Broken (in the best possible way)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher
Henry Holt and Company
Publication Date
2021.
Language
English

Description

"As Jenny Lawson's hundreds of thousands of fans know, she suffers from depression. In Broken (in the best possible way), she explores her experimental treatment of transcranial magnetic stimulation with brutal honesty. But also with brutal humor: "People do different things to distract themselves during each treatment. I embroider. It feels fitting. I'm being magnetically stabbed in the head thousands of times as I'm stabbing the embroidery myself. I don't embroider the same patterns my grandmother did.I embroider girls with octopus faces, David Bowie, a flowery bouquet with FUCK YES written in the middle. They let you do anything as long as it's 'positive.'" Jenny discusses the frustration of dealing with her insurance company in "An Open Letter to MyInsurance Company," which should be an anthem for anyone who has ever had to call their insurance company to try and get a claim covered. On the lighter side, she tackles such timelessly debated questions as "How do dogs know they have penises?" We see how her vacuum cleaner almost set her house on fire, how she was attacked by three bears, business ideas she wants to pitch to Shark Tank, and why she can never go back to the post office. Of course, Jenny's long-suffering husband Victor--the Ricky to Jenny's Lucille Ball--is present throughout. A treat for Jenny Lawson's already existing fans, and destined to convert new ones, Broken is a beacon of hope and a wellspring of laughter"--

More Details

ISBN
9781250077035
9781250812483

Table of Contents

From the Book - First U.S. Edition.

Jenny Lawson, full-grown mammal: an introduction
I already forgot I wrote this
Six times I've lost my shoes while wearing them: a list that shouldn't exist
And then I bought condoms for my dog
Rainbow fire
All of the reasons why I'm not coming to your party
Samuel L. Jackson is trying to kill me
How do dogs know they have penises?
These truisms leave out a lot of the truth
An open letter to my health insurance company
I'm not going outside anymore
The things we do to quiet the monsters
The golden (shower) years
Awkwarding brings us together
That time I got haunted by lizards with bike horns
We are who we are until we aren't anymore
Introverts unite! (But sweet baby Jesus, not in real life)
My dentist hates me
Am I even still alive?
The secret to a long marriage
So I'm paying to beat the shit out of myself?
Anxiety is a lost watch I never saw
The eight billionth argument I had with Victor this week
Sometimes there is beauty in breaking
No one wants your handwritten "Good for one free massage" coupons, Darryl
I feel it in my bones
Editing is hell, mostly for editors
The first satanic ritual I ever saw
Damaged good(s)
My house is a garbage fire because I clean it
And that's why I can never go back to the post office again
I am a magpie
Up divorce creek without a paddle (because the guide didn't trust me not to push Victor overboard with it)
Eclipse (not the Twilight book, the other kind)
Business ideas to pitch on Shark Tank
Strange new weather patterns
Souls.

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Author Notes

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Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These books have the genres "life stories -- facing adversity -- medical issues -- mental illness" and "science writing -- medicine and health -- mental health"; and the subjects "journalists," "depression," and "mental illness."
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We recommend Hyperbole and a Half for fans of Broken (in the Best Possible Way). Both are memoirs that use humor and a self-deprecating tone to discuss mental illness. -- Yaika Sabat
These books have the genres "life stories -- facing adversity -- medical issues -- mental illness" and "science writing -- medicine and health -- mental health"; and the subjects "depression," "anxiety," and "mental illness."
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Readers can expect irreverent but deeply emotional humor from both bloggers turned memoirists who share their adventures, including their struggle with medical concerns, in their witty books. Wow, No Thank You includes racy humor that Broken does not. -- Andrienne Cruz

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Published Reviews

Booklist Review

Whether she's writing about buying condoms she'll use to cover her dog's paws, applying to the Vampire Brotherhood, or hiding in her bathroom, best-selling humorist Lawson (Furiously Happy, 2015) openly describes a variety of ailments. She's losing her memory (and her shoes); she's anemic (she suspects blood-sucking bats in the night); she suffers from depression (and fears that it may lead to suicide); she has a host of autoimmune disorders. She sums it all up with, "I make others feel okay by being a barometer of awkwardness and self-doubt." She also makes others laugh. Her delivery is zany, clever, and raunchy. Her conversations with party guests, her long-suffering husband, her sister, and even herself are flat-out hilarious. And the situations she finds herself in are comic gold. Beneath the banter, however, is a heartbreaking chronicle of what goes on in the mind of a person dealing with anxiety and depression. Lawson is willing to try new drugs and procedures but ends up battling the insurance company at every turn. Lawson experiences some successes, and she's grateful as she glories in feeling normal even though her anxiety can return at any moment. Her insights are eye-opening as she gives readers a first-hand view of the struggles caused by mental illness.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Stock up for Lawson's millions of readers, who cherish her candor and have been eagerly awaiting her new book.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Publisher's Weekly Review

Lawson (You Are Here) returns with a wry and entertaining take on her battle with depression, anxiety, and rheumatoid arthritis. As always, the author is unrivaled in her ability to use piercing humor and insight to take on heavy subjects. In the poignant "I Already Forgot I Wrote This," Lawson shares moving reflections on her family's history of dementia ("My mother jokes about it now and I do too, because you either laugh or you cry"). In "The Things We Do to Quiet the Monsters," she details the transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment she underwent to cure her medication-resistant mental health issues ("It feels like an invisible chisel drilling holes into your head while you have an ice-cream headache and also you're paying for it to happen to you"), and she excoriates her insurance provider in "An Open Letter to My Insurance Company": "you decided that it 'wasn't medically necessary' that I have the drug that had kept me away from suicide." In "Six Times I've Lost My Shoes While Wearing Them," she chronicles the strange places she's lost her left shoe after "walking out of it" due to fluctuating ankle swelling from chronic arthritis. The beauty of these essays lies in Lawson's unfailing hopefulness amid her trials. "After all," she notes, "we are changed by life... it puts its teeth in us... makes us who we are." Lawson's fans are in for a treat. (Apr.)

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Library Journal Review

Lawson follows Furiously Happy, her best-selling book of humorous essays, with this hilarious and poignant look at her mental and physical challenges. The author discusses her anxiety, depression, rheumatoid arthritis, and other illnesses, so listeners might expect to hear a sobering story of challenges and defeat. But that's not Lawson's style. She has her low moments, to be sure, but she combats them with a wonderful sense of humor about life and herself. Lawson narrates the audiobook and sometimes laughs aloud at the absurdity of the situations in which she finds herself. The chapter in which readers of Lawson's blog share their most embarrassing moments will leave listeners in tears of laughter and rueful acknowledgment of their own faux pas. Throughout, Lawson is truthful about her difficult moments and maintains an admirable sense of hope for herself and her family. No one could have done a better job narrating. VERDICT This is a must-have for all public libraries.--B. Allison Gray, Goleta Valley Lib., CA

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Kirkus Book Review

The Bloggess is back to survey the hazards and hilarity of imperfection. Lawson is a wanderer. Whether on her award-winning blog or in the pages of her bestselling books, she reliably takes readers to places they weren't even aware they wanted to go--e.g., shopping for dog condoms or witnessing what appears to be a satanic ritual. Longtime fans of the author's prose know that the destinations really aren't the point; it's the laugh-out-loud, tears-streaming-down-your-face journeys that make her writing so irresistible. This book is another solid collection of humorous musings on everyday life, or at least the life of a self-described "super introvert" who has a fantastic imagination and dozens of chosen spirit animals. While Furiously Happy centered on the idea of making good mental health days exceptionally good, her latest celebrates the notion that being broken is beautiful--or at least nothing to be ashamed of. "I have managed to fuck shit up in shockingly impressive ways and still be considered a fairly acceptable person," writes Lawson, who has made something of an art form out of awkward confessionals. For example, she chronicles a mix-up at the post office that left her with a "big ol' sack filled with a dozen small squishy penises [with] smiley faces painted on them." It's not all laughs, though, as the author addresses her ongoing battle with both physical and mental illness, including a trial of transcranial magnetic stimulation, a relatively new therapy for people who suffer from treatment-resistant depression. The author's colloquial narrative style may not suit the linear-narrative crowd, but this isn't for them. "What we really want," she writes, "is to know we're not alone in our terribleness….Human foibles are what make us us, and the art of mortification is what brings us all together." The material is fresh, but the scaffolding is the same. Fans will find comfort in Lawson's dependably winning mix of shameless irreverence, wicked humor, and vulnerability. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* Whether she's writing about buying condoms she'll use to cover her dog's paws, applying to the Vampire Brotherhood, or hiding in her bathroom, best-selling humorist Lawson (Furiously Happy, 2015) openly describes a variety of ailments. She's losing her memory (and her shoes); she's anemic (she suspects blood-sucking bats in the night); she suffers from depression (and fears that it may lead to suicide); she has a host of autoimmune disorders. She sums it all up with, "I make others feel okay by being a barometer of awkwardness and self-doubt." She also makes others laugh. Her delivery is zany, clever, and raunchy. Her conversations with party guests, her long-suffering husband, her sister, and even herself are flat-out hilarious. And the situations she finds herself in are comic gold. Beneath the banter, however, is a heartbreaking chronicle of what goes on in the mind of a person dealing with anxiety and depression. Lawson is willing to try new drugs and procedures but ends up battling the insurance company at every turn. Lawson experiences some successes, and she's grateful as she glories in feeling normal even though her anxiety can return at any moment. Her insights are eye-opening as she gives readers a first-hand view of the struggles caused by mental illness.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Stock up for Lawson's millions of readers, who cherish her candor and have been eagerly awaiting her new book. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.
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Library Journal Reviews

Lawson returns with her signature mix of humorous antics and heartfelt self-reflection in this follow-up to 2015's Furiously Happy. She shares with raw honesty her experiences living with mental illness, including depression and anxiety, as well as rheumatoid arthritis and other physical conditions. She openly discusses her suicidal thoughts, detailing her transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment and its results, and shares her frustration with her health insurance company. Being Lawson, it's not all gloomy subjects; she also includes an uncomfortable exchange at the post office, a list of awkward moments shared by her fans, unusual encounters with animals, pitches for Shark Tank, and marriage advice. Lawson describes her book as "probably horribly offensive," and those who don't mind profanity will enjoy her frank sense of humor. She excels at advocating for self-acceptance, embracing and sharing failures, and laughing at the difficulties and absurdities of life. Her ability to blend poignant self-reflection and candid humor allows for the darkness of life to become less alienating, which makes her stories about failing and flourishing to be both engaging and relatable. VERDICT Lawson already has thousands of fans, and she's bound to pick up more with this latest memoir. Recommended for all public libraries.—Anitra Gates, Erie Cty. P.L., PA

Copyright 2021 Library Journal.

Copyright 2021 Library Journal.
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Publishers Weekly Reviews

Lawson (You Are Here) returns with a wry and entertaining take on her battle with depression, anxiety, and rheumatoid arthritis. As always, the author is unrivaled in her ability to use piercing humor and insight to take on heavy subjects. In the poignant "I Already Forgot I Wrote This," Lawson shares moving reflections on her family's history of dementia ("My mother jokes about it now and I do too, because you either laugh or you cry"). In "The Things We Do to Quiet the Monsters," she details the transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment she underwent to cure her medication-resistant mental health issues ("It feels like an invisible chisel drilling holes into your head while you have an ice-cream headache and also you're paying for it to happen to you"), and she excoriates her insurance provider in "An Open Letter to My Insurance Company": "you decided that it ‘wasn't medically necessary' that I have the drug that had kept me away from suicide." In "Six Times I've Lost My Shoes While Wearing Them," she chronicles the strange places she's lost her left shoe after "walking out of it" due to fluctuating ankle swelling from chronic arthritis. The beauty of these essays lies in Lawson's unfailing hopefulness amid her trials. "After all," she notes, "we are changed by life... it puts its teeth in us... makes us who we are." Lawson's fans are in for a treat. (Apr.)

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