Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things
by Jenny Lawson
Related videos
44:01
Short reading plus Q&A in Authors at Google format
15K
157
Nov, 2015
Spoiler:
Appearing at Google, author Jenny Lawson reads a short excerpt from her book and does an extensive Q&A, answering audience questions in depth, complete with anecdotes and side trips. She says that she has around two extended depressive episodes per year, during which she gives herself permission to do nothing more than survive. She communicates again and again that the key to such difficulties is to talk about them, that no matter what your problem, there are other people who are suffering the same thing.
4:42
CTV News live interview with author about mental health
1K
13
Oct, 2015
Spoiler:
Lawson discusses the dark themes to which she says she tries to bring humor: anxiety, depression, personality disorder, and trichotillomania (compulsive pulling-out of hair), among others. She observes that when we are able to laugh at something difficult, it becomes a “smaller monster.” She warns that deciding to be “furiously happy” is not a recipe for fixing mental illness, but instead is a way to enjoy the times when you’re out of depression and to take a bit of happiness back with you into the next dark period.
5:54
Reader summary and review in PowerPoint format
51
1
May, 2021
Spoiler:
The video’s creator says that she loved Lawson’s definition of depression, which is “. . .when you don’t want cheese any more. Even though it’s cheese.” In other words, the things that normally bring us joy lose their spark, whether that’s cheese, waffles, or an activity we usually enjoy. Regarding anxiety, she says that Lawson’s advice is to “pretend you’re good at it,” which is another version of the oft-repeated phrase “fake it till you make it.”
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Other books by Jenny Lawson
Publications
The Guardian: Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson review – how to feel OK when you have a brain that is trying to destroy you
The New York Times: Inside the List
The Wall Street Journal: ‘Furiously Happy’ Unites Kindred Spirits
The Washington Post: Jenny Lawson on ‘Furiously Happy’ and when it is okay to call her ‘crazy’
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