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Furiously happy : a funny book about horrible things
2015
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Library Journal Review
Lawson's newest memoir is about her determination to embrace life-to be "furiously happy"-despite her lifelong struggles with anxiety and depression. (There's also a surprising number of stories about taxidermied animals.) It's enthusiastically profane, consistently hilarious, and often surprisingly heartfelt and vulnerable. Between (and in the midst of) stories about her quest to hug koalas while wearing a koala costume in Australia and her plans to laminate her cats to prevent shedding, Lawson talks frankly about how mental illness hurts the quality of her life but also how it's taught her to value and take joy in new and unexpected aspects of living. After listening to the book it would be hard to imagine anyone other than Lawson herself reading such a personal work; her narration is as sincere, funny, and touching as her words. Verdict Recommended for readers looking for idiosyncratic memoirs, frank accounts of depression, and possibly also fans of taxidermy.-Jason Puckett, Georgia State Univ. Lib., Atlanta © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly Review
Lawson-aka "the Bloggess"-delivers a captivating roller-coaster ride of a performance that elicits wickedly uproarious laughter and heartfelt emotional catharsis. In this collection of personal issues, Lawson mixes her lifelong struggle with mental and physical illnesses and her quirky brand of humor, connecting those two threads together with the notion that those who suffer the deepest lows should embrace a form of happiness that allows for the wild and uninhibited side of life. Lawson possesses a distinct vocal pitch and tangential style of delivery that matches the unapologetically scattershot nature of her narrative. Her renderings of the daily banter of her marriage to a supportive husband with a diametrically opposite temperament ring with authenticity. As a quirky animal lover who also loves taxidermy, Lawson doesn't miss a beat in giving voice to the rich characterizations she has created for the critters in her life, both living and dead. Her language is not for the faint of heart, but the appeal of Lawson's sheer humanity cannot be denied. A Flatiron hardcover. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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