What can I say? Jenny Lawson makes me laugh until I cry and cry until I laugh again. Lawson has such a way with words and lets you get an intimate glimpse of her weird and beautiful world. If you liked her previous books, you will love this one just as much.

This book of stories/essays from the author's life is pretty darn funny, while also tinged with the sadness of her struggle with mental and physical issues. Lawson definitely manages to find the humor in the crazy situations she gets herself into, and she comes up with some really wacky ideas and observations. Best of all, I now understand the deeper meaning to the "Why did the chicken cross the road?" joke.

I’d give this a million stars if I could. I have loved Jenny Lawson aka the Bloggess for many years. I was so excited to get her latest book on netgalley because I own her two other books and love them.
She is funny and poignant, and I credit her writing with giving me a better understanding on depression and mental health. I also credit her with being the reason I want a giant metal chicken.
This book was hilarious in parts, my husband was looking at me weird because I was cracking up laughing throughout this book. The dog condoms, omg, so great. And the Shark Tank pitches, I laughed so hard and would love to see the shark’s reaction to those ideas.
The parts that weren’t funny were amazing as well. The chapter on souls was particularly beautiful and will stay with me for a long time.

Jenny Lawson has done it again. Her books bring such joy and at the same time shine such a light on serious issues that many struggle with. She gives such hope for those who feel that they are broken beyond repair. Health issues are not always pretty. They can bring you to a point where you feel that there is no hope. Jenny Lawson acknowledges these struggles while telling people about her own. Her transparency and openness makes her one of my favorite authors. I loved reading this book and can't wait to listen to the audio book. Bravo on another stunning book.

Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for allowing me to read this title.

4.5-5 stars

Another hilarious book from The Bloggess. I thoroughly enjoy her humor and honesty about her mental health issues. Lawson's writing pushes the boundaries of irreverence, grammar, punctuation, and so much more. This book will not be for everyone. There is strong language throughout and some other references (sexual and others) that will make (some) people uncomfortable. It did take me a bit to get through this book, because it was an ARC so it was on my Kindle and I generally grab a physical book before my Kindle most times. There were many times where I was shaking with laughter and trying to be quiet so I didn't disturb my sleeping husband. My husband actually came to check on me once because he thought I was crying, but I was just laughing uncontrollably at "Awkwarding Brings Us Together." And how can you not giggle at the names she names every animal she comes across, not just her pets? I feel like I need to take a deep breath after reading each chapter of this book, as Lawson's writing style feels very much like one long run-on sentence, or paragraph, but it makes it more real, in her own voice. The hilarity is interspersed with heart-wrenching and downright serious honesty. If you make it all the way through this book, "Souls" will break your heart, make you cry, and make you want to shout "YES!!!" and give Jenny a hug (which would terrify her, I know). Her introduction, title page, and end-of-book content are also not to be missed, especially since there's a note at the end that explains the artwork on the cover, which I had just chalked up to Lawson's love for taxidermy (mentioned in her other books and this one too). Another excellent book from Lawson. Again, it will not be for the faint of heart, but if you can handle constant (and I really mean constant) "F" bombs and irreverence but want to honestly laugh out loud and to appreciate the honesty of Lawson's struggle with her mental illness and how her family loves and struggles with and accepts her for who she is, do not miss this book, or any of her others.

Content: Constant "F" bombs, honesty about her mental health issues, some sexual references

I'm a huge fan of Jenny Lawson's books. They are always consistently good. Though they touch on depression there is also the enormous humor she has. And the information on depression can help those who have it.

If you want a good laugh, if you want to make friends with a wonderful person, go buy her books and go to her website. You will never ever be disappointed.

I am a big fan of Jenny Lawson's books. I can always relate so well to them.
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is very relatable for me, she talks a lot about her depression in this book, but it is sprinkled in with funny and relatable stories. I was laughing pretty hard in some places.

Even though I enjoyed this book a lot, this was not my favorite of her books. I jump at the chance to read any of her books as I think she is an incredibly talented writer. I certainly recommend this book!

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

This was my first Jenny Lawson book and I wasn't disappointed. She has a way of taking a subject and making you laugh.

“What we really want is to know we’re not alone in our terribleness. We want to appreciate the failure that makes us perfectly us and wonderfully relatable to every other person out there who is also pretending that they have their sh*t together and didn’t just eat that onion ring that fell on the floor.”

I’ve read Lawson’s first two books and had Broken been my introduction to her work I probably would have enjoyed it more than I did. She looks straight on at her mental and physical illnesses and how her medications and coping strategies both work and don’t. She’s funny, kind and grateful for the many good things in her life. She doesn’t preach, she doesn’t blame, she doesn’t whine. She’s a good story-teller.

There isn’t anything terribly new or different in this third book; it’s rather more a continuation of her first two. If you enjoyed or benefitted from her previous works I can recommend this one as well.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to review the ARC via Netgalley.

I have loved Jenny Lawson and her books for years. I feel a kinship with her. In her latest book Jenny is open and honest and takes on mental health in a manner that I think will help so many others. I've long suffered from anxeity and depression, but haven't undergone the treatment she did. She makes me laugh, think, tear up and want to be her friend. Jenny Lawson, thank you. Thank you to Henry Holt and NetGallery (so very thankful) for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

I am a longtime fan of Jenny Lawson and her most recent book, Broken (in the best possible way) is everything I have come to expect of the author. She writes honestly and openly about her mental health challenges and experimental transcranial magnetic stimulation to treat anxiety and depression when medication failed to make much of a difference, yet still is one of the most absurdly hilarious writers I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I connected deeply in "An Open Letter to My Health Insurance Company". I laughed so hard, that I ended up asthmatic and sobbing (feelings are weird) when reading "And Then I Bought Condoms for My Dog" and related 100% to "Introverts Unite! (But Sweet Baby Jesus, Not in Real Life)". She is a gifted essayist, and I recommend this book!

Advanced copy provided courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I love Jenny Lawson. I love her fierce honesty in describing her childhood, her adulthood, her troubles, and her triumphs. I love that she can make me laugh and cry on the same page. This book was no different. Except that it was. It was deeper. The writing was more poetic. She said she had just come from a deep depression and had slipped back into it some while writing this book. I don’t know if that made her more vulnerable or if she is just becoming better at her craft, but this book was beautiful

Many thanks to Henry Holt & Co. for the opportunity to receive and review an advance reader copy.

I will quite literally read anything Jenny Lawson slaps her name on because I can guarantee I’m going to laugh out loud. As fans of Lawson will know, she suffers from a variety of mental and physical chronic conditions that she has faced head on in her books with an overwhelming sense of self-compassion and empathy. “Broken (in the best possible way)” is a celebration of life that’s a bit wild and wacky and heartbreaking and heartwarming. Lawson artfully balances humor, brutal honesty, and raw emotion with her fantastic stream of consciousness style writing. I laughed, I cried, I wanted to scream into the proverbial void right along with Lawson. Particularly, the chapters on her struggles with the U.S. health care system, patient treatment, her grandmother’s dementia, and her own anxieties and depression were painfully relatable. “Broken” is refreshing, authentic, unique, and compassionate. I cannot recommend it enough.

“Broken” hits U.S. shelves April 6, 2021.

I found Jenny on Twitter some years ago and then spent two days reading through her blog. Finding out she had published a few books was the icing on the cake. So when she announced a new book was forthcoming, I stalked NetGalley, waiting for it to arrive, in hopes I could get lucky enough to get it ahead of time.

There is something special about a woman brave enough to put herself out there. Jenny is honest and raw about her struggles with anxiety and depression. It feels good to have someone to relate to on so many things. My anxiety doesn’t let me comment on her blog posts too often or tweet at her how much something she has written has moved me, but I would like to think she knows.

It’s rare to find a book that can have you swing from emotional to laughing and then give you the feels not only in one chapter but throughout the entire book. From her passion for books to her love of her family, it shines through on every page. I often refer to her as my spirit animal because her voice often guides me when I need it most. This book is incredibly hopeful and is a book you don’t want to miss out on. Thank you, Henry Holt and Co, for sending this along.

Broken, by Jenny Lawson is sure to be a enjoyable read for many. Lighthearted yet relatable for many I’m sure. Full of wit and humor.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

Broken left me broken, my face covered in tears. From laughing, of course! Jenny Lawson is back with a new book that is equal parts hilarious, serious, irreverent, and insightful. You will not be sorry you pick this title up.

I would describe “Broken” as the depression to “Furiously Happy”‘s mania, but just as in life, that creates a much needed balance.

Reading this book, I would be on the verge of crying, or anxious, or blindly angry at insurance companies, only to see Jenny ask “How do dogs know they have penises?” And while that stylistically fits with the essays from “Furiously Happy” and “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened,” bookmarked between such serious essays in “Broken,” I found myself asking “How can something silly be here amidst all this pain?” It’s like a funky shaped puzzle piece you’re frantically trying to place until you realize it’s part of an entirely different puzzle all together.

And then I realized..maybe that’s how it’s supposed to feel. Jenny has always done a wonderful job of describing her emotions in a relatable way, and I’m sure these oddities don’t just happen in times of stability or mania. You can be deeply depressed and then whiplashed by a moment of odd curiosity or amusing self awareness. In fact, that’s even more relatable.

I agree with some other reviews that the book could probably do without a few overtly lighthearted essays (listing people’s embarrassing tweets, an “are you an introvert” quiz, etc.) But overall, her essays are a wonderful reflection on what it’s like not only to live with chronic illnesses, but also how to make peace with it.

I think I absolutely agree with Jenny’s husband, Victor, in saying she does not let her pain go to waste.

*Note: This review is based on an advanced reader’s edition of this book which is subject to change*

The Bloggess is back, and the scattered (as is to be expected) topics of her essays are as poignant/funny/painful as ever. Jenny Lawson isn't scared to address any personal issue, and she's wide open about her numerous and ever-increasing health problems. What makes Broken (In the Best Possible Way) great, however, is that she pulls together the dysfunction and hilarity of Let's Pretend This Never Happened with the hardcore issues presented in Furiously Happy. Broken is a bit choppy and distracted--but it's also touching and distracting, which are the two most powerful weapons in Lawon's arsenal.

Just like Jenny Lawson's previous books, this book is honest and real, with some humor mixed in. She has a great way of talking about her daily struggles while keeping the tone semi-light.

Okay, for reals, if you haven't read Jenny Lawson yet you need to do it NOW! Start with Let's Pretend This Never Happened and then read Furiously Happy. You'll be very glad that you did. Once you've finished those you'll be ready for Broken (in the best possible way). With her first book, Jenny mostly tells hilarious stories that very well may make you wet yourself. With her second book, she gets a little more frank about her mental illness, but in a way that still makes you laugh.

With this most recent offering, Jenny, still funny, still mentally ill, pulls the curtain back even further. We witness her struggles with the health insurance companies that deny her the treatments that could make her life better or very possibly save it. It is heartbreaking, but Jenny makes it very clear that she has a much easier time of it than so many others. She has the ability to pay for the medications that her doctor says she needs and her insurance company says she doesn't. And really, who's to say which of those two entities really knows better. (It's the doctor. The doctor is the one who is better at deciding what she needs. That shouldn't even be a question, should it?)

She also gives a wonderful list of possible things that can help when one is in the grips of mental illness. It is a chapter entitled The Things We Do to Quiet the Monsters and it is wonderful. And I don't just say that because number nine on her list is Watch Doctor Who. I can't even remember how many times I've watched through that gift of a series, but it always makes me feel better. Life is stressful and Doctor Who makes it a little better. There are sad parts, but it is full of light and the darkness never wins, not in the end. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it, but I digress...

There are so many remarkable moments in this book, but the chapter called Awkwarding Brings Us Together was possibly my favorite. I laughed until literal tears were streaming down my face. It took me seven solid minutes to read one tiny paragraph to my husband because I could not get it out without cracking up. Jenny ends the chapter with this, which was just so accurate it was scary:

If you have managed to read these wonderful confessions without doing that thing where you're giggling so much people are staring and so you try to explain to them what's so funny but you're cry-laughing so hard that you can't get it out and they just stare at you like you're insane and that somehow makes it worse and so you laugh harder and then you get mad that they aren't appreciating how fantastically wonderful it all is, then we can't be friends, and honestly, I'm a little embarrassed for you.

Jenny Lawson is the most raw and real, honest and genuine writer I've ever read. There are others who try to imitate her special magic, but none come even close, though I am grateful for the way she has inspired others to share their truth. I love Jenny Lawson and I hope you do, too. If you haven't read her books yet, I really wish you would. And I also highly recommend her audiobooks. She reads them and her own voice makes the stories that much better. I can't wait to hear Broken.