Broken
Ratings60
Average rating4.1
3.5 rounded up.
The book has its moments and I can see it being really fun for some people, personally, I preferred the parts where the author didn't try to be funny.
I really liked the parts about depression and loss because there is a tender wisdom about Lawson that makes her seem like a magnificent human in her own way.
I didn't care about most the of marriage stuff (except maybe when she tells us the key to a lasting marriage is laziness which I found pretty funny).
I feel like I should have related more with the author's annoying ADHD self since I'm also ADHD and I identify as annoying AF but it felt almost forced at times and I found myself going “oooookay for someone with a bad memory you sure remember a lot of trivial conversations” a bit too often.
The part about buttons was cute as all get outs and I hope someday, someone will look at the sewing notions I'll leave behind with that kind of tenderness.
This one had me cackling pretty good. I needed that laugh. Definitely a mood changer when you are low mentally
Funny in her usual way of interactions with animals, insects, nature and Victor and odd social mishaps. I especially ...enjoyed is not the right word... responded to letter to the insurance company. I was interested in her experience with TMS. Beautiful perspective such as seeing the fountain from her hotel room and seeing the snow melt transforming a tree into a rain cloud, being a magpie and her button collection, the truisms as she's edited them as I also have a distaste for meaningless/poor advice like ‘smile more', some of her shark tank ideas also made me chuckle. I also loved the conversation with her sister and her talking about editing.
I very much enjoyed the end of the audiobook where she talked about COVID, recording the book from her closet, owning an independent bookstore (https://www.nowherebookshop.com/) and being able to do things virtually that she has a hard time doing in person. The cat meowing on the closing track and the dog making a slight whine was also delightful.
I just love everything Jenny Lawson has ever written. That's all. She's the absolute best!
If you liked Furiously Happy, you'll like this one. It's more of the mental issues this time and less of the jokes, but still plenty of both. Incredibly fun and mind-opening book intertwined with genuine thought provoking texts.
This grew on me. At the start, the writing style annoyed the crud out of me—perhaps because it felt like being inside my own brain? Gradually, I came around and started to be endeared. Overall, relatable and sweet and funny.
3.5 stars. Lawson's message about removing the stigma from mental illness is always needed, and her descriptions of how it feels to live with depression, anxiety, and a host of physical ailments are poignant and true (as a person who also lives with depression). But after a while her surreal arguments with her husband, and bizarre stream of consciousness conversations with her friends/family become repetitive. I skimmed through a lot of those chapters to get to the more substantial ones.
One thing I do appreciate about Lawson is that she never uses her daughter Hailey to get a laugh; in fact, I know almost nothing about how old Hailey is, whether she still lives with them, etc. With today's shameless Mom blogging, I'm glad there's one Mom who understands something about privacy, especially considering how little she hides about her own life.
I have read (and loved) Jenny's previous two books - [b:Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir 12868761 Let's Pretend This Never Happened A Mostly True Memoir Jenny Lawson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1489415716l/12868761.SY75.jpg 17995392] and [b:Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things 23848559 Furiously Happy A Funny Book About Horrible Things Jenny Lawson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1523830369l/23848559.SY75.jpg 43075476]. They were outrageously funny, and extremely relatable. I love Jenny, period. However, Broken was....a harder read for me. Jenny was very clearly in the midst of a deep depression when she wrote most of this book, and as someone who's suffered from depression in the past, it was hard to read and get through. Mostly because I knew exactly how she felt. There are still hilarious chapters to this book, but honestly? Most of the book is dark, and about how she suffers from day to day from her various ailments. I probably won't reread this one, which is a shame because I adore Jenny so very much. I'll stick with her first two books, and laugh my way through them.Please know – I'm not saying she should have only written funny things. Hell no. She can write what she wants, and absolutely should. I personally had a rough time with the book bc I relate so hard. That's all.
Absolutely wonderful, I listened to it at work and so many times I was laughing so hard I was crying. It was wonderful!!!
Another amazing book by Lawson about mental (and physical) health, weird arguments, and the embarrassing things we all do. Hilarious and moving at the same time.
I don't like knowing other people hurt but it's nice not feeling alone, and I appreciate the giggles I got reading.
Relatedly, I had someone ask me for a copy of Furiously Happy earlier and they said it had “a kind of demented fox on the cover” and excuse you that is Rory and he is a RACCOON thankyouverymuch and he is excited to see you!