Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
Rating: ★★★★★
Furiously Happy is absolutely the funniest book I've read in 2016. It's also the first auto-biography I've read in 2016. I am now inspired to read more. This book had me laughing until I was in tears, at which point I shoved the book in a family member's hands and made them read the story that had me gasping for air.
Jenny Lawson struggles with severe anxiety and depression. She addresses those struggles in this book in such an honest way. She doesn't try to be anyone but herself, and her voice shoots off the page with trumpets and confetti. I would highly recommend this to anyone struggling with depression or anxiety and feeling alone in that struggle. I would also recommend this to everyone else, because it is important to become educated about the medical legitimacy of these illnesses. Depression and anxiety are mental illnesses that cannot be solved by just "cheering up" or "calming down". They are medically as real and difficult as cancer. Jenny brings this to the readers attention, but in a way that is so entertaining you couldn't put the book down if you wanted too. Seriously. Pick this up immediately. You will not regret it at all.
Favorite Quotes: (the funny bits are just so much funnier in context, so I didn't want to ruin them for you)
"When we share our struggles we let others know it's okay to share theirs. And suddenly we realize that the things we were ashamed of are the same things everyone else deals with at one time or another. We are so much less alone that we think" (140).
