Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

Furiously Happy:
A Funny Book About Horrible Things
by Jenny Lawson

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Published: 2015
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Genre: Humor, Memoir
Hardback: 352 pages
Rating: 5

First sentence(s):
"You're not crazy. STOP CALLING YOURSELF CRAZY," my mom says for the eleventh billionth time. "You're just sensitive. And . . . a little . . . odd."

Zombie sighting:
I'm Turning Into A Zombie One Organ At A Time
-chapter heading, page 144

In Furiously Happy, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lawson explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea.

But terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.

As Jenny says:

"Some people might think that being 'furiously happy' is just an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first because you suspect he would say no since he's never particularly liked kangaroos. And that would be ridiculous because no one would invite a herd of kangaroos into their house. Two is the limit. I speak from personal experience. My husband says that none is the new limit. I say he should have been clearer about that before I rented all those kangaroos.

"Most of my favorite people are dangerously fucked-up but you'd never guess because we've learned to bare it so honestly that it becomes the new normal. Like John Hughes wrote in The Breakfast Club, 'We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it.' Except go back and cross out the word 'hiding.'"

Furiously Happy is about "taking those moments when things are fine and making them amazing, because those moments are what make us who we are, and they're the same moments we take into battle with us when our brains declare war on our very existence. It's the difference between "surviving life" and "living life". It's the difference between "taking a shower" and "teaching your monkey butler how to shampoo your hair." It's the difference between being "sane" and being "furiously happy."

Lawson is beloved around the world for her inimitable humor and honesty, and in Furiously Happy, she is at her snort-inducing funniest. This is a book about embracing everything that makes us who we are - the beautiful and the flawed - and then using it to find joy in fantastic and outrageous ways. Because as Jenny's mom says, "Maybe 'crazy' isn't so bad after all." Sometimes crazy is just right.

My two-bits:

Just like Jenny's first book. This book gives off the same crazy (in a good way) vibe. Entertaining and informative perspective on life from a person who lives with mental illness, depression and anxieties.

I was tickled by Jenny's word creations and word play.

Love the personal photos that were shared.

fyi: While I do have the print copy, I listened to the audio version this time around which the author reads. It is such a treat to hear it as the idiosyncrasies hit home.

The Girl Without A Name by Sandra Block (with giveaway)

The Girl Without A Name
by Sandra Block

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Just released: September 8, 2015
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Genre: Mental illness, Mystery, Psychological Thriller
Paperback: 368 pages
Rating: 3

series:
Little Black Lies
The Girl Without A Name

First sentence(s):
We call her Jane, because she can't tell us her name. Can't or won't, I'm not sure. She lies in a hospital bed, a strangely old expression upon her teenaged face.

In what passes for an ordinary day in a psych ward, Dr. Zoe Goldman is stumped when a highly unusual case arrives. A young African American girl, found wandering the streets of Buffalo in a catatonic state, is brought in by police. No one has come forward to claim her, and all leads have been exhausted, so Zoe's treatment is the last hope to discover the girl's identity.

When drugs prove ineffective and medical science seems to be failing, Zoe takes matters into her own hands to track down Jane Doe's family and piece together their checkered history. As she unearths their secrets, she finds that monsters hide where they are least expected. And now she must solve the mystery before it is too late. Because someone wants to make sure this young girl never remembers.

Zombie sighting:
I sort through the mail—"SPOOKTACULAR" orange-and-black fliers for zombie costumes, red-white-and-blue ads where someone is Satan and someone is the Messiah for the election, and bills (too many)—when I see the letter.
-chapter , page 31

My two-bits:

Found this to be more mystery than thriller although not one that includes a death.

The world of mental illness and state of mind is described along with the process of trying to figure out Jane Doe's. More cerebral action occurs rather than physical action in this story telling.

While I was curious to find out the story behind the Jane Doe character, the final reveal was interesting but not too shocking.

About the author:

Sandra Block graduated from college at Harvard, then returned to her native land of Buffalo, New York, for medical training and never left. She is a practicing neurologist and has been published in both medical and poetry journals. The Girl Without a Name is her second novel.

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~*~
* review copy courtesy of Wunderkind

* added this to the R.I.P. X challenge (here)

Crooked Little Lies by Barbara Taylor Sissel

Crooked Little Lies
by Barbara Taylor Sissel

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Just released: August 1, 2015
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Paperback: 385 pages
Rating: 4

First sentence(s):
Lauren didn't know on that Friday in October, when she saw him walking alongside the road's edge, that he would soon vanish, or that in the wake of his disappearance, dozens of people would feel compelled to search for him.

The Friday morning before Halloween, 43-year-old wife and mother Lauren Wilder is driving towards a busy intersection in Hardy’s Walk, Texas, when she nearly crashes into Bo Laughlin. Stopping to make sure he’s okay, Lauren is not convinced that Bo is, indeed, fine, and her motherly instincts push her to call the sheriff’s office and report her unease. Four days later, Bo has vanished, and Lauren enters the investigation as a witness.

As the Wilder’s are pulled into the mystery of Bo’s disappearance, secrets are dug up and Lauren learns that she may not be a witness, but a victim. Then, as her husband’s facade crumbles and her history with addiction is revealed, Lauren watches her life break apart at the seams, because at the center of every crime, there’s a family.

My two-bits:

This story is told by an unreliable narrator. So at the start, you are in a state of questioning. Usually a good device for thriller novels. In this case it works alright. There were so many possibilities as to what the heck was going on.

As the story takes place in a small town, the local vibe and characters create a cozy setting. It was interesting to see how the characters intersect and find connections. Although, I really did not connect with any of them.

Touches on mental illness and mental health.

A bit sad to see the outcome of a couple of the story lines. But, my curiosity kept me reading to the end.

About the author:

Barbara Taylor Sissel is the critically acclaimed author of Evidence of Life and Safe Keeping.

She is an active member of the Indie Book Collective and World Literary Café, (previously known as the Women’s Literary Café) and the League of Extraordinary Authors.

A one-time editor for a small regional press, Barbara also writes and edits for the public relations field and a number of other clients, including best-selling authors.

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~*~
* review copy courtesy of BookSparks Fall Reading Challenge 2015 (details) @booksparks #FRC2015

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One Thing Stolen by Beth Kephart

One Thing Stolen
by Beth Kephart

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Just released: April 14, 2015
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Genre: Illness, Italy, YA
Hardback: 272 pages
Rating: 4

First sentence(s):
If you could see me. If you were near.
This, I would say.
Here.

Something is not right with Nadia Cara. While spending a year in Florence, Italy, she's become a thief. She has secrets. And when she tries to speak, the words seem far away. Nadia finds herself trapped by her own obsessions and following the trail of an elusive Italian boy whom only she has seen.

Can Nadia be rescued or will she simply lose herself altogether? Set against the backdrop of a glimmering city, One Thing Stolen is an exploration of obsession, art, and a rare neurological disorder. It is a celebration of language, beauty, imagination, and the salvation of love.

My two-bits:

This story had an artsy feel to it. There is a mix of past and present imagery of Florence, Italy. There are scenes that are disjointed which adds a mystery element that begs the question of what is real. There are moments that can be confusing and frustrating similar to what the protagonist experiences.

~*~
* review copy courtesy of publisher

* added to my COYER challenge/scavenger hunt (details)

* part of my Armchair Summer Travel (details) - check it out to enter Armchair Summer Travel Book Box Giveaway

Paperweight by Meg Haston

Paperweight
by Meg Haston

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Release date: July 2, 2015
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Genre: Illness - Eating Disorder, YA
Paperback: 304 pages
Rating: 4

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Struggling to deal with her brother's death and a past she refuses to confront, Stevie knows she has problems. But she's still furious about the fact that she's been packed off to a health clinic, in the middle of nowhere, where mobile phones are banned and communication with the outside world is strictly by permission only. The regimented and obtrusive nature of the clinic and its staff is torture to the deeply private, obstinate Stevie - and don't even get her started on the other 'inmates'.

All she wants is to be left alone...But as Stevie is about to find out, life is full of surprises. And she will prove herself stronger than she knows - even when her past finally catches her up in the most shocking and brutal way possible.

My two-bits:

A serious read indeed.

The tough road to healing in mind, body and spirit are addressed in this story that deals with different kinds of loss for a teen including grief from death, parents divorce and self love.

The process that the main character goes through was handled well in pacing and with relationships formed at the clinic.

~*~
* added this to my Bookish Bingo challenge - square: Green Cover

* review copy courtesy of Epic Reads

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

All the Bright Places
by Jennifer Niven

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Just released: January 6, 2015
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Genre: Mental Illness, YA
Hardback: 400 pages
Rating: 5

Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

PeekAbook:



My two-bits:

This is one of those stories that tugs at the heart.

The characters and the relationship between the two main characters were presented with such heartfelt honesty, I enjoyed spending time with them and was very sad at the sad parts.

The character's school wander project provided a fun way to learn about different parts of the state of Indiana which prompted me to search for quirky and unusual places to visit in my state.

Got me thinking of the issue of suicide with its relation to mental illness.

~*~
* review copy courtesy of publisher

* added this to my Bookish Bingo challenge - square: Mental Illness

The Body Tourist by Dana Lise Shavin

The Body Tourist
A Memoir
by Dana Lise Shavin

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Just released: September 11, 2014
Publisher: Little Feather Books, Inc.
Genre: Memoir, Mental Illness
Paperback: 360 pages
Rating: 5

In this moving and funny memoir that spans the six years following the author's purported recovery from anorexia, Dana Lise Shavin offers a candid and ultimately optimistic window into the mindset and machinations of a mental illness whose tentacles reached deep into her life, long after she was considered "cured."

In 1981, Shavin graduated from college with a BA in Psychology. It had been a difficult venture that included an expulsion, a four-month institutionalization, and a multitude of transfers. By the time it was over, she was convinced she was cured, and that it was time to start curing others. "I’m ready," she told her parents, her therapist, and friends—all of whom shook their heads in horror at her 95-pound, 5’9” frame. Undaunted, she landed a job as a counselor in a halfway house for drug and alcohol addicts. If anyone knew what it took to become a happy, functioning adult, Shavin was convinced she was the one.

As anyone would suspect, the burden of self-contempt, faulty logic, and interpersonal turmoil that are the character traits of depressive disorders and addictions do not miraculously disappear once medication and therapy have taken effect. Where, then, do these dangerous obsessions, such as the wish for obliteration (which often co-exists with the wish for immortality), go once a person sets foot on the road to recovery?

For Shavin, they lived beneath the radar of her supposed new-found health, disguising themselves in the falling-down houses she happily moved into and the dangerous neighborhoods she somehow didn't fear. They announced themselves in the deeply flawed men she professed to adore, the food rituals she thought were normal, the ordinary sex she could not have, and, most profoundly, her inability to acknowledge her father’s illness and encroaching death.

While many writers have written candidly and eloquently about their struggles with depression, addictions, and eating disorders, those stories usually conclude once there is progress toward recovery. Beyond recovery—whether from addiction, illness, the death of a loved one, or divorce—there is another story, one that is about how we re-join the world, and, in the living years that follow the darkness, pursue a life that is creative, engaged, and deeply felt in one's body.

My two-bits:

Many things can be learned from this book. The insight on life and living from the perspective of a person struggling primarily with an eating disorder and how it affects other aspects of her life.

I liked how her stories were told with her reflections and observations which in turn made me think about my own life.

It is stories like these that can trigger positive life changes if not just a little.

~*~
* review copy courtesy of Fall Reading Challenge 2014. @booksparks #FRC2014

The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern

The Meaning of Maggie
by Megan Jean Sovern

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Just released: May 6, 2014
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Genre: Middle Grade, Illness
Hardback: 220 pages
Rating: 4.5

As befits a future President of the United States of America, Maggie Mayfield has decided to write a memoir of the past year of her life. And what a banner year it’s been! During this period she’s Student of the Month on a regular basis, an official shareholder of Coca-Cola stock, and defending Science Fair champion.

Most importantly, though, this is the year Maggie has to pull up her bootstraps (the family motto) and finally learn why her cool-dude dad is in a wheelchair, no matter how scary that is.

Author Megan Jean Sovern, herself the daughter of a dad with multiple sclerosis, writes with the funny grace and assured prose of a new literary star.

A portion of the proceeds of the sale of this book will be donated to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Zombie sighting:
Dad answered before Clyde could. "You're a zombie Buddy Holly, right?"
-chapter 6, page 60

My two-bits:

Told from the perspective of a tween, this is a very touching story of a family and their experience with Multiple Sclerosis.

The main character, Maggie, keeps the story light and fun. She is an exceptionally smart girl with a spunky attitude.

Warning: a box of tissues may come in handy for sad moments

~*~
Praise for book:

“The Meaning of Maggie does for middle-grade fiction what John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars did for teen literature: Both portray coping with serious illness as one aspect of a complex character, not as the single issue that defines them.”–BookPage

“Smart, sensitive, sad and funny.”–Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Readers will appreciate Maggie’s humor and rejoice in her growth. This is a remarkable story of a working-class family pulling together in the face of a serious illness.”–School Library Journal, starred review

“Maggie is a firecracker character, one who sparkles with wit, cynicism, love, and potential. Her voice will charm and captivate readers.”–Shelf Awarness for Readers, starred review

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* review copy and giveaway courtesy of book tour sponsored by Chronicle Books.