I discovered Jenny Lawson the way many of her fans
discovered her: through her blog post about a giant metal chicken named Beyoncé
(Blog Post Titled: And
that’s why you should learn to pick your battles.). That single blog post
turned me into a Bloggess fan, and I patiently waited several months for the
release of her first book. Luckily she blogs regularly, so there was rarely a
dull moment in the land of The Bloggess. I read her book in just a couple of
days, with laughter and tears.
The book reads like her blog and contains a few of her blog
posts (the infamous post about Beyoncé is included) but only a small part of
the book is from her blog. You get all sorts of childhood and early year’s
stories that make you see how Jenny turned out to be the woman she is
today. You also get more of a glimpse
into the life that she shares with her husband, Victor, the only man in this
world who could ever be her husband.
Through Jenny’s battle with anxiety and depression, you
learn that hiding behind your illnesses benefits no one and that there are some
days that you have to hit them head on and other days that you just need to
withdraw for a while. I have also learned that humor and sarcasm are both much
needed forms of art that can turn a bad situation into something better and
that ethical taxidermy could possibly brighten your day.
Rarely do I read books more than once, but this one is
definitely one that I will probably read annually. Jenny has a second book in
the works for 2014, and I am already looking forward to reading it. For now,
you can find her at http://thebloggess.com.
~Reviewed by Tonya Overstreet
Nashville Member, LBDC
I really liked this book. I agree, the mouse is creepy. Even creepier once you read the book and hear the story behind it. I was surprised by the author's writing about her mental illness- in a good way. I wasn't expecting it and it turned the book into something "deeper" than just a humorous memoir. I also thought the sections about her blogging were the weakest.
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