“I’ve had it. I am going to be furiously happy, out of sheer spite.” This determined promise following a particularly serious depressive episode sums up Jenny Lawson’s book Furiously Happy. Lawson follows through with this declaration and takes readers along for a ride with her experience of ups and downs. By compiling an unexpected yet satisfying combination of deeply personal and comedic nonfiction essays, Lawson provides a firsthand novel outlook on handling mental illness.

Jenny Lawson — also known as The Bloggess — is an American blogger and author. Furiously Happy is her second New York Times bestseller after her autobiography Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. Both her blog and books deal with experiences of anxiety and depression, her generally hilarious stream of thought, and life with her family.

Furiously Happy stems specifically from one blog post in which Lawson announced she was tired of all the negative emotions depression brought; she declared to make an active effort to be happy and to fight those emotions “out of sheer spite.” This post caused “#FURIOUSLYHAPPY” to trend worldwide on Twitter after which followed the Silver Ribbon campaign, which increased the awareness of individual battles against mental illness. This book demonstrates that accepting depression and anxiety does not necessarily mean submitting to it. Rather, it can mark the beginning of personal growth that allows one to understand that life can indeed have terrible times as well as merry moments.

Much of the laughter readers will experience in response to Lawson’s writing is simply due to the ridiculousness of her self-proclaimed “crazy” antics. For instance, in the chapter “My Phone Is More Fun to Hang Out with Than Me,” she discusses strange messages left on her phone in the middle of the night consisting of ideas she thought were ingenious at the time due to a medication-induced and sleep-deprived state of mind.

Serious episodes that make Furiously Happy laudable are woven between the hilarities of the book. Lawson accurately depicts the reality of a mental health patient including suicidal thoughts and panic attacks. The logic behind self-harm and the guilt patients feel for needing mental illness medications are some of the ideas she puts out in the open. In this way, the intention of Furiously Happy is quite clear. In the chapter “Appendix: An Interview with the Author,” Lawson states, “When we share our struggles we let others know it’s okay to share theirs.” By baring her own story about mental illness, she encourages others to do the same.

Some say the difference between a crisis and a blessing in disguise is one’s attitude towards it. Lawson puts this argument into practice by utilizing her personal struggles to relieve the pain of others. In the face of social stigma, the number of Koreans falling victim to mental illness continues to rise every year. Thus, learning from Furiously Happy could be a great opportunity to collectively endeavor for the improvement of society’s current mental health environment.

Book Information

Title: Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things
Author: Jenny Lawson
Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
Publication Year: September 22, 2015
Pages: 329