Do you need a funny and uplifting, sometimes disturbing yet still amusing book to read while on the boat or out at the pool this month? Look no further than my 3 favorite books by 2 awesome authors.
Let’s start out with this: depression. I suffer from it. About 6.7 percent of the US population over 18 years of age are affected by depression each year according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the US, affecting about 18% of the population over age 18. Depression, anxiety and mental health aren’t usually fun things to talk about but these two authors take an approach that make depression and anxiety approachable and explain to readers how they’re coping.
My first book recommendation was written by Allie Brosch as an extension of her popular blog, Hyperbole and a Half. Have you ever seen the meme with the drawing of a blonde girl in a pink shirt yelling “ALL THE THINGS!”? That picture came from Allie’s blog.
Her book reads like an adult comic book with pictures drawn in what I assume is the Paint program on her computer (see above picture) with text explaining various happenings in her life. She tells tales of her childhood and silly things she used to do with her sister to annoy her parents. She talks about her “simple” dog who doesn’t understand basic English or commands and is perfectly happy to be blissfully unaware. There is a story about a goose infiltrating her home and the adventure she had with her husband to get rid of it. And Allie talks about anxiety and depression and how she struggles daily with doing seemingly simple tasks like getting the mail, paying bills or eating breakfast.
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened was published in 2013. I kept up with Allie’s blog after that only to find that between writing the book and having it published, she fell into a pretty deep depression. She posted in 2011 on her blog that she was writing a book, posted shortly after that about depression and then two years later after the book was published she came back to the blog and explained why she disappeared for so long. The post is very real about how sadness turned into not feeling anything and having thoughts of suicide and how she coped. While her blog and her book are really funny they both address serious issues like anxiety and depression and give hope to those who are having the same thoughts and experiences. Allie hasn’t posted on her blog since 2013 but the book is available for purchase and enjoyment as well as tons of archived blog posts.
The second author who gets my praise and love is Jenny Lawson, or as she’s more commonly known on the Internet: The Bloggess. Jenny is an incredibly quirky woman who collects taxidermied animals in adorable poses and even cuter outfits (see Harry Potter themed friends below). She has cats with fun names, like Ferris Mewler, and is obsessed with Wil Wheaton for some unclear reason. She blogs about ridiculous fights she has with her husband, growing up with her sister in a tiny Texas town, raising her daughter Hailey and her multiple diagnoses of rheumatoid arthritis, OCD, ADD, anxiety and depression.
Her first book, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (a mostly true memoir) was published in 2012 shortly after being recognized by Nielsen ratings as one of the Top 50 Most Powerful Mom Bloggers. Because I can’t do this book justice with an explanation, I’ll let you read her own blog post from when the book was published. Jenny, like Allie, addresses all sorts of serious issues in this book from depression to chronic pain and lighter topics such as her father the taxidermist who created dead animal puppets as she was growing up.
Her second book, Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things, takes a deeper look at life with depression. Jenny is invited often to give speeches at conferences for book lovers, moms or bloggers. She writes about the struggles she has leaving her hotel room long enough to do her thing on stage and retreat back to her safe space immediately after. Despite her anxiety about flying and being away from home for long periods of time, she writes about a trip she took to Australia with a friend. While there, she met a koala wearing a koala suit (but she wasn't allowed to hold and/or hug the koala, much to her dismay). She talks about the support of her friends and family when she’s having a particularly tough day (whether her depression is getting the best of her or she’s in a lot of pain from her arthritis). This book is a reminder that we should all just be furiously happy in life instead of focusing on being weird or different or not “fitting in”.
The cover of Furiously Happy features Rory the Raccoon who blog followers could print out and take pictures with all over the place creating a post called "Where's Rory?". Jenny is still blogging and tweeting away merrily- check out her Twitter for daily insight into her fascinating life.
