Week/Book 15 Review – Let’s Pretend This Never Happened

Book choice: Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Jenny Lawson

In the past I’d separated each week/book into two posts, one before I read it, and one with the review. In this case, I’m super behind, so it’s all going into one. So… basically it’ll just be the second half, since I have already read it, and doing a ‘before I read it’ post seems a wee bit pointless!

Initial Impressions

I selected this book for a few reasons:

1. I already had a copy
2. I was looking for something lighthearted
3. I read Lawson’s other book, Furiously Happy, last year and I loved it

Lawson’s books are based on her blog, which I love. I find her to be really relatable, particularly because she also struggles with mental illness, and, equally important, I feel like we kind of talk the same. Or maybe it’s just in my head.. but I’m choosing to believe it anyway, as I love her writing 🙂

This book is kind of a memoir in blog format, in book format. Basically a lot of little stories that cover her childhood through to the start of her writing career.

I’ll admit that I had really high expectations going in, and if I was disappointed, it was only because I didn’t enjoy it as much as Furiously Happy, and not that it was actually disappointing.

Overall Review

I think Lawson is hilarious. I love it when something can make me laugh out loud (literally), and this book accomplished that, several times. I think it’s a combination of the stories themselves and her writing style, and it just works. To be honest, I’m pretty sure we’d be best friends in real life. Just throwing that out there, Jenny, in case you ever read this!

The book is a nice mix of completely random thoughts and stories, and heavier subjects such as mental health. Even with these heavier subjects though, Lawson presents them in a humourous, self-deprecating way that you can’t help but appreciate.

People with anxiety disorders are often labeled as ‘shy’ or ‘quiet’ or ‘that strange girl who probably buries bodies in her basement.’ I’ve never actually heard anyone refer to me as the latter, but I always assume that’s what people are thinking, because that sort of paranoia is a common side effect of anxiety disorder.

Lawson goes on to explain, using anecdotes one can only hope are exaggerated, situations in which she finds her anxiety taking over, and the resulting consequences. It’s a nice combination of storytelling and providing first hand information on a touchy subject. It’s almost like she sneaks in serious facts during hilarious stories, she’s basically a mental health awareness ninja.

I’m not going to write about the writing, characters, plot, etc. as the style of the book doesn’t really allow for an in depth analysis, which makes my job much easier 🙂

Overall, I definitely recommend both of Lawson’s books, especially to those suffering from mental illness or trying to better understand someone’s suffering. But also to everyone, because, really, they’re just so darn funny!