Furiously Happy is a happy book. About depression.

I like to read. As much as I can. Online, paper, books, blogs, magazines. My Kindle is almost burnt out right now. I can honestly say that reading is important to me. Books, well written books, will introduce you to a whole new world. They will bring you in contact with people you wouldn’t have got to know otherwise. You live with them, love them, breath with them. If lucky, you sleep with them. You’re sad if they die – Dobby anyone?. And once in a while you come across a book that will rock your world. Harry Potter, The Name of the Wind, Discworld,The memoires van Felicia Day are among those. Without Felicia’s book there would have been no blog for me. The pure joy of reading a wonderfully written book is hard to explain. A well written book lets you live and breath in a whole new world. A world that will always be with you, whatever you do. And if you need it again it is right there. In your book case. On your Kindle. A great book can turn your world upside down.

~~Fun~~Fact: It is estimated that 350 million people worldwide suffer from some form of depression. (Source: WHO)

Furiously Happy by Jennifer Lawson is just such a book. Jenny Lawson is a woman I learnt to admire tremendously. Jenny Lawson is mother, woman, wife. But most of all she is Jenny Lawson. She explains the world of depression and mental illness with gusto. With fury. And she isn’t easy on us or on herself. She lays it all out there. And she doesn’t spare herself while she’s at it. Mental illness is tough. Not only on the person suffering from it but on everyone around it. It can effect the whole family. And most of the time it will.

FunFact: There is a 70% more chance for women to get hit by depression.

Anybody who isn’t familiar with depression: count yourself lucky. Depression is an attack on your whole life, mentally and physically. It can creep up on you. Make a very sunny day look immensely dark. It lets voices in your head that tell you everyone around you is better off without you. It is an illness. Not only for the one having it, but for everyone around. But Jenny Lawson is not only handicapped by depression. She’s suffering from allergies, arthritis and a whole lot of anxiety issues and phobias. The power of Furiously Happy is in Jenny Lawson’s humor. In the way she orders her words. She plays with them. But not only is the book a way to write herself out of depression, she helps others with the book too. Through her book, and her blog, she reaches out to people suffering the same illness. If she ever saved one person from committing suicide, because she was willing to share her story, than she is a hero! I will keep following her, through her blog and keep hoping that another book will be published. She made me laugh. And she made me cry. And in an impressive way she crept into my life and into my head. As happens with all great books. Keep them coming, Jenny!