hands down the most amazing book I've ever read. I've bought at least 5 copies as gifts, if you have a sense of humour, or a pulse.... I strongly recommend you read this book. With insight into how mental illness feels and humour so perfected you'll catch yourself laughing out loud in public Jenny Lawson is a literary master.

Don't listen to Glen and the other detractors - this book is literally laugh out loud hilarious. I listened to the audio book while doing other things and I would occasionally have to stop what I was doing to recover from laughing so hard. Perhaps there are people who don't get this kind of humor or understand what it's like to struggle with an illness, mental or otherwise, but obviously they're the kind of people who think 1 kangaroo is too many to have in the house.

I don't really like to rate people's own life but Jenny you are to to funny..I have laughed until my stomach hurt, it came at a time I needed a laugh..My favorite was the fights you and Victor would have and how you threw them in every once in a while that was great..Loved the pictures you couldn't help but smile..and last you are not crazzzzy you are dealing with life's little or big hiccups that just sucks most of the time but just remember to put a big picture of the front of this book pin it to your bathroom mirror, frig, anywhere so u can always be Furiously Happy at least 3 times a day.. Recommend to all Ill or not this is very funny...Gina Clabo

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.