Fans of Jenny Lawson will recognize the trademark awkwardness and wacky stories from her childhood that made The Bloggess famous, but this book is much deeper and more personal than Lawson’s earlier books. In addition to the hilarious stories from her life, Lawson has interspersed incredibly vulnerable accounts of her struggles with mental illness. As someone who has experienced depression I was so appreciative of Lawson’s unflinching honesty. She has an amazing ability to cling to hope without crossing the line into toxic positivity. What a gift.

This was exactly what I expected from Jenny Lawson- equal parts humor and heartfelt stories about the struggles in her life. Lawson always shares her raw emotion and is honest about the things that make her life difficult. Her discussion about depression and anxiety is so relatable to those that struggle also. The parts I couldn’t necessarily relate to were interesting to hear about and I love how she breaks up the heavier chapters with funny moments like the tweets from readers about things they’ve done/said. I really enjoyed this audiobook as well (bonus- Lawson reads the audiobook).

While the approach in this book is a little different than in Lawson's previous work, it is just as enjoyable. Think of this more as personal essays than a true memoir. Largely humorous though a few have a more serious tone. All are absolutely candid and open. One I would easily recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for gifting me with an ARC of Jenny Lawson’s newest memoir, Broken. In exchange I offer my unbiased review.

Having recently listened to both of Jenny’s previous books; Let’s Pretend This Never Happened & Furiously Happy, I was beyond excited to be offered a copy of Broken to review. This book did not disappoint, but I was sad to see that Jenny’s struggles seem to be getting more difficult and her days are often dark, but her beautiful spirit and sense of humor is as bright & brilliant as ever. Plus Jenny is the PUNNIEST author, EVER!!!!! Jenny is able to capture the humor in every day circumstances as well as highlight the absurdity and frustration in dealing with insurance companies and other obstacles people with hidden illnesses are forced to deal with. She’s fearless and brave using her wit, pen and honesty as her weapons. Her gift for storytelling and relatability in expressing her monsters, real and imagined makes her books and audios accessible to everyone.
Though I don’t suffer from the same illnesses or severity of depression/anxiety that Jenny does, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t able to find comfort, affirmation and reassurance from her openness and reflections.
This book along with her previous memoirs are gifts for the soul. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy!! Upon conclusion of my reading, I immediately purchased the audio for my collection.

Jenny Lawson is a mess... aren't we all to varying degrees? BUT she is cognizant of her situation and (mostly) on top of it. She sits firmly at the top of things with a unique style and loads of humor. I have no idea how she manages to be so funny, especially in the face of everything she has to deal with... including infuriating health insurance woes (which I am sure we can ALL relate to) and intrusive thoughts that are downright scary. Not every chapter is wildly hysterical, some hit way too close to home but all are poignant, introspective and honest... so very honest.

Her humor is a salve and a boon for all of us crazy messes... even more so for those that have trouble expressing their experiences/pain/neurosis and fragile bits. BUT in the chapters where she is guffaw inducing, bring tears to your eyes, Keegle busting, capital 'F' Funny... I was thankful that I padded up because the polite (knee-jerk) expression Laughing Out Loud was more like Braying (ladylike) Into The Night WHICH makes for a very unpopular reading choice (in my sleep deprived, grouchy husband's bleary eyes) in the wee hours at my house... though I regret nothing!

Jenny Lawson is the Queen of awkward encounters and a brilliant tactician, navigating a surprising amount of mortifying "Holy *bleep*, Why Me?" moments! She brings the power of laughter in the face of weird Reality and can easily boast the ability to make any situation weirder as her Super Power.

Mrs. Lawson's writing is often Self-Deprecating BUT she manages to do this in an admirably healthy, transcendent way. I swear that everyone needs this book in their lives, not only fellow sufferers but those that need a helping hand understanding/coping with other people's insanity as well. I'm a firm believer that this book can help all sorts of people traverse our murky emotional waters. Could you really ask for more? I guess you could physically ask so but you'll definitely get redirected right back here it's that good.

Overall:

Broken by Jenny Lawson celebrates the Weird, the Awkward, the Misunderstood and the Broken. Come and be reminded that YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! We are ALL messed up in our own messed up ways and we ALL deserve to be accepted and loved, sharp edged pieces and all! Speaking of loving acceptance, it makes me happy knowing that Jenny has Victor (her devoted, oft times patient, husband). I LOVED his contributions to the book, whether they were done so wittingly or not I'm not sure but it doesn't matter, his interjections play off her Crazy perfectly... they have that healthy Odd Couple balance going for them. Everyone needs a Victor in their life! Mine happens to be a grouchy, sleep deprived (mainly due to my nighttime reading choices) Eric who often grumbles whenever I share a (questionably) ingenious thought at 3:00 a.m. BUT he's my Victor and I'm lucky to have him.

Aaaaanyway...

I highly recommend you hurry up and go get this book, you don't fully know it yet but you NEED this in your life!! You'll thank me later.

~ Enjoy

*** I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***

Full disclosure: I am a long-time bloggess fan and have read all her previous books. This one did not disappoint. It was alternately laugh out loud hilarious and serious. There were a couple sections that weren't really for me (like the Shark Tank chapter), but overall, this was a joy to read, start to finish.

Make sure you check out her note on the art and the artist who made it. And all the bonus points for figuring out how to publish a book that doesn't have a lot of blank pages at the end.

I received a free digital ARC through NetGalley. Her books always have me uncontrollably laughing out loud.

Honestly, I'm not sure I would've ever believed that Lawson could get even better.

I've followed and adored The Bloggess for so long now, and have thoroughly enjoyed and loved her previous works. It was without any hesitation that I requested this ARC from Henry Holt & Co the moment I had the opportunity.

I don't recall, from her previous books, quite the amount of depth and focus on the darker stretches of her mental illness. Don't get me wrong - her dark stretches have certainly been expressed and discussed before, but never with quite the illumination here. It can be difficult reading; she is eloquent but also realistic and brutal. So often, Lawson expresses her frustrations with a deft entwining of humor and weightiness but there are chapters/segments in Broken that are just the weight, just the dark, just the seriousness, however well written and brilliant her turns of phrase.

These chapters are skillfully balanced with the dark humor, cleverness, and wittiness we've come to expect from Lawson, and, though it can be a high tightrope, I never despaired that she would keep me safe with the balancing act.

And, once again, every single time I was reading, my partner kept saying, "Okay, tell me already, what is so damn funny?" It's always a long path Lawson guides us down; already so many pages to get to the full on uncontrollable laughter that I always shake my head and say, "You just have to read it."

There's a chapter, towards the end, where she proposes (horrible) ideas for Shark Tank that was a huge miss for me; it felt like someone else trying to write like Lawson but really missing the mark. She does explain that these ideas were generated by herself in collaboration with some friends, so perhaps that's why. I definitely could've done without this bit - it felt like a genuine outlier to the rest of the book, though, and since it was the only one, it wasn't enough to ding my rating.

Only my second or third five star for this year, so far!

Jenny Lawson did it again! I don't know how she can write about her deep depression and make the reader laugh with her, but she does. She is brutally honest about her trials and tribulations and some of the minutiae in her life and in such a way the you say "YES! I get it."
Lawson says..."The World feels safer somehow if we share our pain. It becomes more manageable. And by sharing our pain, we inspire others to share theirs". Her chapter of others sharing their most embarrassing events had me rolling on the floor (not literally). We all feel better when we know we are not alone.
Kudos to Jenny Lawson!

My full review for this one is on Bookreporter.com. Here are the first few sentences: In her latest book BROKEN (IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY), Jenny Lawson focuses on her struggles with mental health and the ups and downs of living with severe anxiety and depression. She highlights the problems with the current United States health system that result in circular patterns of coverage denials created to avoid paying for necessary treatments and how that exacerbates mental health issues for those already struggling.

I laughed. I was offended. I cried.
I laughed. I was shocked. I cried.
I laughed. I cried. And I cried a bit more.
It only took 3 sittings to finish this book and that was only because I had to go to the restroom on occasion.
(Not, thankfully, an outhouse!)

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for allowing an advanced read for an honest review.
I am very thankful to have read this book. You see,, I am Broken and this little shard fits a space where another was missing.

Jenny Lawson cuts through the bullshit and tells it how it is. She's continually truth-telling and sets the shame of mental health stigma on fire. In "Broken (In the Best Possible Way), she details her treatment for depression and also goes on a few wild goose chases about Shark Tank and other fun stories. I'd definitely recommend adding to any adult (or mature high school) collection and consider her works as a go-to when patrons are asking for "something funny."

No one makes me laugh to wheezing and tears the way Jenny Lawson (aka The Bloggess) does. No one. I've never hidden that I'm a massive fan of Jenny Lawson's work, and have been since I discovered her blog long enough ago I'd rather not say. Her humor hits me in all the funny bones so hard I worried I'd get kicked off a plane once for wheeze-laughing.

OF COURSE I have examples from the current book Broken (in the best possible way).

From the chapter "Six Times I've Lost My Shoes While Wearing Them: A List that Shouldn't Exist" - "the bathroom emptied out, and when I went in my lone shoe was sitting on the sink and looking not nearly as ashamed of itself as it should have been." It's not funny because it's a weird thing that happened to her, it's funny because that sort of stuff happens to me all the time. I'm just not as good at writing about it as she is, and for that I'm SO grateful she writes these incidents down.

From the chapter "All of the Reasons Why I'm Not Coming to Your Party" - "I wonder if crabs think humans walk weird." Me too, and that's 100% something that is likely to pop out of my mouth when I'm nervous at a work function.

From the chapter "That Time I Got Haunted by Lizards with Bike Horns" - "I spent the rest of the day scrubbing butthole smears off every surface of the house." I suppose I should add a warning about her wide variety of inappropriate subjects, but this is Lawson's third book and you should know this already, honestly.

Broken is both an extension in the series of Lawson's memoir humor works (starting with Let's Pretend This Never Happened, and then Furiously Happy) and a new journey. You don't need to have read the first two (although honestly, if you haven't you really should) to pick up Broken. Her latest stories include vignettes about looking for galoshes for a tiny dog that somehow morphed into asking a pharmacist for dog condoms, her experience with TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation, a treatment for depression and anxiety), requisite entertaining fights with Victor, and of course the occasional surprise taxidermy.

Lawson isn't just a humorist, and Broken doesn't only include mortifying moments and ridiculous situations that seem too weird to be true and yet too surreal NOT to be true. Her not-funny commentary on the health care system and the raw reality of dealing with persistent depression and anxiety is infuriating (on her behalf) and will make your heart ache. I cried more than once out of sheer sympathetic frustration or sadness. Her candid chapter blasting insurance treatment of depression and anxiety is one of the most powerful admonishments I've seen, and it's delivered with compassion and understanding to anyone who is forced to deal with the red tape while trying to stay alive.

Lawson's writing style is consistently a mix of "matter of fact" and matter of "wtf". Her timing is on point for both comedic and serious impacts, usually leaving the reader with a "what just happened" feeling in the best possible sense. She relays these incidents in a way that is both horrifyingly funny and inclusive, and you can't help but nod and empathize and realize she's reflecting pieces of humanity we all share and just don't talk about enough.

The unique combination of hilarious and horrible situations Jenny Lawson recounts in Broken are a window into her reality, and it's a wild and unpredictable place to visit. Reading this made me glad I've never gone shopping for dog condoms, and reminded me that sometimes the best view of the wonders in this world is the "not normal" version. It also made my stomach muscles hurt from laughing so hard. This book is wonderful and cathartic and I can't recommend it highly enough beyond go pick it up as soon as possible.

I have been a Jenny Lawson fan for years now, so my review may be slightly biased, but also... she is an excellent writer! There was something more... genuine about this book. Something more nonsensical, yet more real. Her worries and fears, added with the random thoughts, are just so relatable even though I don't have many of the same mental health concerns as her. Jenny Lawson is just a people person: she's for everyone, and I firmly believe this.
Perhaps it's the year-long stress we've all been going through, but this book came when it was needed most. I'd like to particularly point out the "letter to my insurance" portion. This essay had me reeling, I was so angry for Jenny. The letter itself is humorous in a way, but it highlights a much larger issue in America. Hearing how she has to send appeal after appeal to get medication to live really made me love her more. It made Jenny much more powerful and strong in my eyes. I definitely have a newfound respect.
I also cannot thank her enough for opening up about such an experimental treatment for depression and anxiety: transcranial magnetic stimulation. This is definitely not a treatment many people will try in the near future, but Jenny is so brave in sharing her experience with it. And I'm SO excited to hear that it's working for her! It gave me so much hope for her!
Of course, in normal Jenny style, there were the nonsensical rants and conversations with Victor. These honestly were spaced out in a way that allowed for a breather from the deeper pain and trauma. I thought the organization of the novel was very well done! I never felt like it was getting too difficult to handle before another funny situation took hold. Also, can I just say, we all need a Victor in our lives! He seems so supportive, and I love that Jenny pointed out that it wasn't always rainbows and sunshine within their marriage, either. It's important to be honest with people who look up to you, and Jenny absolutely nails it!

Never disappointed in a single thing Jenny Lawson writes. She somehow manages to be hilarious about the darkest things in her life, but also brutally raw and honest, and occasionally wise (without being preachy).

As the author of an ultra-popular blog and multiple best-selling books, Jenny Lawson (AKA "The Bloggess") certainly has a devoted following. I've never read anything by Lawson before, so I was excited to pick up her latest, Broken (In the Best Possible Way).

Broken is made up of many different chapters about Lawson's life, some of which are more successful than others. The problem for me as a new reader of Lawson's was that I couldn't really tell what this book was trying to be. Some chapters were laugh-out-loud funny, others were poignant vignettes about Lawson's mental illness, and a few were just odd (like Lawson's Shark Tank ideas). At times, the author's writing seemed forced, like she was just trying to fill up the pages.

But of course, my opinion is in the minority. I'm still giving Broken a 3 out of 5 because there were quite a few parts I genuinely either enjoyed or found affecting.

MY RATING - 3

I have read one other Jenny Lawson book "Let's Pretend this Never Happened" and still re-read one particular essay about her memoirs of working in a corporate HR Department (as I do as well). It is absolutely hilarious and spot-on. Reading her new book "Broken - in The Best Possible Way" was also enjoyable with some very funny moments and some very heart-wrenching moments. She writes openly and candidly about her struggles with mental health. I very much appreciate her willingness to make herself vulnerable. One of my favorite essays is her struggle dealing with the red-tape of health insurance, which is unfortunately a common challenge for many of us who have chronic health conditions. While there are many great moments in this book, not all of the essays worked. It was like riding a roller coaster of emotions from one story to the next and for me some of the humor fell flat (was overly grotesque). Overall, I do think it is worth a read because I feel I gained more insight, compassion and understanding for people dealing with depression and other chronic conditions.

Another brilliant book by Jenny Lawson. Not only does she make me laugh hysterically with her writing she perfectly captures what anxiety and depression looks like in the chapter Strange New Weather Pattern. Her Shark Tank pitches had my kids asking if I could breathe I was laughing so hard. Thank you for writing a book that not only understands what dealing with a mental illness is like but makes you see that brighter days will come. I only wish I could sit on the back porch with Jenny and Victor and laugh in realtime with them.

Thank you for the ARC from #Brokeninthebestpossibleway #NetGalley

Can you love someone you've never met? Can you believe that you absolutely could be friends, sight unseen? I do. I think Jenny Lawson is amazing-not just because she makes me laugh so hard, I cried during this book and I forced my husband to listen to me read a whole chapter out loud (even though he didn't cry with laughter, I am trying not to hold it against him. To be fair, I was laughing so hard I'm not sure he could understand me). This book also made me cry-her letter to insurance companies should be required reading for every loser trying to fight against equatable health care and who doesn't understand what being denied insurance because of pre-existing conditions could look like. If her book does nothing else, it reminds us all that this will pass-that there is light to be found, joy to be had. What a gift is that?

I have thought long and he’d about my review for this. Mainly because I have no idea what to write. If this is your first Jenny Lawson book than your missing out. This is her third book and is just as good if not better than her first. I was reading whole chapters that had me taking off my glasses because I was laughing so hard, the glasses where fogging up. My husband would ask “are you going to be ok over there?” I would highly recommend this book to literally ANYONE. Her stories are relatable and Victor is a saint whom my husband and him would probably be like “how about the time she punched me so hard over a punch buggy she gave me a dead arm...” yeah.... good times.