SOCIAL SCIENCES

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things

Flatiron. Sept. 2015. 352p. photos. ISBN 9781250077004. $26.99; ebk. ISBN 9781250077011. MEMOIR
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OrangeReviewStarLawson (Let's Pretend This Never Happened) returns with another autobiographical work, this one focused on her experiences living with mental illness. The title comes from a hashtag Lawson started on Twitter after a friend's death to encourage people living with depression and anxiety to stockpile ridiculous, joyful memories "to take into battle with us when our brains declare war on our very existence." Her own furiously happy exploits lead to stories about her collection of odd taxidermy, the time she rented a sloth and a wallaby to surprise her husband and daughter, and a trip to Australia, where she donned a kangaroo costume in an effort to get closer to wild kangaroos. As delightful as much of the book is, Lawson is also candid about her struggles with depression, self-harm, and crippling anxiety, the difficulties of nailing down the right combination of medications to treat her conditions, and her fears about the effects of her illness on her family.
VERDICT The stigma surrounding mental illness can only be lifted if people affected are willing to talk about their experiences and everyone else is willing to listen. This book is a profane, hilarious, touching, and essential part of that conversation. Recommended for all public libraries.
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